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!

PikaPackage: The time is now

We've already established that I've been neglecting my blogging duties lately, but it's even more aggrevious because I've had some very exciting news to share: I am participating in this month's PikaPackage! I can't believe I not only didn't share this with you a week ago like I should have, but that I also forgot to tell you about it yesterday! Oops. Anyway, I contributed original linoprints and some of linoprint buttons. I'm really excited to be in the company of some really wonderful artists like Elise of Argyle Whale, Shelby Healy, Julia Pott, and Gracia + Louise, among many others. There are 39 contributed artists this round! The driver of this whole thing is the lovely Amy, if you haven't had a chance to check out her blog PikaLand, do it right now! It's full of lovely art. Oh, and if you'd like to buy your own pikapackage, why you can do so by clicking right here. And guess what? Two dollars from every sale go to Amnesty International.

mel

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

Walking Weekend

Erin and I unknowingly walked four miles on Saturday! This (above) is the new wallet I picked up on our travels. It is a Betsy Walton design by Poketo and I got it at Rare Device. Poketo makes so many awesome wallets with so many awesome artists, it was really really difficult to decide which one I wanted. I decided on this one because I've been lusting after Betsy Walton's work in her etsy shop for a while now, so I figured this would be a gateway of sorts. Soon I'll be be snapping up her prints, I'm sure. In fact, they had some at rare device, and now I'm kind of hitting myself for not buying one. I'm hitting myself for not buying a bunch of prints they had there actually, I really need to make a trip back soon.

Another place we hit up on Saturday that I need to get back to stat is Little Otsu. I think what was going was it was super hot on Saturday, I was walking around, getting all sweaty and I wasn't thinking straight enough to know that I wanted to buy buy buy everything they had! They collaborate with artists to make awesome exclusive to them items like calendars with Jennie Smith, adorable planners with Martine Workman, and this genius film diary (want it!). Of course they are also stocked with tons and tons of sweet stationary and notebooks and pins and postcards and wallets...oh, and right now they are offering free shipping on orders over $25 on their website! That's a pretty good deal. Be sure to check out their fun blog too.

The only downer on Saturday was that we didn't make it to the Curiosity Shoppe because they were closing early, but we did get to drool a little over the window display, which was all weaving. They were showing a portable loom like the one in Craft that I've been using, but instead of paper it was made out of what looked like acrylic. Needless to say I am aching to get in there and buy that! Luckily, Curiosity Shoppe is practically next door to Little Otsu, so it will be very easy for me to visit both next weekend. See you there!

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

Finally Friday

The tassle-eared squirrel. So so cute. In the shop now.

I am pleased as punch that it is friday. This has been an unpalatably long week. But now it is over and it is the weekend! Well, nearly anyway. I have vague plans this weekend to go through my wardrobe; I purchased a bunch of new clothes and shoes over the course of the last couple weeks and I really need to weed out some items to make room. My closet is an absolute mess, it's embarrassing.

Also on my plate for this weekend; barbeque with Steve's family (yum) and Pineapple Express tomorrow at the bargain show! And lots of maxin' and relaxin', cuz that's how I do.

Have a really beautiful friday!

mel

Shoes Shoes Shoes

I am a big time shoes person. I love love love shoes. Always have. I am super excited because I know I am receiving some really awesome shoes as birthday gifts. I am getting antsy with anticipation and have shoes on the brain, so I decided to do a little "safe" Etsy browsing. I say safe because I was browsing vintage shoes and since I have ginormous (size 10 wide) feet, there is no danger of me finding anything I could actually wear. Instead I can just lust after these beauties. As you can tell from the photos above, my tastes run the gamut of styles, but I am drawn to pumps and would say the overlying theme is "funky." Listing info below.
From L to R:
Row 1: Carved Leaf Wedge, Crochet Top - from vintageitville size 7 (10 inches long);
Palizzio Grey Suede peeptoe - from Lively size 7.5 (2.5 inch heel)
Corsiua Leather 1980s Electric Pink Kitten Heels - from jessjamesjake size 8.5 M
Criss Cross Peep Toe Teal - from cookiesandcreme estimated size 5.5-6 (marked 6, 9.5 inches long, 3 inches wide, 3 inch heel)

Row 2: Nike Sneakers Palettes / Graffiti Court Force - from saviourself size 8
Leather and Shoestring Huarache Sandals - from nstylevintage size 7 M (9.5 inches long, 3.25 inches wide)
Pastel Patchwork 1960s shoes - from mysweetiepiepie size 8 (9.5 inches long, 3 inches wide, 1.75 inch heel)
Saks Fifth Ave Gray Bow Heels - from vintagerevolver estimated size 9-10 (marked 10 AA, 10.75 inches long, 3 inches wide, 2 inch heel)

Row 3: Woven Brazilian Leather Pink Flats - from MariesVintage size 8
Mustard Yellow Dominic Romano Heels - from funkyfrugalfashions size 8.5 (10.5 inches long, 3 inches wide)
Bright Blue and White Shoes - from GreyBrocket size 7
Taupe Bow Detail Pumps - from NikitaJade size 8.5 (9.5 inches long, 3 inches wide, 3 inch heel)

mel

Summer = Presents for You

First, I have to share the present I bought for myself.

