shim and sons

you must check out shim and sons' beautiful blog. it's full of pretty pictures and loads of their gorgeous work. you can buy it here. isn't it pretty?

flavor paper

flavor paper makes the most fantastic (and generally outrageous) wallpapers.

wallpaper is back in style, you know.

all of their paper is hand screened. and, i shit you not, they make scratch & sniff paper. i am totally not kidding.

even better, a portion of proceeds (from the scratch & sniff paper) goes the the human rights campaign.

way cool.

brag post

i just have to do a little bragging. please indulge me.

when mr. m left me to head west, it was for a job shooting for the arizona republic's magazines in phoenix. he has been doing some really fabulous work lately, and i wanted to share!

check out more here.

precious meshes

check out the gorgeous work of precious meshes, who creates jewelry by actually crocheting the metals. what a cool concept! here's how she describes it:

"Each piece is stitched by hand out of metal, using spools of wire and ordinary crochet hooks. All metal is either fine silver, sterling silver or 14k goldfill."

sweet.

the small object (blog!)

sarah of the small object makes the coolest tiny things. love them! i just discovered her blog today, and wanted to share it with you. but be sure to check out her shop, too!

kristen doran design

i've long admired the work of kristen doran (and read her blog!) so i thought it was high time i posted about her lovely textiles.

i love them all, but especially sweet are her new ladybug designs. enjoy!

necklace love

love these necklaces! i say you can never have too many, right mom? some day i aspire to have a jewelry drawer like you. . .

how striking! by green leaf and owl.

need a little luck in you life? by emily elizabeth jewelry.

this is so lovely! by lauren haupt.

so cute! by kelly lynn raspa.

love this silhouette! by lucky me beads.

tick tock

i love these wall clocks by decoylab design studio. what a great modern twist on the cuckoo clock!

purse lust

i think i'm craving a new handbag. check out this lovely collection, all on my want list!


this pretty clutch is by LouLouBell.


uniques makes gorgeous upcycled bags. she says "Upcycling is the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value." hooray!


pocket carnival makes super cute clutches and coin purses.



anisa of makool has opened an etsy shop, and has some adorable bags for sale.

she also has some gorgeous, unique bags on the makool site.




i LOVE this polka dot clutch by luii. (polka dots, lobo!) she also has a lovely blog.


enju modern & handmade has some fun bags. i recognize that fabric!



i love this clutch by the lonely octopus. it's made of paper and vinyl! cute!

christmas loot

i had a rather successful haul this christmas, from a crafty perspective.

my lovely cousin kelli and her new (and great!) husband nick got me amy butler's fabulous in stitches book. there are some super great projects in it that i can't wait to try.


my grandpa (via my mom) gave me a neat felting book by gillian harris, complete feltmaking. i have wanted to try this, and now i'll know how!


my aunt teri mailed me (from florida) jenny hart's book, sublime stitching. i can't wait to lean to properly embroider! (i've been making it up so far...)


my baby sister, knowing all about my love affair with etsy, gave me some gorgeous fabrics. i'll have to think of something special to make with them. thanks lobo!

(from left: katrina kaye, pinkalmond supplies, and karaku tokyo)

those things are all so lovely, thank you so much everyone!

BUT, are you ready for the piece de resistance (from mom and dad)?



voila!

holy crapola! a computerized sewing machine! i had to get out the instruction manual just to load the bobbin and top thread. it may take some getting used to, but i think i may grow to like this machine.

i was a little torn, and still am, about getting a new machine, because the one i was working on was my grandmother's, who i never got a chance to know as she died right after i was born. i think i will still use the old machine (after it has a much needed tune-up) but will keep the new one too, for more precision work.

thanks mom and dad! you're the best!

for the new year

mr. m says it is not even christmas yet and i shouldn't be talking about the new year, but if you want to have a fashionable calendar on your desk when you return to work, you need to order now!

here's a list of some truly lovely calendars.

enjoy!


cindy jaswal of cedarseven


don't press me (an omaha etsian!)



joom also has lovely pillows



linda and harriett (check out their cute piggy pattern!)



sure as blue's lovely objectification calendar



i love all of susy jack's work!



vanessa kimball has lots of lovely paper goods. (and a lovely blog!)

amy carol gift tags

i love amy carol! i have her book and i read her blog, angry chicken. she does such great stuff, so i wasn't surprised when i loved these gift tags she posted on her site. she even included a pdf so you can print them out and put them on all your holiday gifts!

so hilarious!


hint - click on the picture to see it larger!

udder

udder makes really adorably whimsical critters. i would love to give one a home. so cute!

she also has a great blog!

brooke medlin

i am IN LOVE with brooke medlin's delicate, feminine, and just darn pretty jewelry. her new line of delicato rings are divine!

gerri jo

i am really loving the super cute work of gerri jo. so adorable! each piece is hand made (of course!)

right now, gerri jo is offering free shipping (10% off an international order) for the 100th item sold in her shop. if you want this discount, you'd better hurry, because she's at 99!

check out these lovelies:

how about orange

i've been reading the how about orange blog for quite some time now. jessica, a talented graphic designer, posts some really lovely stuff, and often includes free tutorials. fabulous!

she recently posted these cute ornaments, and kindly included, you guessed it, free tutorials!

i love these made of foam, which could easily be adapted to my favorite medium, felt. get the template here.

i also love these paper ornaments she posted yesterday. love the orange! get the template here (and on her blog too, of course!)

a little hut

i stumbled across the blog of a little hut this afternoon, and instantly bookmarked it.

i love the cut paper illustrations that are for sale in her shop. they have really great, clean lines and simple colors that marvelously show off the intricate work. fabulous!






i also love this idea for a gift tag. i have long wrapped gifts in craft paper, and i think this idea is better than using a plain old ribbon.

cute, don't you think?

kup kup

go take a look at the fanciful textile artwork by kup kup. she creates "small artworks made with care."

so adorable! i really can't stop looking at it, and had a really hard deciding which pictures to post. i love it all!

paper stars

you have to check out these stunningly intricate paper stars by clandestinearts. here's what she says about them:

"I'm making German Christmas Stars. These beautiful ornaments have their origins in the magical centuries-old Christmas markets of Germany. . . Each star is carefully folded from paper and special foils and cut by hand into intricate designs."

wow. color me impressed! i have a hard enough time making a symmetrical snowflake, and, although all snowflakes are supposed to be different, mine always end up looking lumpily similar.

clandestinearts muct have excelled in the scissor department in kindergarten. check out her work!

haru wreaths

i would love to have one of these fabulous paper wreaths by haru. stunning!

she uses vintage sheet music and paper from vintage books to create them. they would be great for the holiday season, but could totally be left up year-round. check it out!