A Whirlwind of Emotion

Kir Royal, originally uploaded by savor_soaps.

The title pretty much says it all. That's kind of how it's been since my last post. I was elated then sad then sick sick sick. I'm finally starting to get better, yay! Just in time for the weekend! I'm going to make sure I won't (ahem) overindulge again this weekend and weaken my immune system making me susceptible to stupid germs. And I don't want to talk about this too much, mostly because it makes me a little teary, but guys, I am really really sad about the passage of prop 8. There are rallies all over the country tomorrow to speak out against it, and I'm hoping that there can be some increased positive awareness of the cause so that the next time around, we can switch up the 52 to 48 ratio.

One thing that did make me very happy this week was the arrival of a package from savor. I've thought about writing a blog post on savor for a long time, but for some reason am only getting around to it now. So if you're just now learning about this amazing shop, I'm sorry for procrastinating because I know you will want to snap up everything in stock. Savor is Lisa Salamida, and she makes the most amazing soaps known to man. Seriously. They are so delicious smelling and looking. In fact, Steve once almost ate one of her soaps because he thought it was a cookie, but he stopped himself (good thinking Steve). When I received my package this week the delicious fragrance of creme brulee wafting out of the cardboard was making me salivate. I was burying my nose in the packing peanuts! Yes, embarrassing but true.

I was wary to shop Savor at first, partly because her product photos are so gorgeous, I was worried I would be let down. Well, I had no reason to worry, everything is as good as it looks. If you want a mega pick me up for your morning shower, head to savor. I can recommend from experience Kir Royal (pictured above), tropical style Hawaiian black sea salt, sex appeal and creme brulee sugar scrub. I was trying to decide what my next savor purchase would be, I had it narrowed down to a choice between raspberry walnut creme fraiche and caramel apple creme fraiche, but when I was checking out the savor shop before writing this post, I had a total impulse moment and snatched up a pound of soap bits. I love these kinds of variety packs, miscast or weird colored pieces of soap, ends or messups. So, the creme fraiches will have to wait. At least, for as long as I can, which probably won't be that long.

mel

rar!

My little sister is in New York right now! That's where she snapped the awesome photo you see above. I'm so jealous. But hey, even though I'm not there, I can shop like I am! So here are some picks I found using Etsy's shop local tool.

This purse from pesky cat designs is so cute! And the color is gorgeous.

Squee! The cuteness of this little owl family from ManiMina is too too!

I feel like maybe I've shared this fern leaf bangle from EmilyEJewelry before, but I can't help it, I think it's great.

This sweet sweater from theAnecdotes looks so warm and cuddly...I wish they had it in an adult size!

I'm loving the warm colors in Gwen Meyerson's work.

mel

Trendy

Well, I finally did it. I jumped on the fascinator bandwagon. I've been pondering it for a while, since my ever awesome pal Erin brought my attention to a fetching one worn by the femme fatale in the movie Brick, and recently they have been popping up everywhere, all over the blogosphere and, of course, on Kenley on Project Runway. I've been dragging my feet because I am not normally one to accessorize and my overall look is pretty low-key so I was worried I might clash. But Erin counseled me through my doubts yesterday and today I bought the above pictured feathered headband from victorygarden (a San Francisco shop, woo hoo!). I'll let you know how it goes.
Also! I found myself another food related blog; LifeFlix (though at the moment it looks a little more like a moving/new house blog). Lots of awesome recipes, I'm going to have to try this one right away. What else is awesome? The author of LifeFlix, Marichelle not only has a lovely name but also writes another lovely blog; hearthandmade! I'm sure you know that one, so you know you'll be getting into a good thing with LifeFlix, you don't just have to take my word for it!

mel

Etsy Finds: Replicca

Patchwork the Second by replicca

This morning I logged on to Etsy and surfed over to the front page to see what was going on. I was scanning the treasury when an item by replicca caught my eye. I thought to myself, "Hey, I know that shop! And I like it!" (you may recall that I posted one of her items here a few days ago). So I clicked through to the main shop and, as I was browsing her items I realized that I hadn't added replicca as a favorite shop. And I felt kinda stupid, because Hello, EVERYTHING IN REBECCA'S SHOP IS AWESOME! Yeah, sorry to be so forceful, but I really love these clothes! They are adorable and modern and feminine and sporty and colorful and bold and .... well, just see for yourself.

