etsy front page

happy friday morning! i got suckered into watching the royal wedding last night, so i'm going to sign off for the rest of the day to pull out the hammock and take a nap in the sun. in the meantime, take a look a recent treasury i curated called june farm wedding (a collection of ideas for a reception a friend and i are decorating this summer). it made it to the etsy front page this morning!

diy idea: paper petal pendant

pretty diy idea: book page or vintage paper affixed to a paper lantern. i love the petal effect and it looks so nice hanging whether it's lit up or not. this hanging pendant is by allison patrick of zipper 8 lighting. she has more pretty pendants in her shop. i like the sconce made out of drinking straws and the spiky vellum pendant, too.

florida coast

i talk about the weather too much, i know, but lately it's been such a bummer out there that it's all i can do to get out of my blanket nest on the couch, eating easter candy and streaming documentaries on netflix (recently exit through the gift shop, art of the steal and one fast move or i'm gone).

that said, i'd like to go to florida. i've never been. aren't these florida engagement photos gorgeous? i love that they are different than all the lovey dovey ones out there. by w. scott chester photography via 100 layer cake.

guest blogging

happy monday! i'm guest blogging over at high plains thrifter today, while meghan is prepping for mighty swell. i shared my recipe for spring celery soup (maybe to help coax spring out from behind old man winter). head over to high plains thrifter for the rest of the post.

mighty swell is a vintage pop up shop happening at umber studios this saturday. with craftstravaganza at the fair grounds, it's going to be a great weekend for local shopping!

thanks again to meghan for letting me fill in this week!

happy easter!

"cotton carnival rabbits of 1940" from the life archives, photo: buyenlarge/getty images

leaving on a jet plane

SF to Paris in Two Minutes from Beep Show on Vimeo.

so cool! love the aurora borealis section. see also: makes me want to go to paris. call me crazy, but i love those long flights.

[via sub-studio]

vintage shop update: brass + blue

vintage patina'd brass vase + solid brass bunny



a theme has appeared in this week's vintage shop update: lots of brass and pretty turquoise. here are a few selections, head over to the shop to see what's new!

turquoise dansk kobenstyle paella pan

vintage "gold brick" bookends (super shiny!) + brass apple paperweight

vintage round turquoise tray (and a similar one here)

vintage french watercolors

came across these beautiful illustrations by french artist colette portal over on even*cleveland and had to repost. portal's website is in french but from what i can gather she is still exhibiting her work today. the dust jacket bio on this 1967 book the honeybees is so sweet:

"colette portal is a young french painter who lives with her husband jean-michel folon and their two-year-old son françois in a garret in an old artists' quarter in paris. she wrote and illustrated the life of a queen and has illustrated a book about the creation of the world."


[via even*cleveland]

cheer up!

pinwheel garage door snapped by pam garrison

i'm going to continue to whine about the bummer weather week we've been having in the upper midwest. no sun really effects (affects? i was an english major and i can never get this right) my mood, especially since i'm at home during the day without folks to talk to. so i thought i'd cheer myself up with some rainbow action. found all these via pinterest. without further adieu:

fire island home by alexandra angle interior design [via educate your sofa]

beach umbrella original photo by alice b. gardens photography

gene davis' street painting "franklin's footpath"  [via oh joy!]

baby ampersand by castle

maya hayuk barn piece [via thinkspace_gallery]

gift wrap [via paper crave] [via oh happy day!] [from more last minute knitted gifts]

april desktop calendar

almost the end of april, but i can still enjoy the monthly shanna murray desktop calendar. this month she collaborated with heather smith jones. i especially welcome the spring thoughts, as it is snowing this morning. i guess the shakespeare quote still applies. old man winter isn't giving up quite yet...

"just paint what you see, don't let anyone say it's wrong..."

lovely work by michelle armas. just what i need on another grey mpls morning. her paintings (and more) available through her shop.

pretty paper blooms

everyone knows i'm martha obsessed, and i love everything erin jang does for the magazine - look at this  stop motion video she did for the may ipad issue. so great! it's a paper folding spectacular! love the cute tune, too.

