Wonderfully Made Wednesdays

I'm back! Well I never really left, but now things are back on their proper day and everything. I have some very nice things to present today and I have splendid personal news. So, first things first, the dishing... I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D-SLR camera! I will be able to take much more awesome pictures of my jewelry and of everything else in my life. Oh, where did I buy it, you say? *Cough*about to brag*Cough* My amazing hubby surprised me with it yesterday! I came home from work and there it was all sexy in basic black with lenses and a case and everything. I am so the epitome of blessed in my marriage! Love you, handsome!
Okay enough bragging (I did warn you it was coming though) and onto the sweet feature of handmade Etsy goodness that I like to call Wonderfully Made Wednesday.


Hats for Humanity
I have to give another solid shout out to the owner of this shop, who has another Etsy shop, but has started this one as a community outreach effort. Every hat purchased begets a handmade hat donated to a humanitarian aid center. Help others and own cuteness; it's good style and good karma! I chose this sweet little girls beanie because I dug the flower, but there are a great variety of sizes in the shop and some are even made to order.


Cabootique
A great shop with stylish and affordable jewelry and even some vintage items. There are a great variety of styles and colors including these mod little lemon lime dangles. Simple and sweet, just perfect for a casual summer outfit!


Fantasian
Okay, so I try to refrain from using expressions like mad skills on the blog because I enjoy sounding a little grown and professional. However, dude, the owner of this shop has mad skills for wire wrapping. Someday, I'll be cool like this! I chose this pendant mostly for the lovely color of the green onyx because all of her items displayed spectacular wire work.


Tuscan Blooms
I love pillows, it's sad really... I have one loveseat in my quaint living room in my teeny one bedroom apartment and it has 4 pillows on it. So, needless to say I'm into this shop. I loved the sweet country appeal of the fabric on this pillow with the green, turquoise, and purple. The little stylized hooter is a total bonus; Tuscan Blooms is making pillows extra fun!


Cat's Paw Artifacts
Lovely and soft colors could bedeck your neck if you owned this piece that I just had to show you because I love the fun colors and unique shape. Artists that are bead weaving amazing shapes and designs with these tiny little beads deserve so much esteem; imagine the time that went into this piece.


teeheeproductions
This seller is a real artist, no I mean it, you should check out her prints. However, I have to say that her 'Two' series of cards takes the cake for me. Although she has another series that chronicles the misadventures of being young, single, and almost totally fabulous that had me in stitches. I just might have to purchase this card myself; I think hubby needs this after my wonderful surprise.


Looking for the links to the items pictured? Just click the pictures, easy peasy! Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm off to transform myself into an ab fab photographer with my new camera. I will certainly be listing new items in my store very soon...and do not forget to check back tomorrow for all the details on my very first and totally splendid giveaway contest! Ciao bellas! Have a good night!

Splendidly Crafted Saturday

Welcome to another Etsy product feature here at my blog! It has been a rough week in computerland with the demise of my beloved Macbook; I feel so betrayed. However, it could have been worse and I feel lucky that the situation was fixable and that a warranty covered most of the expense. My pockets are only so deep after putting out the money to start a business (please imagine for me a sad-faced cartoon character holding the ends of inside out pockets). Ah well, my financial woes aside, I would still like to recommend a few places that you should spend your hard earned monies. Most of the shops I have seen on Etsy have incredibly reasonable prices once you factor in the time it took to carefully handcraft each item (or locate the snazzy vintage ones). So, here we go...

Touche Designs
I didn't really ever think that I would be calling a birthday card chic, but this has style. I love the bold colors and the glam fonts; I would feel so good about giving this to someone. Best of all though, the prices beat most of the drug stores' and gift shops' cookie cutter cards and you know that your loved one won't get a duplicate of the same thing from someone else.


Only One
I adore this shop! Handcrafted crocheted animals are the perfect gift for any child or as a get well soon gift for someone recovering who needs a soft friend. I had to pick this bear because it has a costume, it's a dinosaur bear; the cuteness goes on and on and the costume is removable so Mr. Bear has a dressed down look, too!


Flowers From Fatima
This shop has hair accessories and more for every occasion. This headband was my favorite because of the simplicity and radiance of the green hydrangeas. It would be perfect to dress up a sweet summer dress or for a flower girl or even for a non-traditional bride.



Heavenly Trinkets
This little shop has some really unique jewelry ideas like these lovely clear earrings. I love that they have created the sexiness of a long dangle earring while keeping the pair light and comfortable to wear. The sparkle of the Swarovski elements would really add that special pop to a date night outfit.


Thread Spider
Who says only little girls can pin purple flowers into their hair? Not this seller! Thread spider has created this sassy and adorable hair comb with stitched silk flowers accented with beads and pearls. Now granted, this would be the sweetest slipped into a little girls tresses, but I would also love to perch it into the side of a sexy updo. Little girls can't have all the fun!


Crafted By Design
I know I have talked about shops having variety before, but I hadn't seen anything yet. Crafted by Design has so many different handcrafted items for you to browse and peruse. I picked this delightful little Baby Shower gift basket for a little girl (boys colors also available). In your late 20s it seems like if there isn't a wedding to attend there is a baby shower; how sweet and simple to get a prepared gift basket full of handmade items.


Whew, so much fun to look through all those shops, you should do it, too! I'll be back next Wednesday with more; if you would like to have a product featured please leave a comment with a link to your shop. Have a great weekend!

Awsome Friend Following Friday

I'm so excited I found all these new blog hops today that I haven't seen before. Everyone appreciates followers, so get involved. Follow me, follow the hosts of the blog hops, follow everyone! Go on spread the love, it's Friday!

Friendly Friday Follow over at Toddler Awesome!

Friendly Friday hosted by Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier, Christi at Frugal Novice and Charla at Healthy Home Blog!

Fun Follow Friday hosted by My Wee View and Simply Stacie!

Sadness...

Just a note to all my lovely followers... my laptop has eaten itself and is at the Mac doctor. Please keep following and I'll get back to blogging as soon as possible. Wonderfully Made Wednesday will hopefully become Fantastically Forged Friday this week or I'll just pick it up next week. Oh Apple, how you have failed me!

UPDATE: Hard drive funeral services to be held this weekend; it will be a private service as I am deeply grieving the loss of my data and software. Grrrrrrrr! On a brighter note the extended protection plan paid off and I got a new hard drive for freeeeeeee. So Apple is both major fail and FTW for me at the moment. What does this mean for you? I will soon be able to produce some real blog posts again and will be restarting with my Etsy product feature that was due on Wednesday. More to come very soon!

Happy things!

Okay, so this was supposed to go up yesterday, but life interfered. So, here it is, better late than never. I wanted to share some nice happy things from my weekend to spread the sunshine around.


Exhibit A: This is from the Etsy Craft Meetup on Friday night. These are all the crafts that I got to make with the other lovely Etsy ladies. Wendy from Wendy's Origami taught us how to make the paper boxes and she is responsible for the beautiful picture shown here. I taught wire wrapping technique and everyone made earrings like my little green ones here. We were also all introduced to artist trading cards and you can see mine peeking out from inside the box. It was a great night and so much fun meeting other crafty ladies!



Exhibit B: I got a chance to finish up my packaging for my Etsy shop! So now every bracelet, necklace, and pair of earrings will come in a beautiful gift box in a range of colors with an adorable hand-stamped silver double happiness design. Double happiness is a commonly used Chinese symbol for love and luck in love; I have always been drawn to the pretty symmetry and the ideal that love doubles your happiness.



Exhibit C: I'm the winner!!! I won a giveaway for a free personalized kids apron pictured above AND a gift certificate on a great blog I have been following http://cottoncupcakegallery.blogspot.com/ Everyone who has kids or knows someone with kids should check out her blog and Etsy shop. Now I just have to really hope that hubby and I can beat the odds. Everyone we know that has had a kid recently has had a boy, but I took a chance and got the apron with the name we have picked out for our theoretical daughter: Hannah. Yay, you just can't beat free stuff!

So, I had a great weekend and getting back to the workweek is blah! At least the happy weekend, which included quality hubby time and all these awesome events, have given me some extra energy to get up and get going. I wish you the same!

