Category: Etsy

Featured on “Making It” Season 3!

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the word making it spelled out in colorful letters
A still from the "Making It" title sequence showing various handmade objects and plants decorating the inside of the barn, where the show is filmed and the words "Executive Producer Nick Offerman"

I wanted to share some exciting news: my work is being featured on this season’s set of NBC’s “Making It” with Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman!

Airing nationally on Thursday evenings at 8pm Eastern (or streaming on Hulu), the show is a light-hearted, feel-good competition series featuring makers, artists, and designers from across the country. Now in its third season, executive producers Poehler and Offerman designed the show to celebrate the creativity and craftiness in all of us.

I was honored to create three custom pieces for the NBC set. When I sent them off for filming I had no idea where or whether they would make an appearance in the show. It’s been fun to spot them each time they’re shown on an episode!

The house with the orange background is one of my sample house portraits that I was able to rent to the production since I wasn’t doing any in-person events in the fall of 2020 thanks to a certain pandemic situation. But the most exciting pieces are the two others that I created specifically for the show:

The “Making It” Barn

Framed paper art depicting the "Making It" barn in navy and white.

This House Portrait Silhouette version of the Making It barn was a fun make! As I was gluing all those little bits together I imagined how it must feel to actually be standing inside the barn for the show. Maybe some day that will be me! I love the addition of the barn quilt this season, and I’m tempted to make an updated version that includes it!

Still from the "Making It" intro sequence showing the exterior of the barn on a sunny day
The barn, as seen in the show’s title sequence
Still from the "Making It" title sequence showing a pop-up book version of the barn surrounded by trees
A paper pop-up book version of the barn, as seen in the show’s title sequence (I love this SO MUCH as you might imagine)

The Cottage

Framed paper art depicting the "Making It" cottage in dark green and white paper

This House Portrait Silhouette version of the cottage was also a fun challenge. Those light fixtures are actually 3D! The dormer windows on the second floor are gorgeous, with the arch to let in even more light. The show doesn’t really use the inside of this space as far as I can tell, but the various hilarious exchanges that Amy and Nick have on the porch are what make “Making It” such a delight. Though it’s sad to say goodbye to whoever leaves at the end of each episode, I love seeing the different “farming” “jobs” they get to act out, often on the cottage porch or nearby, at the the very end of the episode.

Still from the show's intro sequence showing an aerial view of the cottage and the tree out front
The cottage, as seen in the show’s title sequence
Still frame from the show's title sequence depicting a paper pop-up version of the cottage
A paper pop-up book version of the cottage,
as seen in the show’s title sequence

Etsy Design Awards 2019 & Custom House Portraits

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a paper model of a house with the words easy design awards on it

Earlier this year, Etsy put out a call for entries for their first ever “Etsy Design Awards” or “The Etsies”. I submitted my custom house portraits to the contest, and then went on with my summer. Between keeping up with commissions as they came in, and making sure I had inventory for my summer events, my days were full!

I got a call late summer letting me know that Etsy chose me as a finalist. Out of all of the entries, my house portraits were chosen as one of the 150-ish finalists! There are some amazing items in my group of finalists, the “Creative Collaboration” category, all products that are custom or customizable.

When the winners were announced at the end of September, I was thrilled to see my custom house portraits in the “Honorable Mentions” category of the list – what an honor!

I’m now focused on getting through all of the orders I promised in time for holiday gifting, and orders are still coming in for shipping in early 2020.

As part of the publicity around the Design Awards, I was interviewed in my studio by our local NBC news station. We talked about the Etsy contest and I shared a little peek behind the scenes. They filmed me going through each step of the custom house portrait creation process. It was so much fun to spend a few hours in my studio with the crew! They did a fabulous job telling my story, and you can watch the video here: