Dreamy Wednesday: Pretty things

Some lovely new listings were spotted on Dreamaid this week.
Here's a selection.

I love this doll by Mollys knitted.  In fact, her whole selection is beautiful - perfect toys if you're looking for something traditional, with no hard parts and for a real girly little girl.

These heart charm earrings with purple dragon vein and banded agate by Piggyimp Arts would make a great present.  You know how I love natural semi precious gemstones, and purple is one of Pantone's key colours for 2010 fall.

Very colourful, hand-embroided bag by blueshed crafts.  It's as beautiful inside as it is out - check out the listing to see why.

And lastly, for the person that you thought had everything, and is extremely difficult to buy for, why not try the Bacon and Egg Scarf by The Happy Crocheter?  Truly unique, I think.  Also check out her cheeseburger scarf (yes, you read that right!) and some beautiful cloche hats.

Don't forget to watch out for news of Dreamaid's new sales brochure on their blog and facebook pages.

BESTeam weekly feature: Curry Kay Designs on Etsy

If you need to brighten up your kitchen with a beautiful apron, and fancy some coordinating teatowels, or are after a tote bag to carry your shopping home in an eco-friendly way, then Curry Kay Designs on Etsy is definately the place to be!  Laura from West Hartford is fulfilling her ambition to be her own boss and to let her lifelong creativity flourish here.  Do visit her blog and you'll see Laura is also passionate about recipes and baking - there are some mouthwatering pictures of food there!

So if you're baking you'll need something on-trend to wear.  Laura recently did an interesting blog post which included Pantone's colour forecast for autumn 2010, so I've tried to reflect those colours in the items I've picked to show you how up-to-date Laura's designs are!

Click on any of the pictures to be taken directly to the shop






Laura also has her own palette of colours from which you can select and have custom items made.  That's perfect if you're lucky enough to have a new kitchen you need to coordinate with.  You can see some of the custom orders Laura has sold here.

You can find about more about Laura here:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/CurryKayDesigns
Twitter: @Curry_Kay
Blog: www.currykaydesigns.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/currykaydesigns

Size matters!

 Let's face it - estimating the size of something from an online photo is pretty difficult.  Who hasn't bought something online and then noted that 'it's smaller/bigger than I thought it would be'? I've often done that with jewellery myself.






I've had a couple of requests recently from potential customers asking to see necklaces modelled in real life.  Not surprisingly, considering my ugly mug (!) they didn't make a purchase after seeing the modelled photos.  And I really hate having my photo taken, so that's not a viable option.



I always try to give measurements in my descriptions, both in centimetres and inches but not sure this helps much?








 So I've been trying different ways to show dimensions in photos.  Not sure if any of these are useful, or whether some are misleading, so your views are critical here, please.



Why a golf ball?  I read somewhere that this was one of the only objects which is a consistent size across the world!  Does it speak to you?  Not me.  I wouldn't have been able to tell you the size of a golf ball before the dog obligingly picked this one up for me a few months ago (don't worry, it's been extensively washed since ;-))

Your thoughts, please!

BESTeam weekly feature: Sandyvern on Etsy

It's a pleasure to feature Sandyvern this week, especially as she shares my love of animals and runs a pet sitting service.  If only she weren't many miles away in Stamford, Connecticut, I'd love to use that for Lucca!




Anyway, not content with that skill, she is also an all-round crafter with a beautiful Etsy shop selling traditionally hand-made soaps and bath products, as well as stitch markers and earrings, knitted toys etc. And there's a second shop at Simplysandythings specialising in earrings and charms.

Browsing the shop is a real pleasure, because the soaps and bath bombs are not only made of pure natural ingredients, they also look good too!   Being a child at heart, I've had to pick some of the animal ones ;-)  I reckon you could even get little ones to enjoy washing with these.




The knitting soap would be a great present for a crafter too!



Love the way these bath bombs are presented as flowers as well.  This is scrumptious oatmeal - guess it's best not to eat it, even though it sounds delicious!

These 'soapsicles' are another tempting treat as well.  They really do look good enough to eat!

There's a whole Hogwarts section as well, for those of you who are Harry Potter fans :-)

You can find out more about Sandyvern by visiting the blog at http://theadventuresofsandyvern.blogspot.com

Folksy Friday: Shops you should visit Part Two

Here are some more undiscovered shops nominated by lovely Folksy sellers.  There are links back to some great nominating shops as well.  Enjoy!





1. Laura Groom Jewellery nominated by starsNscars
2. Bear Graphics nominated by amyorangejuice





3. Cinnamon Hill nominated by jkj
4. Stitches by Emmy Lou nominated by Lauras Little Lovelies

Handmade and fabulous...

I've been lucky enough to have my items featured on the Handmade and Fabulous blog twice, thanks to nominations from other Folksy sellers.  The blog choices are made from the Handmade and Fabulous Flickr group, which you can find here.  This week is even better, because I was honoured to be asked to make my own three choices - here they are:

http://fabulouslyhandmade.blogspot.com/2010/08/fabulous-three-on-flickr_11.html

three great handmade sellers there (Charlotte Hupfield Ceramics ,Girly Revolution and Topaz Turtle).

Susie from Lynwood Jewels works so hard on this blog and in featuring other artists that I think her work deserves a bit of a shout too.  I've added links to Lynwood Jewellry on Folksy here even thought Susie and her colleague sell from a number of other venues which you can find out about on their blog.

This is my favourite piece from the shop at the moment - a tribute to Anglo Saxon jewellry, it would make a stunning present for someone with a passion for the past.



These earrings too remind me of something from another time and place.  You can see the craftmanship in all the Lynwood Jewellery treasures.


Not really a surprise to learn the their creations have been featured in Vogue.  This necklace could easily grace the catwalk, I think.





I think it's the sense of flow and movement, and the appeal of the simple geometic shapes in all these pieces which really cross the line between art and jewellery.  What do you think?

BESTeam weekly feature: Moonangelny on Etsy

It's a real pleasure to feature a fellow Etsians who is based in the UK, only a few miles up the road from me in Birmingham.  Us Midlanders should stick together! Moonangelnay is Naomi, a photographer, avid blogger and all-round artistic person.  As well as a really well-stocked shop specialising in stunning photos, ACEOs and photo pendants, Naomi has opened another store on Etsy, BabaMoon, to sell her beautiful baby knits.  With little ones of her own (you can see how cute they are in the photos on her blog), I think Naomi probably qualifies as a supermom!

It's really hard to pick favourites from these images, but I've always had a thing for snow!  This print is amazing colours - greens and blues - wow!

I love this one, too, entitled 'Blush'

And this wandering sheep is so cool, s/he just had to be included

I love the way these images are often of everday things, but shot so as to look just that little bit different, to make you think differently (and think twice) about the art all around us.

You can find about more about this fascinating artist (and shop for baby accessories too!) here

BabaMoon.etsy.com
http://moonangelnay.blogspot.com

Like Marmite?

Sometimes you make something and are convinced it's right!  These amazonite and swirl earrings were like that - an idea you wake up with in the morning and have to try out.

But the couple of people who've seen them had mixed reactions.  Which leads me to the conclusion that these are Marmite earrings - you either love them or you loathe them!

My view is, what's not to like?  The amazonite beads are a beautiful sea-greeny blue with natural inclusions.  The charms look handmade (although I cheated and bought them!), each one unique and delightfully imperfect in a wabi-sabi kind of way. And even though they are long, I would wear in the day with jeans and a T-shirt as well as to a more dressed up occasion with my hair up. (Not that I have a glamorous lifestyle, you understand, walking the dog is usually the most sociable I get in an average week!) 

Also, they sort of remind me of the past - perhaps Etruscan hammered jewelry and the long elegant ear ware you see in paintings and mosaics.  But perhaps that's just me being an old romantic.

So, what do you think?  Please let me know because around the corner is a necklace based on the same principle - although it's square beads and charms so not a match.

Oh, and don't forget to give your views on Marmite too.  Me, I can't get enough!

Showcase Sunday: Bags, bags and some coasters

Two lovely bag shops this Sunday.  I nearly called this post 'Two lovely bag ladies' but realised just in time that might be misinterpreted!

Sim Ja Ta (aka Bags of Swank) makes these lovely animal inspired bags, as well as some crazy loud bags.  Of course, I had to pick the labradors to feature, as Lucca would never have forgiven me otherwise!

Next up is Not Just Handbags on Folksy.  Beautifully styled and made bags here. I love this vintage inspired clutch.  You could walk down the fashion runway with this and not look out of place!

Lastly, a quick shout out for Lemonade and Lamingtons, who was kind enough to nominate my blue glass bracelet for the Handmade and Fabulous blog this week.  Such a great varied shop, this one, with jewellery, crayon rolls, and some fantastic gift ideas. Like these lovely coasters - they would be a great man-present.

PS Next week I get to nominate for the Handmade and Fabulous blog, so be sure to visit.  I've picked three blue items, but you'll have to wait for the post to see who is featured.

Folksy Friday: Shops you should visit Part One

I asked the Folksy folk to nominate some lovely shops with less than 5 sales, and here is part one.  What a lot of lovelies lurk in shops you've probably never visited!  Click on any of the pics to visit these stores.








1. Reclaimed time nominated by spjewellery
2. Art by mimi nominated by Gelert Design, Lynwood Jewellery, Fairly Girly and Jewellery Angel
3. Rags to Roses nominated by Gelert Design
4. Jesselu nominated by  Lauras Little Lovelies and Owl Loves Panda
5. Sleeping Cities nominated by Lauras Little Lovelies
6. Lynsey Luu nominated by The Little Wren (aka Cath81)

More next week...

Dreamaid feature - getting a bit arty

Art and prints is this week's theme from Dreamaid sellers.  Click on any picture to go to the store.

1. Aubaterre photo by PaulWardSmith71

2. Pembrokeshire misty morning photo by Welsh Crafts

3. Highland Cow photo by Jayne Strathdee

4.Chocolate Heaven wall hanging by ANGEL

5. 'A FORÇA VEM DOS PÉS QUE EQUILIBRAM O HOMEM' concrete scultpture by Sanreaah

6. Sunday Morning print by Cbaroneart

Remember, all Dreamaid sales benefit others as well as yourself!

Click here to tweet: Dreamaid: shop with a conscience

BESTeam weekly feature: Ellesbeads

Ellesbeads really is a funky shop!  Must of this great jewelery uses eco-friendly, upcycled colorful beads which really make a statement.  Based in Raleigh, North Carolina, ellesbeads says her jewelry appeals to the young, but I think could be worn by anyone young at heart! 







I've chosen a rainbow of picks in honour of ellesbeads support of LGBT pride - ellesbeads contributes to the Queer Etsy Street Team's charity shop - 100% of sales from this shop (less etsy and Paypal fees) go to the Trevor Project, the leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

You can find out more about ellesbeads by visiting the links below.  I really recommend following this blog which has great advice on growing your online shop, as well as beautiful picks from other Etsy and Zibbet sellers.

Facebook: http://facebook.com/ellesbeads
Twitter: http://twitter.com/ellexmarie
Blog: http://ellesbeads.blogspot.com
Zibbet shop at http://zibbet.com/ellesbeads



Click here to tweet: Ellesbeads a fantastic funky Etsy shop!