Wonderfully Made Wednesdays

Pawty Time Treats
Nom nom, when I saw these I was like mmmmm-cookies, but this store actually caters to our furry friends. It's so great to find natural healthy treats for my 3 year old pound pup and I love that this shop has a lot of variety in flavors because my dog is a wierdo and will not touch anything with peanut in it. However, if your dog is normal, you should try these peanut butter pop tart treats!


Stunning Anna
This shop had a lot to choose from, but I went with my personal taste and chose these hairpins with dark iridescent beads. I can see these looking great in my blond hair and I love that they are simple and could be used for updos or just keeping my bangs out of my eyes.


Prairie Star Jewels
This necklace is really something special; I adore the sky and sea colors of the central set cabachon and the accenting czech glass. The setting for the pendant looks like a crown and I think anyone would feel like a princess when presented with this darling necklace.


Chanyeevon
Okay, so I'm creative, but I always feel a little humbled by those that can draw or paint and otherwise create something tangible out of imagination. This artist's shop definitely evoked those feelings! The print here is the awesome combination of dark background and theme with the sweetness of the girl in the pink dress.


MGL Designs
Need a bag? I know I would buy one of every kind and color if I could and this would be one of them for sure, it's well-made and fully detailed. The seafoam color is perfectly accented by the light brown of the zipper pull making this a perfect clutch to carry with a summer outfit in naturals or pastels.


HillBilly Jill
Cute name and cute products! She has some handmade items, but I had to pick this vintage brooch. It totally reminds me of things that my grandmother would have worn and my grandmom was a classy lady. The blues and details in the wings really make this piece for me.


Treacher Creatures
I don't have kids yet, but if you do you totally need to get them one of these. Soft and cuddly sock creatures in a plethora of different animal shapes. They all have great detailing like the eyes, mane, and stylish scarf on this giraffe (my personal favorite).


Anything you are dying to have?
Well go on, click a link!
Would you like to be added to my list for a feature on Wonderfully Made Wednesdays?
Leave me a comment with your storefront.

Happy Wednesday to all!

New Friends for Tuesday

Here's a great new thing I learned about in the blogsphere, a blog hop. More people follow you, you follow them, everybody wins! Thanks in advance to my new followers; I'll try to keep things interesting for you.

This one is hosted by the wonderful Twee Poppets, so a big thanks to her!

Plumtastic

Monday morning, yeuch! However, after an infusion of blended deliciousness from Coffee Bean I am ready to face the world, or at least my computer screen. While perusing my store after the too short weekend I noticed that I seem to have a little thing for purple at the moment. This doesn't really surprise me, since there are these fantastic trees near our home that have been blooming light purple flowers for the past few weeks and they captivate me every time I drive past. So, now that I have noticed my penchant for plummy tones I wanted to share them with the blogspace and see what you think. Does purple speak to you? What shades are your favorites? What are your favorite tones to mix and match with an eggplant or a lilac?

Every beautiful piece I have showcased here is for sale in my Etsy shop and each picture is a link to direct you to that listing. Could I have made it any easier? I think not.
Happy Monday to all and I hope that you enjoy my purple!

Wonderfully Made Wednesdays

Hi all, so away we go for my first official product featuring blog, I hope that I can make it a regular Wednesday feature here. These fantastic artists and purveyors of handmade goods each had one product that immediately caught my eye and I would now like to recommend them to you.


HelptheGulfCoast
This shop deserves special mention for being a collective of Etsy artists that are contributing proceeds from items in the HelptheGulfCoast shop to do just that. Philanthropy is something I always admire, but I am currently admiring this set of 10 note cards beautifully adorned with a Napoleonic bee.


K. Brown Pottery
In this shop I loved all of the really unique candle holders, but I couldn't help picking this lovely hand thrown ceramic vase to feature. Aqua is totally on my hot list right now and would compliment any flowers you chose to display in it.


YourTreasuredMemory
These perfect little pink rose hairpins are just adorable! I can see them attached to the top of a toddler's bouncy pigtails, but I can also see them adorning an updo or just one giving flair to drab buttoned up office attire.


