i love the love!

There is great little retro shop called Ric Rac Sally that also has a great little blog and they think I'm pretty great, too!

Check it out!



(This is Ric Rac Sally's Bonnie apron.)

favorite shop friday: anabella designs

I don't wear jewelry. I wear my wedding ring and on very special occasions (i.e. my wedding day) I'll wear small earrings. I use to wear jewelry...I use to love pretty rings and my own handmade necklaces and dangley earrings. But somewhere along the way I started to simplify things.

But I recently found a jewelry designer who is tempting me back into jewelry: Anabella Designs.

Her work is both simple and beautiful, inspired by nature, and I love them all!

Especially this Five Leaf pendant that would go nicely with my wedding band:



Isn't this Rosehips pendant so pretty?



I love this Butterfly:



This Bird in Flight looks so peace-able:



This Cosmos pendant is a little bit retro and I like it!



There is so much more beauty to wear from Anabella so make sure you see her entire shop at http://anabelladesigns.etsy.com

the oasis mall

I'm in a mall! And you can all come visit me!

I've joined an online mall for holiday shopping and here it is: http://www.the-oasis-mall.com/home

It's called the Oasis Mall and it's made up of 50 shops from Etsy who decided to join forces during the holiday shopping. And the best part is...no parking and crowd stress!

We are only going to open during this shopping season so don't procastinate!

You'll not only be able to find my lovely baby anne quilts shop (in the Clothing and Fabric Crafts department) but also other great shops like these...

Harmony Metals



Domaly


Woolies



Agog

JPATPurses

And there is a lot more! So go ahead and grab your Orange Julius and hang out at the mall!

inspired by versailles

In October I visited the palace of Versailles outside of Paris.

Wow! And Wow!

It was soooo beautiful...I can see why the peasants of the French Revolution revolted!

One of the things that I love about seeing something so famous is that I get to really see the details for the first time. And Versailles, as you may imagine, had no lack of details.

Here are some of the inspiring details of Versailles....

A room just outside the Hall of Mirrors...



Looking up the wall to the ceiling in the Queen's (Marie Antionette's) bedroom...



The headboard on the bed in the Queen's bedroom (see the M A design on the headboard for Marie Antionette?)...



A chandelier in a sitting room in the Dauphin's living quarters...



A wall detail from the Petit Trianon Palace on the Versailles grounds...



A sleeping dog in the Queen's Hamlet on the Versailles grounds...



Pretty, huh?

give vintage

Etsy is not only a place to buy handmade. It's also a place to buy vintage.

Here are some hard-to-find gems that would make great gifts!

Art-e-ology sells vintage photographs that you can use in collage work or just frame them as is. There are some charming images, like this set called He Protected Them:



What girl doesn't half-hope that those big poofy skirts from the 50s come back in style? Make your own with this vintage Simplicity pattern from Ink and Escence:




Share some classic Strawberry Shortcake with your favorite little girl (or just keep it for yourself)! Here's Shortcake with her pantaloons on a pillowcase from Sunshine City Lassie:



I love this hat! It's a little bit Garbo and little bit Mrs. Cleaver and it's from Crazy Platter:



I love this vintage squirrel cookie jar from White Elephant Vintage:



Go buy some vintage memories!

favorite shop friday: cyberoptix tie lab

I don't know about you but buying for my man is hard. It's hard becuase it's so easy. All he ever wants are movies, music or Legos. If I want to surprise with something nice and unique...that's where it gets hard. But I think I found a great shop to help me out this Christmas: Cyberoptix Tie Lab.

I know, I know...what's so original about a tie?

Well, take a look at this:



Or these:



And I know my gearhead husband will love this:



I love this Houdini-inpsired Escape Artist tie:



And this 40 Whacks tie from their Conceled Weapons series:



Who said giving a tie to your man had to be unimaginative? Show him you've got brains!



You'll find these ties and many more at http://toybreaker.etsy.com/

let them eat your gift

So you're going to get fatter during the holidays...you might as well make sure everyone you know gets fat with you (then maybe you won't feel so bad). And there are great gifts you can give to eat!

(Just keep in mind that because of customs laws, food can usually only be shipped domestically. Sorry to be a Grinch.)

Heavenly Chocolate Chip and Oatmeal Cookies from Chocolate Heaven:



Gooey Caramel Pecan Perfection from Susie's Buns:



Are you drooling, yet? Check out this Cherry Cheese Danish from Vegan Honey (Yes, folks it's vegan and promises to be delicious!):



How about this Carmel Apple Attack from Fat Daddy Bake Shop:



I like the sound of thie Grapefruit and Ginger Marmalade from Marmalady:



Just the thought of these Creamy Vanilla Caramels from Crave Louisiana...:



Ok...It's a good thing I'm celebrating Thanksgiving with my family today because I've worked up an appetite. I think there's an apple pie waiting to be baked...

artwork as gifts

To tell you the truth, I don't really like to idea of someone else picking out a piece of artwork for me. I am very picky about the artwork that goes on my walls. It needs to mean something to me.

I have all kinds of stuff on my walls from Rembrandt prints to East German Trabant car ads. But I've always avoided a little...ok a lot...any amateur art (any have-decent original artwork done by an amateur artist) or "Walmart" art (a framed artwork purchased at the home department of any department store by some anonymous artist that was just designed to look aestically pleasing on a wall).

But I am finding such a wealth of incredible artwork on Etsy! I've already bought two prints that are haning up alongside my Rodin and William Morris and I've now got my eye on all of these...

"Meet Me By The Water" from dkim-art.



"Entertaining Angels" from One Eye Open.



"Overgrowth" from Sarah Ogren.

"Imaginary Friend" from Creative Thursday.



"...and then he kissed her" from Sea Spray Blue.



"Shy Boy and Shy Girl" from Rosie Music.



"Creepy Little Children" from Ravenwolf.



"Boy and Girl with Winged Fairy" 1923 antique illustration from Monkey Shines.



"Hive" from Oh My Cavalier.



Any of these works of art would be happy on my wall! So if anyone is looking to make me happy this Christmas...(hint, hint!)

pretty gifts

Today I'm going to show off some of the prettiest things I've found on Etsy. I love pretty things. Not beautiful (although that's nice, too), but pretty: delicate, young, fresh, dainty, things that make you feel pretty just owning it.

Like these poppy bobbypins from foundling:



I love Annie and Olive's signature puffy heart pendant:



And this pretty cherry blossoms journal (some of the pages are red!) from The Writer's Book:



Isn't this simple Shaker sewing box so pretty?! It's made by McLoud Joinery:



I love the daintiness of these dainty blue-green flower notecards from Anna Cote:



Look how pretty! It's a No One Remembers necklace from Tea Rose Workshop



And, I don't know about you, but I would feel pretty in this vintage babydoll party dress from Ramona West:



Surely there's someone in your life who deserves to feel pretty?