I bought it in the Modish shop's big closing sale and it arrived in the mail yesterday! Isn't it cute! I can't wait to wear it, I almost did today but I don't really want to wear it to work. You can get one too, or loads of other really adorable brooches, at the allira.com shop.

Okay, on to the present for you! I decided, since today is the first day of July, and July is my birthday month and all and I will be getting loads of beautiful sandals and other nice presents, it's only fair that I should give a gift to someone else. So, I am having my first blog giveaway. One of you lovely commenters on this post will receive your choice of one of my spirograph notebooks, like this one:

That's right, dudes, you get to choose! So, just leave a comment on this post, say something nice, and at the end of this patriotic week, I will randomly choose a winner!

Good luck!

mel

JFK

Here's another short post; I just had to share this awesome find with you. These are plastic John F. Kennedy busts that also happen to be pencil sharpeners. Wow, right? I found these at SCRAP on Saturday, they had a bunch so I grabbed lots. I'm keeping a couple, but the rest I'm going to be listing on Etsy, so if you've always wanted a pencil sharpener in the shape of a dead president's head, you know where to go.

mel

ps - I did a little internet research this morning and found out that these babies were made in 1965. Cool, they're vintage!

Too Much Excitement!

yes yes yes! i am getting dark brown book tape! I am so psyched.

Markers

I think I mentioned before that I was using my prismacolor markers to make my spirograph notebooks, and that it was ruining the tips on the markers. I was bummed because prismacolor markers are a bit expensive, and so I was looking for some other way to achieve the same results. My first thought was just to get a few sets of Crayola markers and call it a day, but then I was thinking about the importance of the ink being waterproof. The covers of the notebooks are made of bristol board, which certainly is not waterproof (though it does stand up to water rather valiantly), but still I would want the design to remain unchanged it someone were to, say, get a drop of water on their notebook. So waterproof markers are a must. But which waterproof markers? The first answer is Sharpie.

We have here Sharpie retractable fine tip markers, which have the sort of tip I'm looking for, but a rather limited range of colors, and they still run about 2 bucks each.

Here's a classic, sharpie fine point. This may be the one, but I am a little concerned that tip is a bit to big for the spirograph. But these are only 99 cents if you buy them individually, and they come in about 30 colors. And you can get a set of 29 for $27.99. Sounds pretty tempting right now.

I've never heard of Artline, but their Twin Nib Markers come in a set of the above 8 colors for $7.99 The colors are a little blah though.

Ah, Pentel, the marker of my youth. When I was in elementary school you were so cool if you had a set of these in their yellow carrying case. I wanted them so bad! I've bought them a couple time as an adult, and they did not disappoint. Their nibs are about the perfect size for this project, they come in tons of colors and a 36 marker set is only $18.99. The drawback? Not waterproof, y'all.

And so we come back to prismacolor. Well, after my exhaustive research (ha ha) I think I'm going to try out some sharpies (since I've got some at home already), and test how the pentechs hold up to being dripped on. But I very well may stick to prismacolors...they're on sale right now anyway!
mel

For Erin, pt 2

Hey Erin, have you heard about this? Check it out!

{CLICK HERE!!!!}

Lotta

This was the scene yesterday evening at Craft Gym. My lovely and amazing pal Erin and I dropped in for the launch party for Lotta Jansdotter's new book, and I meant to take a bunch more pictures but I got overwhelmed by all the folks who were also there. It was super crowded! But it was fun; it was kind of a crafting party, they had a long table set up with inks and brushes and stamps and stencils. I enjoyed watching the other people there making lovely designs on their muslin swatches while I waited for a seat to open up. We got to talk to Lotta for just a second, she came over for a bit to give us some pointers on printing. She was really lovely and I was smitten with her accent (she's Scandanavian) and her outfit (she had the cutest sandals). Overall it was a very neat experience and I'm glad I was able to go. Here are some pictures of my printing that I took when I got home.
This was my first try, it's a little muddled.
And this is my second, it's more minimalistic, which was more keeping in the spirit of Lotta's work, I think. I like both of them though. I know Erin took more pictures than I did, so maybe she'll share some with me so you can have some better examples of what was coming out of the party. Erin's swatch in particular turned out quite lovely.