Skribbly Kids
I made a very cute, albeit high pitched, noise when I saw these cards. I mean come on how much more delightful can you get? You also get the whole set of 4 cards and envelopes, too; I say awesome deal.


Heidelberg Designs
This shop had so many unique pieces that I had a hard time picking just one, but this necklace finally won out. Well, actually it's a necklace with matching earrings so you get even more of the wonderful fall feel of the delicate patina leaves.


Inkihandmade
I had to pick these out of inkihandmade's shop because of the gorgeous simplicity of the design on the pure white cards. The nautical design just stands out so stridently, as it should, in this set of 5 cards with envelopes.


So, that's my 2 cents, what do you think about these charming handmade finds? Would you like to have a product featured? Well, leave a comment, let me know! Off to marinade my tilapia now, good night blogworld...

I am currently adoring...

• weekends that are busy but eventful. I got to see my lovely gal pal from college and her beautiful baby boy this weekend!
• aloe cooling gel for the wicked sunburn I got this weekend.
• puppies (okay, that's a gimme, who doesn't love puppies).
• cool June mornings that warm into beautiful clear days.
• the fact that my upcoming birthday is still a number lesser than 30.
• other Etsy sellers that have blogs that inspire me to keep going with mine.
• and last, but not least these few items from Etsy and their awesome Creators!

The fiery color of this wire-wrapped pendant from CreationsbyJulian is to die for!

These barley hard candies look so good that I already ordered some from Vintage Confections

And this lovely little tutu from bedbuggs has me dreaming of my someday daughter.

• Anyone have anything they are currently adoring? Leave me a comment!
• Want me to feature any products on my budding little blog? Follow my blog and leave a comment letting me know what I can feature for you.
• Happy Monday!
  

Inspiration

Holy crow, there is so much inspiration in the world! There is beauty everywhere I look. I don’t think there are enough beads for me to capture how seriously inspired I have been this week. However, this fabulous new shipment of beads that came in last night should give me a terrific head start. Ready! Set! Create!


I have also been totally inspired by other imaginative Etsy sellers that have put together wonderful treasuries from all over the site. I just want to eat this one I found of dazzling summery citrus colors, don’t you?

I can’t wait to get some real time to work on projects that are frolicking around my mind; dang this necessary day job! Okay, okay, so cancer research is no colorless cubicle, but working in a lab is NOT as glamorous as it seems on CSI. I promise you this. Experiments do not give results in five minutes; there is no dating drama, and no one notices if I wear my new favorite shade of MAC eye shadow (Memorabilia, btw). Okay, time is up for necessary day job’s lunch break, more for the lovely blog world later. Wishing everyone exceptional inspiration!

Okay, my first adventure in blogging.

Plagued by doubts that anyone will actually care to peruse my day-to-day, I press on. I'm blogging, me, for a variety of reasons. I have started a new business and I hope this will provide much needed publicity and give buyers a window into the heart of their budding jewelry designer. Hey, I'm honest! Also, I think maybe if I share some of my thoughts with the world, perhaps I can experience more of it in return than time and money and circumstance allow.
My world has closed in of late, day job, religious commitments, tiny apartment...lather, rinse, repeat... Not to say at all that I don't have happiness; I'm proud to have an amazing husband, good friends, future plans...they are all bright stars in my sky. I'm just the type of girl that will always want a bigger sky.
Therefore, I am taking my love of jewelry out for a real test drive. I was the teenager that had more jewelry of the handmade, friend made, and (eek!) Claire's varieties than I did clothing. To me, clothes seemed like an impossible medium of expression for the shyer, plumper girl, but with jewelry I could do anything I wanted. So, I am taking my favorite medium of expression and a tiny start up budget (that I have stretched really, really transparently thin) and a beautiful friend's introduction to Etsy.com and transforming it into my very own storefront. I am so proud of my little store, I could totally burst. I don't have any kids yet, but it's probably even better than this, so bursting may be an inevitable eventuality.

If you have time to check out the store, please do! Let me know what you love, what you hate, or what you want to see next. Thanks for reading about my little corner of reality and my big (to me) new venture.