Some Etsy for Friday

Trolling Etsy never ends well. Yesterday I got lost and came up with a few nice things I thought I might share.

Pretty, simple embroidery from The Merriweather Council, (perhaps good baby girl decor?):






And Miniature Rhino now makes constellations! How cute.




Bowls:



Green enamel



and rustic yellow earthenware. I would love this for mixing things.


An old wooden tote:



would make such a pretty vessel for flowers at a party.


A fan cage:



Makes such a pretty display for air plants, doesn't it? On the right wall, in the right grouping, this would look excellent.


Platters:



Perfect, pale.


And milkaLOOM is now making



pillows and table runners. Mmm. Table runner.


I could go on. And on. Forever.

Happy weekend. Maybe it will be fall by Monday?

Catching up

Ooh, last week was crazy. Apologies for the lack of posting. Getting ready for Hitched took up every moment of my non-mommy time. But it was such a cute event. We'll be posting photos and projects on 100 Layer Cake all week, but for now here's just a teensy peek:



(Heirloom LA cocktails... yum yum.)



I had the most fun arranging flowers for our table.

And because I'm a week behind, I haven't even posted about the Heath LA Craft Bazaar from last weekend. It was great too. So many lovely things, including tiles and little wooden toys and Matteo linens for practically a song.





And Krank Press, who I love.



Just when I was giving in to the pretty light of fall, (and beets and squash at the market), it's super summer all of a sudden again. Or for the first time all year, actually.

AND, a birth center opened up literally in our neighborhood. Isn't that crazy? We loved the UCLA midwives, but I'm definitely curious what the Sanctuary Birth Center has to offer for our next babe. It's going to be an amazing resource for families around West LA. Very very exciting. But here's my question: What does a birth center offer that a home birth doesn't?

More this week, for sure.

pretty triangley jewelry

I happened upon these pretties from spinthread on etsy the other day. They are quite marvelous. Have they already made the rounds on the blogs? Probably. I'm never first with the etsy finds. But aren't they good?











I bet they would be good baby entertainment if I had one for myself. Tempting.

milka loom

I've died and gone to tea towel heaven.

Joslyn posted a little peek of these beauties from MilkaLOOM this morn and I had to pass them along. AFTER I've ordered mine own, of course. (Sorry hubs! But I could not resist.)



I mean really? Hand woven little triangles in all sorts of perfect color combinations? This towel will most certainly be reserved for petting only. No dish drying at all.

I do have an update on the project, but I don't have time to post it this morn. Too much work at the moment and only so many hours of babysitting! Tomorrow. Definitely tomorrow. But this is appropriate isn't it? Since it's a non-paper kitchen item? I will say that the quitting of paper has been the easiest part of the project so far. You think it's going to be a pain, but it's seriously a breeze. If I can wash diapers, I can most certainly wash teeny towels for the kitchen.

More soon.

Jess Brown dolls

I'm continually amazed at the sheer number of talented people who populate the internet. Christina posted these cute dolls from Jess Brown the other day:



Quite lovely for her baby girl on the way. So much nicer than the plastic-headed ladies out there. But then again, as much as you want to steer your child in the direction of toys that YOU like, it seems they have a mind of their own when it comes to picking favorites.

Somebody buy one of these for their little one, pls.

m•o•m

We stumbled on the most cutest little garage shop in Encinitas over the weekend, just next to the Hansen's ski treadmill (those of you north county folks will know what I mean). It's called M•O•M and it's full of little handmade clothes and toys and buntings and such, styled perfectly with vintage toys and tables. It's exactly what I thought I'd be doing after I had a baby... sewing bloomers and the like. Turns out, NOT! Maybe some day sooner than later I will finish the crib bumpers I started?

But at least there is one mom out there making things I'd like to make one day:



See, it's a tiny little shop, but just the perfect size for what it is.



Cute bunting from vintage hankies.





Little bow ties.



And sunsuits from a vintage pattern.



And ties.



Standing there I had the perfect "I'm sad and glad I don't have a girl" moment. Sad because I couldn't buy vintage sunsuits and dresses and aprons and buntings. Glad for the same reason. Instead I bought a little set of bean bags, which are the perfect size and weight for little hands learning to grab and carry and other important life skills.

Of course I didn't have my real camera, but iPhone is surprisingly good in a pinch.

Love MOM. LOVE.

Little Winter

Of course this cute handmade market is in Portland... the land of all things crafty and hip and pretty. I spotted it on Unruly Things yesterday when I was checking up on our guest post we did for Alyson while she's off getting married.





I would love to take a little vacation up that way this year, but we have so many things on the calendar that it's probably wishful thinking. Maybe summer 2011? That's when things free up a little. Which is scary considering how exhausting it is to travel with a baby. I assume it gets easier as baby gets older? And conceivably sleeps more?

Milk & Paper shop

Of course it's French and everything is in Euros and she probably doesn't ship to the US. But it's still nice to look at, no?



Lots more pretty things in the Milk & Paper shop.

WAIT, she does ship internationally. It looks as though you can send her an email with the products you want and she'll bill you through paypal. Or something like that. This is all based on my ability to read French via my command of Spanish, mind you.

Very tempting...

Misa Jewelry

My friend Misa makes the most gorgeous jewelry. I posted about her a long long time ago, but she's come out with 2 new collections since then and they warrant a little sharing on the internets.

I NEEEEED this necklace. It's so perfect.



This one is pretty good too.



And here's a little sample of some of her other pieces.