Giant Hoods are Good

Ruffle My Shoulders Longer

Slouchy Wonderful

Ruffle Ruffle Bow

As if that weren't enough, Rebecca also makes these adorable pulse protectors out of fabric remnants. They look super hip and they have pockets, which seems so handy. You want a peek? Ok, if you insist:

Yes, they are cute and functional and affordable...I think I just convinced myself to buy one. And I hope I've convinced you to take a peek at replicca! Don't forget that it's about that time, you know, that time when you might need to do a lot of shopping for a lot of gifts for a lot of people...if you happen to be buying for any fashionistas, I think replicca would be a great place to start.

mel

PS - Oops! I have a bit of a bias for women's clothes, but I'd be remiss if I didn't alert you to the fact that Rebecca also makes great menswear! You and your bf will love it!

ha ha! POUNCED!

So I am truly distraught over my inability to check out the treasuries. It is one of my favorite things to do on Etsy. To console myself I decided to indulge in some serious pouncing. Of course I quickly found loads of awesome undiscovered shops that I cannot wait to share with you.

This Love Birds cut-out card by pocketstudio is so sweet and pretty!

I am loving the over the top old school glamour of the cuffs (like this geometric gold one) by lizncoco.

I am totally digging the colors and lines of Growing Young by JohnStorm.

These pastel fabric bangles by MelissaWarren are totally 80s, but in the good way.

There something I find so appealing about this mixed media piece by ksantiago. It reminds me of the best children's books. Click over to the listing to read the interesting inspiration behind it.

More birds! More works on wood! Butter yellow! Yes, Little Yellow Bird by KimFoxArt is a no brainer for me.

I found a lot to love in the Lighthouse Designs shop, but I think I was most enamored with these El Tango earrings. Gorgeous.

Tomorrow: POUNCED! pt. 2!
mel

Cathy Cahill

Andre by Cathy Cahill

Cathy Cahill is a pretty new shop on etsy (she opened in August), but I am still surprised that she has anything left in her shop because I think her drawings are super wonderful! Right now her shop is full of lovely rabbits like Andre up there, beautifully rendered in pastels and pencil. The colors are just perfect, and I especially love the dreaminess of these little drawings. And they are so so affordable, which is like a dream come true. As soon as I can choose which is my favorite I will be ordering it straightaway, so you should probably get over to her shop fast so you can swoop on your fave! And if you are wanting more of the most adorable drawings you have ever seen in your life, click on over to cathycahill.com.

mel

robayre

Etsy Front Page 9/23/08 robayre, originally uploaded by Etsy Front Pagers.

Hooray, I was featured in an Etsy front page treasury yesterday with one of my mosaic drawings. I was really excited to be in a treasury with some of my very favorite artists like betsy walton, yellena, michelle moode, brandi strickland, heather smith jones, curbside treasure and groundwork; and also to discover some amazing artists I hadn't come across yet, paperwerks, rachel robertson, hells sewing circle and ashmae. If any of these artists are undiscovered by you, click on them right now, I promise you won't regret it. And a big shout out to robayre, the curator of this treasury, who is herself an incredible incredible artists who, I think, really deserves front page recognition because she rocks it out! Thanks!

mel

Purple then blogs

Click on the pictures for totally awesome purples.

Click the links for total weblog awesomeness.

1. Smosch

2. Camilla Engman

3. ungtblod

4. essimar

5. erinzam news

6. The Small Object Steno Pad

7. Paper and Stitch

mel

ps - i just made all those purples into a treasury over here. Click and say something nice!

