Archive for Pretty Things
November 11, 2009
· Filed under Etsy Finds, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged handmade gifts, holiday gift guide, holiday gift ideas, stocking stuffers
Stocking Stuffer Rules According to Molly:
1. This one is the most important rule: Stocking stuffers don’t actually have to fit into the stockings to qualify as stocking stuffers.* I will never forget the year my mom Santa put a stack of coloring books (a STACK!) and a big box of crayons with them next to my stocking. Pure joy.
*Santa didn’t hang the stockings back up on the fireplace, which may be different from your house; at my house he scattered them around the room, so that he could surround them with little piles of presents that didn’t fit in the stockings.
2. Sometimes stocking stuffers cost as much as gifts under the tree, but that’s ok – it’s what makes stockings extra special.
3. While I understand that oranges used to be a treat in the old timey days, no kid of mine is getting an orange in her stocking.
4. Stockings should never be an afterthought. When I was a kid, stockings were actually better than the presents under the tree.
OK? OK. Glad we’ve got that cleared up.
So I’ve got a whole bunch of picks here and again tomorrow – many of them are shops I featured last week, many are new, not all are Etsy. I hope you love these picks as much as I do.
Bicycle Wood Business Card Holder ($25) by HARE and DRUM
Honey Sugar Scrub, 20 oz. ($25) by One Honey
Purse/Pouch/Pencil Case ($23) by Helen Rawlinson
House Tea Towel ($14) by PataPri
Elephant Parade Print ($20) by matiekiller
Acorns Roasting on an Open Fire Print ($20) by Lisa DeJohn
Boston Terrier Stamp ($5) by nikoart
I Like Pretty Things Pencils, set of 3 ($4.95) by Olive Manna
iPod or iPhone Case ($19) by byrd and belle
Octopus Pocket Mirror ($7) by SparklePaw
Wooden Picture Frame Brooch ($15 each) by enna
Love Letter Shirt ($18) by b children’s wear
Red Striped Ornament ($35) by Fern Animals/Ashley Anna Brown
Ceramic Vintage Style Owl Desk Planter ($24) by fruitflypie
Set of 3 Cards ($8.50) by Dwell Deep
Bird Tea Towels, set of 3 ($30) by Anna Joyce
Snow Bird Ceramic Magnets ($2.50) by Sweet Tidings
Box of Felt Tarts ($13) by ikatbag
Tomorrow: even more stocking stuffer goodness!
October 29, 2009
· Filed under Design, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Molly, Pretty Things, Stationery & Paper Goods · Tagged 2010 calendars, Night Owl Paper Goods, Owls, stationery, woodland animals
Just as a follow up to my 2010 calendar round-up, I wanted to share some pics from Night Owl Paper Goods and their Critter Calendar, which I already own and adore, and the Pattern Calendar, which is also lovely.
I love the April duckies and the August otter.
The calendars (as well as many of their single notecards/postcards) are printed on eco-friendly yellow birch wood which has been sustainably harvested (yay!).
Here’s the Pattern Calendar:
I especially love those blue/green/yellow flowers of October.
If you follow them on Twitter, they often have one day sales which you can take advantage of, and visit the sale section of their website for some really good deals.
Night Owl also designs for Tiny Prints. You might remember that not long after Christmas last year, I totally fell in love with these Valentine’s Day cards:
So, yeah, I’m pretty much a big fan of Night Owl. Can you tell?
October 27, 2009
· Filed under Molly, Pretty Things, Recipes & Food · Tagged candgrams, candy, Flickr, photos of candy
The other day, I fell in love with this blog post by Brooke Reynolds of inchmark (perhaps it won’t surprise you to learn that she used to be a senior art director for Martha Stewart Kids – all of her blog posts are beautiful to look at).
Isn’t this a wonderfully cheerful (and easy!) idea?
I also happened upon some other photos of beautiful candy, notably, these “sweet pink” candies (below, left), which I saw on the Epicute blog (thanks to my sister). The photo comes from anzyAprico’s photostream on Flickr. The photo on the right is “Dutch Candy” by Chrizzie.
I was inspired to have a look around Flickr for other beautiful candy photos, and boy did I find them easily. Take a look. I’m pretty sure you’ll be running for the candy jar.
“Candy jar” by Moa Maria
“candies” by red64
“Candys from Japan” by miumiu
“candy” by yomi955
October 22, 2009
· Filed under Design, Gift Ideas, Kids Clothes & Gear, Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged asian-inspired children's clothes, beautiful children's clothes, Imoga
Last weekend, I fell in love with a few pieces of IMOGA children’s clothes, which I found at Tippy Toes in downtown Princeton (a totally adorable kids’ shoe store with a small collection of beautiful clothes). The founder of IMOGA, Haejung Chung, used to send gifts for her nieces signing them “i moga” or, “from auntie” in her native Korean. By the look of these designs – simple, elegant clothes with an Asian influence – I bet she gives great gifts!
From their Fall/Winter 2009 collection:
(I saw this coat at Tippy Toes – it is SO gorgeous, so beautifully constructed).