She's also one of the absolute nicest people I've ever met. You know how there are those kinds of people? They're rare, I find. Most people have some mean-ness in them somewhere. But seriously, not Misa. She is amazing in that way. And in her jewelry making too.

She makes all of her pieces herself so you can feel great about supporting a independent artist when you wear her lovelies. I have a few from her Shima collection and I love them. But I might need to add that root choker very soon.

squeaks & beeps

I had all sorts of nice things I wanted to post this week, but it's already thursday and I'm guessing I have 1 hour at the computer until you know who is needing attention. I'm sure I'll eventually return to normal posting but for now, thank ye kindly for cutting me some slack.

Amanda's super super sweet nearly sister-in-law Michele, sent me this at the beginning of the week:



Actually she sent the package to Amanda to pass on to me. She makes custom baby burp cloth onesie bib sets and sells them through her blog Squeaks & Beeps. These would make such great pressies. She needs an etsy store B.A.D. don't you think? I love my little grey elephants.

NEVERMIND! She has one! Squeaks & Beeps on Etsy

I mistakenly thought that bibs were only for babies who eat food. They're actually kind of handy for milky spit up too. Every day you learn something shiny and new.

We're embarking on a big adventure today. Shopping with baby. Mama needs something to wear to a bridal shower on Sunday. Something that allows me to nurse and look somewhat put together. Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Here I thought I was going to glide through breastfeeding in the same way I did pregnancy... ie. buying no appropriate clothes and just making due with what I already have. NOT.

mod alpha prints

For spelling your baby's name? Or just for pretty decor...



Plus she makes all sorts of neat prints for hanging around the house:







JennSki on Etsy.

I love etsy. It is a magical place for the wasting of time and the spending of money.

(note: the above names are not necessarily names on our list.)

wolf and willow

Cute name, no?



Melbourne-based esty seller that makes really cute vintage inspired kiddie clothes. For girls. If I do not have a girl I'm afraid I will miss out on much of the magic of etsy kids. Their clothes are just more fun to make. I get it, I get it.

Wolf and Willow on Etsy.

wren handmade

... is always so inspiring.

Her wedding was so pretty and so perfectly put together with patterns and simple garden flowers and bikes. and flags. and stuff.



And her blog is full of sorts of good stuff, like this pile of paper in the process of being turned into cards. So cute.

And then her shop, to which she recently added mini-crocheted bracelets.



(which I found while lurking around the purl bee. which makes me want to move to new york and spend the better part of my days browsing their aisles for fabric and projects).

I AM going to sew, I swear. I mean I took that class because I was genuinely interested in sewing. But I haven't gotten to it yet. And by the time I do I'm going to have to take another class to remember how to thread the bobbin. again.

A homemade life

Finally reading it.



I'm notorious for saving things like books and gift cards and special jams and oils until the perfect moment. For instance, Harry Potter 7? Still on my bookshelf waiting. I'm terrified for the series to be over, so I'm just not reading the last book. NERD.

And Molly's book. I'm only just beginning, but I'm forcing myself to read slowly, maybe only one chapter per night. And already it has reduced me to tears on multiple occasions. Such a sap I've become in my advancing age. Anyway, it's beautiful and makes me feel like I have no purpose in life. Only scattered hobbies and a job. Le sigh.

But it's softly, passionately inspiring. Maybe I need a trip to Paris to fully understand my calling? Yes. Mostly likely that is it. Looking at tickets now...

(I'm labeling this as "buy handmade." Even though she didn't technically make the book herself, she did make all the lovely words and I think that's just as good).

i think i might need some ninu

Or else i'm just being tricked by the beautiful Italian girl who makes these things?

Ninu on Etsy.

Confections I would eat if they were not paper

The Paper Nut has really freaked me out this afternoon. These cakes especially. Ask Amanda. I went into an utterly manic state when I saw this suite today and repeated "cake" (over IM, of course) more times than could ever be considered necessary or even sane.



I want to make little cakes and surround myself with perfectly styled whimsy at all times. I love how the lines aren't perfect and the circles are a little wobbly and organic. I might need to buy these samples just so I can pet them when I'm feeling sad.

via Black Eiffel's guest blogger, Jeanie Nelson. She may or may not fall into the same unmentionable category as those girls from yesterday.

jenna hein on daily candy

Dude.

Jenna's on Daily Candy New York this morning. You better book her like, TODAY if you want to use her this year. Daily Candy means the greater world outside our happy little blog bubble will know about her.

Article here and jenna's site (for the 20th time) here.

rings i might need an excuse to have

i love.

simple and organic and golden and kind of indian inspired, no?



Melissa Joy Manning is apparently a friend of Heath, which AUTOMATICALLY makes her a friend of me. Even though she doesn't know it. I've been cleaning up my workspace at home and found a little holiday mailer from our favorite ceramics factory, advertising other handcrafted design-minded artisanal small businesses (in their words) who make great gifts. yes. I imagine they do...

sweet simple ring pillows

Constança sent me a really nice email the other day announcing her new little ring pillow biz on etsy. Aren't they cute? i love the plaid.



And she also has another shop , called Saidos Da Concha, where she sells all sorts of pretty handmade goodies... shopping bags, bibs, purse organizers (such a good idea). Actually, I need to post a photo these so you can see:



Right? Not more wallet lost in the depths of huge tote bag.

Constança, for the record, I lusted after that Orla Kiely tote for a LONG time. Such a good pattern.