Actually, Erin and I had quite the full day yesterday; we hit up three of my favorite SF spots: SCRAP, Mission Pie Shop and Philz Coffee, and we eventually ended up at Target, where I was able to purchase a Spirograph! So exciting! I've been thinking about getting one for a little while now. Here are some of my first tries with it:

Aren't they purty? I did these with my PrismaColor markers and I love how the colors came out, but the process really ruins the tips of the markers, which is such a bummer. I tried some with colored pencil, and those turned out nice too, I just don't have very nice colors of colored pencil right now. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with the spirograph, but it's fun just playing around with it for now.
All right, I'm going to leave you today with a sneak peak of something that will be popping up in the ol' store soon. Enjoy!
mel

Sweater Weather

Luckily for me, San Francisco is pretty much sweater weather all year long. I say luckily because I love cardigans. They are probably my favorite article of clothing. At least right up there with T-Shirts. And nothing goes better with a cardigan than a cute T-Shirt! Since I am always on the lookout for cute little sweaters, I was searching Etsy yesterday and I found some really nice pieces that I thought I would share with y'all. This first one is from the shop of BossaNovaBaby, which is chock full of adorably screenprinted clothes like this baby pink cardigan. I love the color and I love the embroidery. I also love that the Virgin of Guadalupe sits between your shoulder blades; I like decorations of the upper backs of shirts.

I like the sportiness of this Cosby Cardigan from chinedesigns. And, of course, you gotta love the crest. I am unabashedly one of those girls who shops in the men's discount section and steals clothes from her boyfriend, but if you're not one of those girls, they also offer a similar sweater made for the ladies here.

Regular readers may recognize the work of Fur Parade, one of my favorite favorite Etsy sellers. Here we have their totally awesome Ram's Head Vintage Sweater. Orange is one of those colors that I don't wear too often and that I think a lot of people are a little scared of, but really looks great on most.Here is a gorgeous little sweater from a Jubilant Collective, who says that this was handmade by her grandmother (and who, btw and speaking of orange, is wearing a Boy Scout Tiger shirt much like one I used to rock). I imagine it is pretty light, which makes it perfect as a little summer coverup.
Last, we have this fun little number from postlapsaria. I am totally digging the grey leopard print, and the juxtaposition of the retro ladylike color and cut with the kind of SoCal punk rockabilly pattern. Not usually my style, but there's just something about the combo that I like.

Here's hoping I can score some awesome finds like these at my local thrift store...but I doubt it.

mel

Etsy Find of the Day

Check it out! I found an awesome new shop on Etsy today that I am super excited about (even though I am on a break from buying things right now). It is called psarokokalo (which apparently means fishbone in Greek) and they have a bunch of cute stuff, like adorable little fingerpuppets, but what I'm all worked up about are these amazing necklaces.

Wowsers, right, they are awesome! I am so taken with them. According to psarokokalo's description, the plastic pieces were collected from the sea at Rhodes Island in the summer of 2006, and I feel like that totally comes through in the necklaces. They seem to ooze the essence of summer and the sea. Oh, and the best part? They are totally on sale right now! And (in my opinion) shipping is ridiculously cheap, considering psarokokalo is located in Athens, Greece. So, yeah, I'd suggest jumping on this opportunity while I am still under my self-imposed shopping embargo.

-mel

Fuzzy Notebooks

Friday night I ended up home all alone, which is the perfect set up for one of two things to happen; either I order takeout, burrow into the couch and watch degrassi and eat donuts all night, or I am super-productive superwoman. Luckily, this time the latter situation was the winner, and I tucked into a feast of bookmaking. I'd bought a bunch of felt rectangles a couple years ago with grand ideas to make a stuffed book about dinosaurs, but that never came to fruition, so I've been trying to come up with ways I can use all of it, and I came up with the idea of using them for notebook covers. I am pretty happy with my first attempts, so happy in fact, that they ended up in my etsy shop! Here are some pictures

Aren't they cute? I used some buttons that I had leftover from another project (knit ipod covers for my sisters a couple Christmases ago) because I know how to sew buttons. You should be able to see in the pictures that the stitches are far from even; I did all the sewing by hand and I don't sew, that's why it looks like that. I like it though, I think it works with the materials to give it a kind of "I made this in my kindergarten craft corner" look. Which is kind of what I was going for. I wish I could have used some of that gigantic yarn they always have in kindergarten classes. Remember that stuff? You probably have to buy it from teacher supply stores. I should get some, it would be fun to make necklaces with. Anyway, I'm rambling again. Right, the books are in the shop, check 'em out when you get a chance. A bunch more books will be popping up in there in the next few days, along with the drawings that I shared in the last post (plus more drawings that haven't been seen yet). Very exciting! I'm also hoping to have some more etsy artist interviews soon, there are a couple shops that I've been crushing on hard, I just need to get around to contacting the folks behind them, so look for those within the next couple weeks.

Oh, and I just realized that I haven't talked about my mom's shop on here yet! My mom is a real hand at the knitting needles and the crochet hook. She's been selling her gorgeous scarves at the elementary school she works at for a while now and I finally convinced her to get on etsy, and now she is! Check out some of the pictures (taken by me, featuring my mom and my sisters)

Totes cute, right?!? If you need a scarf, this is the place for you to go, I promise. The shop name is JillRoska and she has 11 scarves up in the shop now, including the ones pictured here, but she is a crazy prolific knitter, and I know she has baskets and baskets full of yarn just waiting to be made into something perfect for you. She does custom orders too! Seriously, you need to peep it right now!

mel