Modish

I want a dolly, mommy!

Simple Jessi makes these dolls...the kind of dolls that make me wish I was a little girl again so I could play with them all day, invent stories, build them a little house.  What kind of drama would they get themselves into?  Would Ulf, the nature loving but lonely Oregon park ranger finally find love with Marisol, the long haired girl who likes to take long walks in tall grass?  Would Ilona, the scooter riding math whiz, finally get over her shyness enough to ask out her crush Juan, her smooth talking salsa dancing instructor who wears a bright orange tie?

With such attention to detail (and cooler clothes than I have, hey!) adorable is just not enough to describe how awesome I think these dolls are.  Can adults play too?  Pretty please?  Find more little people, along with teddy bears and birdies too, at Simple Jessi!

Giveaway winners and fun finds!

Remember that huge giveaway that took place last week?  Well two ladies have won it all (lucky ducks): Jennifer from Irvine, CA and Katie from Houston, TX!  Congrats ladies!  I hope you enjoy all your goodies!  And thank you thank you to evvvvvvveryone who entered, I do appreciate it so!  And an extra special thank you to all those talented folks who contributed goodies!  Here are a few of my favorite finds from some of the contributors this month:

Sixhours Photography caught my eye right away with their key photo, but take a look at these other incredible photos from their shop!

And Pattern & Paw (the newly named Lindsay Designs which you may know of) is filled with fun collars and leashes for cats and dogs of every size...I'm thinkin' my kitties would look pretty cute in one of these!

I'm also liking this lovely jewelry from A Pretty Rock- Yazmin, the designer behind the scenes, donated LOTS of pairs of earrings to the giveaway, so you can look forward to having the chance to win some for months to come!

Hanging cute out to dry

I was searching etsy for some cute clothespins to hang photos on, and I came across these clothespin dolls by lollipop workshop that just stole my heart!

From red-headed donut queens (how do they know me so well?) to blond teacher's pets, you're sure to find a little lady that speaks to you.  They'd be great birthday gifts, cake toppers or day at the office pick-me-uppers!  Find the whole gang at lollipop workshop!

Oh kitteh...

I don't normally features stuff for pets, but I just LOVE this cat mat, perfect for a little cat nap!

Creative and contemporary, this cool cat mat is handmade from industrial grey felt.  Spread some catnip on it and your furry friend will be much obliged.  By Elastic, Co.

For you

A gift that's really special deserves an equally special gift tag, or in this case, gift cake!  Check out these delectably adorable handcrafted cake pins:

Made from polymer clay, they each come with a little "for you" tag and would make a lovely topper on a gift for any lovely lady in your life!  Great for bride's and bridesmaid's gifts, extra special birthday gifts, anniversaries and more!  Delicate and delicious looking, find them at Pukashell, along with some also adorable Amigurumi crocheted desserts!

Oh Deers

This is the very last of what was an awesome new fabric design by Aunty Cookie!  Hand-printed by miss Cookie herself, Shannon Lamden, this cool black and white print is too hip to be square.

Featuring wonderful little fawns in a variety of positions, all fun of course, this fabric is, in the words of its creator, "so like, totally limited edition man."  So limited in fact that this is the last of it!  Get it while it's hot!  And if you miss out, may you find solace in her whimsical drawings and keep up on when her next totally limited edition fabric will be released on her blog, Aunty Cookie!

Delicious and nutritious?

Well actually, neither, as these cupcakes aren't edible and certainly wouldn't be good for you to try.  But they are darn cute and as little pincushions, they're handy too!  They'd make a delectable addition for any crafting area iced with corduroy and felt with pearly pin sprinkles. 

Handmade and one-of-a-kind, find them only at Patchwork Pottery!

A little cushion

Hey all you little crafty mavens, you need a comfy cushion to stick all those loose pins in?  Take a peek at these super cute little pincushions by White Paint and Ribbons made from vintage fabrics, ric-rac, buttons and loads of colorful fun.  They'll help inspire you to actually finish your designs so you can place your pins back into their welcoming little home.  Find more cushions for your pushpins and pretty bags at White Paint and Ribbons! 

Almost ready for Oprah's bookclub

Ahhh!  Work is driving me crazy today!  Hopefully I'll soon be "creatively self employed!" =)  So, sorry for the delay, but here's some cute things to make up for it!  Not that I have any time to read these days, but perhaps these lovely bookmarks will encourage me to once again work a reading hour into my day, or at least my week!  Supposedly these bookmarks even help you read faster and better understand metaphors, wow!  See what a little bit of pretty can do?
Find them at ruby-crowned kinglette along with cute dolls, lavendar sachets and ditty bags!

