My name is Amy Ressa. I am the owner of The Painted House and More. I run my business out of my home. I live in Gahanna, Ohio which is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.

I opened up my Etsy shop back in November of 2007. My shop name is Aressa. I mainly sell my hand painted items through this shop. I do sell handmade jewelry and smelly good products too. I mainly sell those in my shops.

I currently work full-time and work on my business after work and on the weekends. I spend most of my waking time either doing work on the computer or actually painting, making candles, smelly jellies, soaps, and handmade jewelry. It is hard for me to shut my creativity down.

Painting is the favorite part of my business. I paint on many surfaces including glass, canvas, metal, candles, terra cotta, fabric and walls. Acrylic enamel paint is the type of paint I use on most of my paintings. I have recently added the use of Pebeo Paint on some of the glass plates I paint. Most of my sales right now come from custom orders, and often include requests for my hand painted wine glasses and coffee mugs. These items are inexpensive and make great gift ideas!

My inspiration comes from magazines, my surroundings, and I often just come up with ideas on my own. I am fortunate to be very creative and I it is easy for me to come up with new ideas.

I used to solely stencil everything thing that I wanted to paint, including every room in my previous home. About five years ago I started to try my hand at painting freehand. I have gotten much better over the years, but just jumped right in painting everything I could get my hands on. I am a self taught artist who was not afraid to make mistakes. That is the nice thing about painting; it can be easily painted over if you are not happy. I began doing this so that I could eventually start a business doing something I truly love.

I would have to say right now most of my free time is spent creating my product. I not only sell online, but have four locations right now where my creations are being sold. This keeps me busy right now. When I have time to break free I like to visit my daughter in South Carolina.

Right now I primarily promote my work through the internet, but will be putting together a more active campaign. My plans are to attempt to get my products out in shops across the United States and make this a full-time venture.

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