Today’s featured Etsy shop is Designs in Floral, a shop featuring a variety of home and gift items created with pressed flowers. This includes intricate artwork, greeting cards, bookmarks, candles, pendants, and soaps.

I asked the owner of Designs in Floral a few questions about herself and her work.

Tell me about yourself. How did you get started making your art?

My mom is a florist so she makes beautiful arrangements with fresh, silk and dried flowers. I always loved helping my Mom gather flowers on the side of the road to dry. However, I was often disappointed that the brightest flowers could not be hung upside down to dry, and continue to be pretty. That is how my business got started. I went to a single class about how to press flowers and I was immediately hooked. To this day, I love to stop on the side of the road looking for flowers to dry. Now I pick those beautifully colored flowers and immediately press them to preserve their beauty. Then I make my own version of flower arrangements for you to enjoy. I love to take the pressed flowers and see how many new ways I can use them. My favorite things to do with them are to use them as my “paint”. A piece of fern becomes a evergreen tree, hydrangea petals transform into lakes or streams, and the stem from a tiger lily can become bark on a tree. Its always an adventure to create something new, because I don’t have any two flowers exactly the same.

What is your day job?

I have a variety of “jobs” I do. I work in my home as a Mom of 3 children (soon to be 4!). That alone is enough to keep me busy, but I also work part time as a medical assistant for a doctors office, as well as some volunteer work with my church. Sometimes I wish I had more time to create art, but I love everything I do. You can learn more about me on my own blog: http://designsinfloral.blogspot.com

What advice would you give to someone thinking about starting their own small business selling handmade goods?

My only advice would be to GO FOR IT! It has been a great creative outlet for me to run my own business. I’ve stretched my capabilities with not only my craft, but also with learning how to run a business and create and maintain a website. It will keep you busy, but it will also keep you learning and expanding your mind.

Where is your work available for sale?

I sell at local craft shows and my online stores: http://www.designs-in-floral.com and http://designsinfloral.etsy.com.

There are so many alloys of brass that I couldn’t begin to even guess how many, so I’m going to focus on talking about the brass alloy I use in my work; it’s an alloy called C23000. (Also called 230.)

Brass 230 is also known as red brass, though to me it appears very yellow in color. It is an alloy commonly used in jewelry-making, and it contains 85% copper and 15% zinc. Many brass alloys used in industry (not typically used in jewelry-making) do contain lead, usually in a very small amount. Brass used for making hardware (such as locks and doorknobs) is likely to contain lead – the lead acts as lubrication in the machining process – something handcrafters tend to find unnecessary.

Brass is a relatively inexpensive metal (although of course its cost is rising along with the costs of other metals), and it is used in jewelry for its attractive yellow color. Brass does tarnish with time, but to a much lesser degree than copper. Brass is a little bit more difficult to work with than copper, gold, or silver, because it is harder, and it is more difficult to anneal (soften). These same properties make it very durable. Brass, like copper, can turn a wearer’s skin green over time, although not as efficiently as copper does.

Question of the Day: What is it about brass that you are just dying to know?

Oh, and by the way, the crab feed was a success. Come see the photos I took at the event!