Etsy Finds - CheapCharlie

I think I mentioned a week or so ago that I had plans to reorganize my wardrobe by getting rid of clothes I didn't wear anymore. Well, I did that, and I was pretty hard on myself about not keeping things that didn't fit or that really just didn't look cute on me no matter how cute they looked on the hanger. And you know what? The result was that I was left with a lot of nice shirts and cardigans. And that's it, they were nice. Nice but super boring. My whole wardrobe was dark blue, gray or black; there were solid colors only, no patterns, and everything was either t-shirt or polo style. I began to fear I was going to look terribly old and square. My first instinct was to run out and start buying armloads of brightly patterned structurally interesting clothes somewhere like H&M. But then I came up with a brilliant idea: why not perk my boring duds up with some quirky brooches? Yeah, I know, I'm a fashion genius. Of course, I found loads of darling brooches, vintage and handmade, on Etsy. I mean simply loads. If you take a look at my favorites on etsy you'll see what I found to be the cream of the crop. My numero uno was cheapcharlie's shop, which was stocked with some absolutely incredible enamel vintage brooches. They are uncirculated deadstock, and so are in excellent condition. Many of the brooches she has for sale still have the tags attached! Bonus, they come in adorable animal shapes (I got a brown swan and an orange and black panda). She has sold a lot of her stock already but she still has plenty of cuteness that I expect will go fast. Better get over there dudes!

Vintage Goat Ram Enamel Brooch (orange)

Top of Post: Vintage Panda Gold Enamel Brooch (BrownBlack)
mel
PS - did I mention that these (and shipping) are insanely affordable? For reals!

Etsy Finds: sonFlower

various feather tote bag by sonFlower

About 5 years ago I purchased what I called an Indian Necklace t-shirt at a thrift store. It was a white crew neck t-shirt with a colorful screenprint at the neck line that was supposed to look like necklaces with a Native American feel; you know, turquoise and feathers and all that. I wore it all the time, I wore it to see Huey Lewis at the California state fair. And then I gave it up. For love. And I don't regret it, exactly...I just miss it. So imagine how excited I was to find sonFlower's etsy shop, and this:

icarus on heathered grey by sonFlower

Not exactly an Indian necklace t-shirt...I think it is definitely classier and might even not make a certain person in my life want to throw up. Here's a nice detail shot:

Yep, I think next payday this will have to be mine. Doesn't the t-shirt look super soft? This grey version of the shirt is actually not available right at this moment, but the same design is on white v-neck tees as well. sonFlower also has some really cool totebags like the one at the top of this post. If I didn't need another bag like I need a hole in the head, I would have snatched that up real quick.

The really cool thing about the sonFlower shop? 15% of proceeds from sales go to the Matthew Shepard Foundation. From sonFlower's profile:

The "Hate Clips Our Wings" collection of shirts focus on the thousands of hate crimes that happen every year. In 2006 5,449 people were attacked because of their race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation and religion. Every feather represents one of those victims. 15% of each shirt's price is donated to The Matthew Shepard Foundation that fights for stricter hate crime laws as well as the equality and acceptance of gay & bisexual youth.

mel

8! 8! 08!

Today is my lucky day! And your lucky day! And, well, supposedly it's everybody's lucky day, because it's 8/8/08 and 8 is, in Chinese culture, the luckiest of lucky numbers. Before I run out to win the lottery, I decided to compile some of the best lucky charms to be found on etsy.

Cool coiled snake ring from Anomaly Jewelry, who says in this listing that snakes were common symbols of luck in ancient jewelry.

A bottle of sparkly lucky stars from kimiko611. Sweet!

This is such a great gift idea, from reillybelle: customized lucky pennies!

This pretty and poppy wallhanging by ebbtides is a lucky double whammy: you get your lucky horseshoe of course, and you also get some good karma because 50% of the purchase price will go to Utah animal shelter Best Friends.

This necklace from pendantflair is the definition of luck. Literally. Not to mention elegantly simple and striking.

I love the rich saturated colors in this photo of the lucky u motel by jkldesign, taken using a method she calls TTV. Click over to the listing for her definition.

Now, which is your lucky number... seven?...

...or thirteen?

Well, lucky you, reiter8 has both on lovely recycled canvas bags.

I adore this lucky paw keychain from astulabee; a cruelty free version of your standard lucky rabbit's foot! It is so adorable.

Catch some luck in this catch-all lucky ceramic tiny text bowl by palomasnest. So lovely.

Let some of your luck rub off on your guests (ha ha, get it?) and use these lucky horseshoe soaps from karenssoaps in your guest bathroom today.

Ok, I'm off to the races! Hope you all have a super lucky day!

mel