[via the indigo bunting]

winning!

super stoked i won the craft lottery this monday morning! i'm the lucky winner of abbey's day 7 for april's 20 in 20 giveaway: this gorgeous embroidered piece! happy monday to me! she still has more projects to share over at aesthetic outburst - hop over to enter to win every day. thanks abbey!

did everybody have a good weekend? we finished our last piece of tiling job in the kitchen, hung out with friends, ate good food and saw a film at the minneapolis - st. paul international film festival called happy, happy. what did you do?

Lilla Jizo/Little Jizo

overheard conversation i remember from years ago:

little boy: "daddy?"
dad: "yeah?"
little boy: "can i have a quarter?"
dad: "what do you need a quarter for?"
little boy: "for my pocket."

i want one of these scottish beach pottery pieces for my pocket. lilla jizo makes them - and i love the story behind her shop name, too.

vintage springtime garden

it's a grey day in mpls and there's snow, i repeat, snow on the horizon. this is devastating news! so i started thinking about cheery springtime gardening with a vintage (of course) twist. check out my latest treasury called springtime vintage garden for a few ways to perk up a patio or bring in that garden vibe wether you have a green thumb or not.

70s mini dress with frills from fabdant1

orange flower brooch from kiamichi7

vintage garden tool collection from anything goes here

mod floral tablecloth and napkin set from aesthetikara

antique english prints from elitas

homemade butter

i'm feeling like all signs are pointing to homemade butter lately. was browsing through kiss my spatula (new to me) and found a homemade butter recipe, then remembered d*s just posted a small measures column on making your own butter, and i just listed a vintage book in my shop that has a chapter on natural dairy products. steve will think i've gone off the deep end, but making organic butter seems pretty straightforward. has anyone tried it?

[top two photos by kiss my spatula / recipe]

[photo by ashley english for d*s / recipe]

[photo by the hungry mouse / recipe]

[photo by pinkshirtsandcarwrecks / vintage craft book]

little boat

love this photo the selby took of gidon bing. i think it's so charming. see the whole set of the artist in his auckland studio here.

big sur living

my knowledge of big sur is limited to kerouac. this house, to me, feels like it fits my image of big sur living. this mickey muenning designed residence is underground and eco-friendly. i love how the concrete and wood compliment each other. just gorgeous!

[via design attractor]

in my quick haste to find a link for kerouac's book i came across one fast move or i'm gone, a documentary about kerouac and big sur (with a soundtrack by ben gibbard and jay farrar)! how did i not know this existed? promptly added to my netflix queue.

happy sunday

hope everyone is enjoying spring weather this weekend! we got good rain last night and are slated for more tonight. i hope to get some garden starters happening soon. read somewhere about planting seeds in eggshells like this and dropping the whole thing in the ground when you're ready to transplant. anybody tried it?

[image via we heart it (can't find original source - let me know if you do.)]

moving shop / etsy vs. big cartel

yaaay! felt pennant / $16 each

i'm excited to announce my handmade shop has moved to etsy! a little facelift and a new name: rank and file. almost everything has been moved over from the old shop and there will be some new cards and prints debuting next week.

it was a hard decision to move the shop from big cartel to etsy, but i'm pleased with the decision and feel like it's already worthwhile. i wasn't unhappy with my big cartel experience and feel like i would go back if/when my line can generate it's own traffic (perhaps when i start to wholesale?). right now, etsy provides a great community driven space that makes it easy for people to find you, even if they don't know they're looking for you. the exposure is definitely better, even when you aren't updating/refreshing/publicizing.

on the other hand big cartel does make things a little smoother when listing an item - you can provide color/size options within the listing, while etsy does not have these features available. it's also nice that you pay per month instead of per listing at big cartel. and there aren't transaction fees associated with big cartel when you make a sale (just the usual paypal fees).

i really could go on and on about this and would love to talk to more of you who are trying to decide between the two. i decided to try big cartel for my handmade stuff at first, just because it seems a little more professional and streamlined, but missed the networking that etsy has.

excuse the novel! i do think this is an interesting discussion, though. any online shopkeepers out there want to contribute?

// edit // here's a pro-big cartel article put out by the bc folks. great reasons, but you just have find what works for you.

one of a kind paper garlands / $14-19 each

polka dot mini pennants on a stick / $6 each at rank and file