favorite shop friday: petit plat

Two birthdays ago Karl gave my a dollhouse! A beautiful Victorian inspired dollhouse that I get to put together myself (if Karl doesn't beat me to it) and paint and, best of all, decorate! Right now the dollhouse is stored away in an unused room until we can get the upstairs farther along in our renovations but I finally get around to looking for teeny tiny sofas and beds and armoires I will also be filling the teeny tiny kitchen cupboards with the teeny tiny food of Stephanie Kilgast from her shop Petit Plat.

No that's not my breakfast (I wish!)...

nor is this my dinner...

Isn't her work amazing?

Don't have a dollhouse? Stephenie also makes her looks-good-enough-to-eat food into jewelry. Find her shop at http://petitplat.etsy.com.

favorite shop friday: bibitty

I like being bilingual and I hope Axel will be bilingual, too. Today's shop can help get him started.

Bibitty creates and sells alphabets with gorgeous and charming imagery in several languages including English...



French...


Italian...



Spanish...

These alphabets are so gorgeous, in fact, I can easily imagine using them to decorate more than a nursery...a living room, a study, a kitchen...

Check out Bibitty's world of words at http://bibitty.etsy.com/ and their blog at http://bibitty.blogspot.com/.

favorite shop friday: letterary press

Personally, I feel the slow death of the hand written word a sad one. I appreciate the ease and speed of the digital age, but there was always something about finding a letter in your mailbox that makes you feel that someone out there really loves you...and you have tangible evidence of your friendship.

Letterary Press offers cards with quotes from great writers to inspire us to in turn write and preserve the most important and intimate words to each other.

You'll find great literary minds such as Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Louisa May Alcott, Henry David Thoreau and many others to help you communicate your thoughts...

Marty of Letteraery Press uses only soy based inks and salvaged or recycled papers for her cards and they're all beautifully letter pressed.

Find all her lovely designs and inspired words at http://letterarypress.etsy.com/.

favorite shop friday: joom

Joom is known for her pillows and the birds that adorns them. But she adorns her birds on many more things.

Enjoy the birds of Joom!

soft birds...

printed birds...

baby birds...

and birds to carry...

Find Joom and her birds at http://joom.etsy.com/.

favorite shop friday: beane and company

I loved Axel in his little blessing suit. I was really hard to find a suit I liked for him that didn't look like a mini-tuxedo as if he were a mini-adult or was too baby-ish. I finally found a white linen suit with decorative buttons...sweet and cute but not too baby-ish and just handsome enough!



I loved it on him so much I need to give some credit to the wonderful shop that made it for him!

Jenna at Beane and Company makes special occasion clothes for little boys and girls. She has beautiful designs in lots of sizes and they are hand-made to order.

Winter White Faux Fur Capelet



Boy's Khaki Suit



Organza Flower Girl Dress



And Jenna is opening up an adult-sized store, too, so you don't have to be jealous of all the little guys.

Find Beane and Co. at: http://beaneandco.etsy.com/.

favorite shop friday: simple sweet design

There are things growing over at Simple Sweet Design...

moss covered things...



warm tree bark things...



and mobile hanging things...

Lisa at Simple Sweet Designs makes really beautiful things for inside your home taken from the life outside. My favorite are her gorgeous family trees that come with differing number of branches to fit your family size and for which you can order additional leaves so that they can continue to grow as your family grows...

Find more life for your home at http://simplesweetdesings.etsy.com/.

favorite shop friday: oh coco

It's been nearly one year since Karl and I moved back to the States from Europe. And I still miss it. Especially when I found this shop last week: Oh Coco.

Coco use to live there, too, and took some beautiful photos during her own European adventures that make me so homesick...



Heimweg Berlin

But even if you haven't been there...man, aren't these just pretty?! Don't you want one to just escape into?!



Welcome Home

Find her shop and your own bit of Europe here: http://ohcoco.etsy.com/.



Shadows of Siena

favorite shop friday: sarah clemens clothing

Sarah Clemens makes clothing. Girly, frilly, whimsical, a little traditional and a little raw, and oh so comfortable looking clothing!

And I just can't decide which one is my favorite...













Don't they just make you want to twirl?

Check out more of Sarah's pretty designs at her shop:
http://sarahclemensclothing.etsy.com/

favorite shop friday: mayberry sparrow

I love rubber stamps. I never know what to do with them...but I love them. Today's shop is Mayberry Sparrow and has not only some wonderful handmade rubber stamps, but I just might be able to find real use for these...

custom bookplate stamp

garment tag washing instructions stamps

And these are just so great I have to find a reason to use them...

lucky origami crane stamps

mamaw's sewing machine stamp



But if you're like me and still can't find reasons to use rubber stamps, Corra of Mayberry Sparrow has other great handmade stuff in her shop like...

Fiona's crazy quilt notecards

soda pop can ornaments

If for no other reason to visit Mayberry Sparrow (at http://corrabelle.etsy.com/) at least check out the story behind the name in her shop Profile or read her fun blog! Some people are just born with great creating genius! But that's one reason why her stamps are so great...she let's us do some great creating with a little of her genius!

favorite shop friday: vintage kids books

I've always loved a good children's book. There is nothing better than a delightful story with charming illustrations. Now that I'm expecting and have an even bigger reason to start collecting my favorite children's books I've been finding the desire to not just find the best new books but to scout out all the favorites I was reading as a kid. And this week I found the perfect shop to help me do that: Vintage Kids Books.

A fellow Texas mom finds vintage children's books you remember and love and many you wish you had. Then passes the chance for you to buy them at super deals.

I can't wait for my baby to be able to read Mouse Soup (by the great Arnold Lobel) all by himself which I read through I don't how many times as I was learning to read.

I still remember exactly where all the Nancy Drew books were in my town library growing up...it was the first shelf I went to when we took our family trips to the library. You better believe I want a daughter of mine is going to get the chance to solve mysteries with Nancy and George with their classic 1950s covers.

And then there are the books I never had but I can't imagine would not be cool to have...like this 1958 book on space travel...written before anyone was even traveling through space!

Vintage Kids Books is filled with great books for kids waiting to be discovered and re-discovered and you'll find it at http://vintagekidsbooks.etsy.com/. Plus this shop has a great blog, http://www.vintagechildrensbooksmykidloves.com/, where you can keep up with the latest book finds and reviews of tons of great vintage books.

Now go read a book!

favorite shop friday: mister rob

Today I bring you the delightfully wonderful work of Mister Rob!

Mr. Rob Ryan has a wonderful little shop filled with the most wonderful tiles, screenprints and lasercuts from his UK studio.

The skill involved in his work is impressive enough, but it's the simple imagination that goes into his designs that make him unique...

These are words and images I would like to invite into my world! Invite them into yours at http://misterrob.etsy.com/.

favorite shop friday: la belle fairy

I've just finished reading some books written in a Victorian fashion with much talk of cravats and petticoats and waistcoats and corsets and so I've been in a lady-like Victorian kind of mood and began eyeing what corsets could be found on Etsy. I've found the funnest shop filled with pretty corsets prefect for when I'm in these period piece kind of moods!

La Belle Fairy is your one-stop shopping for all your cinching, boning, lacing, flattering figure needs!



Such pretty shapes...



Such soft satins...



Such romance and femininity...



So much fun!

And don't worry about fit...these corsets are custom made in Canada to fit your figure!

Of course you need a corset! Find your perfect figure at http://labellefairy.etsy.com/!