Doll up your dashboard

Poor neglected dashboard, you just get no love.  You're covered in dust and strange grime, often forgotten during the cleaning regime.  You're pretty much useless, unable to support any objects due to your slight slant.  You're simply there to extend the steering wheel out so I don't bump my head on the oh so aerodynamically inclined windshield.  Well, dashboard, thank you for your selfless service to, well, I'm not sure what.  I have a present for you.
Meet Dolly.  She's soft, she's colorful, shaped like delicious fruit and smells good (not that you smell bad or anything, no no... ahem.)  Plus, she's made just for you!  See dashboard?  You won't be neglected anymore...not with jek in the box's lovely Dollies around!

Par-tay time?

Considering having a Halloween party but not quite sure?  Well, these cute little party favor boxes from the newly re-opened DeMarco Designs may just make your mind up!   
They'd be perfect party favors for a fun kiddy haunted house or devilishly decadent adult party alike!  Fill them with candy, fake eyeballs and creepy crawlies to leave your guests feeling welcomed and grossed out at the same time, it's the Halloween way!  Take a look at these in detail at DeMarco Designs, along with their cute cards and stationery sets. 

Alien tea nibs?

Ok.  So, no I haven't tried these out personally but I had to write about them because a) they're one of the strangest looking things I've ever seen and b) I'd really like to try them and am hoping that I'll get a free sample or something?  Eh?   
So what are these little alien creatures?  Well, they're a very special sort of loose leaf tea- they're actually green tea leaves hand rolled into little pearls.  They're fragranced with jasmine (my favorite tea flavor!) and they start to unfurl while infusing.  That's a sight to be seen, I'm sure!  Plus, they're a little easier to deal with than loose leaf tea- just drop a few in a glass, pour in hot water, watch 'em uncurl and remove the leaves!  Voila!  Find these and other enticing and interesting teas and infusions at UK based leaf.  Not only is leaf hip, they're also generous and donate 10% of all profits to charity (as well as donate their teas to lowly little writers in Reno.  Uh, right?)

L is for Likey

I like innovation, I like education and when you put the two together, cool things can happen, like these Mid-Century Modern Alphabet flashcards.  As a nerdy little only child I was addicted to flashcards and found it fun to quiz myself (not like there was anyone else around to quiz me, but that's another lonely little tale.)  I had math cards, alphabet cards, spelling and vocabulary cards.  They were fun, really, I swear.  Just like writing this blog is fun now, finding myself constantly on the brink of learning something new was exciting and always fulfilling.  That's why I found myself drawn to these awesome flashcards by Greg Chinn of Jargon Boy.  Created as an early art education for his 3 year old daughter, Greg designed these flashcards that can help educate children and adults alike, and are just plain cool to look at.
Aside from the fact that I think M should be for Modish (ahem), these flashcards are a great 26 step introduction of modern art and design.  Check out each letter at Jargon Boy.  Who knows?  You may just learn something.

The Artmaster!

Remember the viewmasters from your childhood?  I wonder if I still have mine in a closet somewhere...I had tons of viewmaster stories, from Sesame Street to the Carebears to Barbie goes to a pool party!  Yeah!  They were great!  But I haven't even thought about them for probably, oh, 20 years?  Until I found the Vladmaster.  These are so rad!  Vladamir, a Portland res (I'm comin'!  I hope!) and filmmaker, has re-vamped the loveable viewmaster of our pasts into crazy creative art pieces called Vladmasters.  They each tell a different tale, like this Fear & Trembling set which is about a dinner party seen through the eyes of someone "who probably shouldn't have come," and really, reallllly wants to get the heck outta there.  It's even set to a soundtrack that'll cue you as to when to switch slides.  Designed, photographed and hand-assembled by Vladamir, these Vladmasters are one of the most creative art pieces I've seen in quite a long time.  Can't find your old viewmaster viewer?  Don't fret, you can purchase one from Vladmaster for 5 bucks.  Enjoy the show!   

Site of the week: Snapcrafty

Snapcrafty is special in that it offers covetable items for indie shoppers and crafters alike!  Part shop, part supply store, it has original jewelry and accessories, as well as spinning fiber and beads.  Huh?  Yup, Sandra, the brains behind the operation, has created a new genre of indie shop altogether.  And it seems to have gotten her recognized, as her work has been seen gracing the pages of N.E.E.T. (my favorite!), won the Fredflare Next Big Thing contest, and was in a recent issue of Vogue's Knit1 magazine.  Way to go Sandra!  There's too much to love at Snapcrafty, but I'll attempt to cut it down and show you some of my favorite standouts:

Her lush vintage flower and vintage lucite apple necklaces are gorgeous:

These vintage hairpins and crafty patches are unique:

And for the crafters, there's hand-dyed spinning fiber and vintage beads! 

Whether you're looking to buy something pretty, or create something pretty, you can find what you need at Snapcrafty.  Stop on by and give Sandra a hello before she becomes too famous to write you back =).