From their Spring/Summer 2010 collection:
You can take a look at the IMOGA collections on their website.
October 21, 2009
· Filed under Etsy Finds, Gift Ideas, Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged handmade gifts, rainbows, rainy day fun, wellies
Last week we had a few nasty days of rain and cold ’round these parts, so I went running for rain gear on Etsy, and as always, Etsy came through for me.
Happy Rainy Day print ($11) by strawberry paintbrush
Some Rain Must Fall cut paper art print ($12) by ruralpearl
Glop, the chubbiest little rain drop rubber stamp ($6) by Corrabelle
Shower, letterpress notecards set of 4 ($11) by 12 fifteen
Wellies t-shirt ($22) by Charlie and Sarah
It’s Raining Sprinkles notecards, set of 3 ($7) by Bubbledog
Raindrop silk lined clutch ($50) by Red Ruby Rose
Sunshine and Rain organic messenger bag ($46) by Sewn Natural
Pink Cloud and Happy Rain pouch ($15) by Coco Sunday
Rainbow Brooch (because without rain, there would be no rainbows!) ($10) by Lova Revolutionary
October 16, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, Crafty!, Etsy Finds, Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged birthday party decorations, fairies, kids birthday party ideas, woodland animals
Things I already know:
1). It’s only October, which is a full 2 months before Rosa’s birthday and 3 months before Elena’s.
2). I’m nuts.
In my defense, if I don’t start thinking about the girls’ birthdays now, then I run out of time to do something fun and interesting. I don’t know if you know this, but Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s really get in the way of planning two girls’ birthday parties (or one combined party).
So, I’ve been collecting pictures/ideas of what’s inspiring me for this year’s party – a woodland themed party, since we’re all about animals and trees and fairies in this house. Do you have any ideas for me?
Pom Pom decorations by Party Poms
Forest Friends Rubber Stamps by Niko Art
The Tiniest Garden scrapbook/design kit by A Print A Day
Felted Acorns by Fairyfolk
Shades of Fall cookies by Eleni’s
Bird Whistles by Bake It Pretty
Forest Party invite by Paper Culture
Hoo’s Having a Birthday invite also by Paper Culture
Owls Invite by Letterspace Paper
October 14, 2009
· Filed under Design, Etsy Finds, Gift Ideas, Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged Etsy, handmade jewelry, jewelry on Etsy
My brother-in-law is gettin’ hitched in a couple of weeks (sooner, actually). Two ceremonies + one reception = I have to come up with three outfits (dresses, shoes, jewelry, clutch, etc.). I have some nice things in my closet that I can wear, but I’m seriously lacking in the jewelry department.
I’d been ogling the vintage-inspired jewelry at Anthropologie, so when I stumbled across Raquel Castillo’s Etsy shop, with her beautiful necklaces and earrings (mostly from revamped vintage jewelry), I decided to ask her to make a necklace for me.
Want to see what she came up? I love it.
The pendant is about 3″ wide, to give you a sense of how big it is. I don’t own anything like this – which is nice. I think all of my jewelry is too conservative. I’m glad to have something really different.
I looked through Raquel’s sold items to get some inspiration, and found it when I came upon this Bed of Flowers necklace. It’s a very clever design, and I was so drawn to the pendant – it seemed like the right size for me, and I loved the colors too.
Although I ultimately decided on a variation of the Bed of Flowers necklace, this Yellow Flower Layered necklace was my second choice. I love the color combination she used.
Going through the sold items in her shop is such a treat. I think this Garden Wedding necklace, for example, is just stunning. Don’t you? I can only imagine how beautiful the bride looked that day.
And currently in her shop, I’ve got these Vivian earrings in my list of favorites. I just love the milky white glass jewels.
Take a look at Raquel’s shop and the next time you’re thinking about giving jewelry (or looking to buy something for yourself), support artists like Raquel who put a lot of time and care into handmaking one of a kind (and affordable!) pieces.
Also, I’ve added a few new shops to my Etsy Love links – take a look. ‘Tis the season to shop handmade…
October 8, 2009
· Filed under Design, Molly, Pretty Things, Stationery & Paper Goods · Tagged Card Society, Halloween cards, letterpress
Just received September’s Card Society cards (they come at the end of the month). Aren’t they pretty?
And if you are thinking about sending out a Halloween card or two, I’ve got some suggestions:
Egg Press and Anemone Letterpress
Lab Partners for Hello! Lucky.
Love Lab Partners. Love Hello! Lucky. Love, love, love.
Halloween cards from Red Stamp. Check out that crazy scary skeleton!
Cute kid Halloween cards by Tiny Prints. My daughter Rosa is a Hello Kitty fiend (which is an easy thing to be, because Hello Kitty is licensed to every product known to mankind.)
Tiny Prints has way too many great designs. I already have my holiday cards (you know I’m an addict), but I’m thinking about splurging on custom valentines.
Halloween stationery by Erin Condren. Those colorful spiderwebs are great.
Tomorrow: Karin’s gettin’ silly.
