TV's tufted headboards

I am totally jealous of the gorgeous colorful tufted headboards that keep popping up on TV shows. Some day I will have one. I first fell in love the the Draper's headboard on Mad Men (which btw is the best show on TV!) The set and costume design on that show is the most amazing I have ever seen. Now this season I am drooling over Rebecca and Justin's bed on Brothers & Sisters. I absolutely love this one. I love that it also has the foot board. And the jewel-tone green is amazing. It is probably good I do not have a bed as gorgeous as these lucky TV characters. I would probably never get out of it. Enjoy your weekend everyone!

wednesday wishlist

Since here we are, on October 14 and we have already had snow and freezing temps here in Minnesota. I think winter has arrived. Dear, 2 weeks of fall. It was great to see you and I'm so sorry you had to leave so soon. But with the colder weather, it makes me appreciate the crisp beauty of things. Especially birch trees.

clockwise:
Autumn forest clasp clutch purse - jenniferladd.etsy.com
Birch necklace - maggiejs.etsy.com
Fall birch trees card - Papavier.etsy.com
1963 Paint by Number Masterpiece - SurrenderDorothy.etsy.com
Birch dessert plates, with customized initials - RustDesigns.com
Birch Screen printed Wool Log Pillow - myimaginaryboyfriend.etsy.com
Birch Tree Forest Decal Set - HutchMe.etsy.com

identity refresher

I don't know about you, but after you look at the same banners, business cards and packaging alllllll the time. Sometimes its good to do a little identity makeover. I was getting tired of green, so I switched up my Stella color palette and had some new business cards printed. I had three cards printed. One a regular business card. One that I use to write my thank messages on the back with each order. And one that, once cut down, turns into my earring cards and hang tags. I bought orange accent buttons and eyelets. And all three cards have a different coordinating orange pattern on the back that matches up with Stella's dress, of course.

Also, for another surprise check out my blog banner. Trick or treat!

america's favorite cities 2009 - go twin cities!

Travel + Leisure magazine has named America's favorite cities. The Twin Cities made #10. Cities are rated on their culture, shopping, restaurants, nightlife, people and more. Minneapolis/St. Paul was rated #1 for intelligence! And made the top 5 for theater, friendliness, public parks, cleanliness and safety. Pretty impressive overall, but we didn't rank so well with winter travel and weather... shocking ;) Check out how your city ranked. See the results here America's favorite cities 2009.

iphonemania

I stumbled across these totally fun magnets for all you iphone users out there. Seriously. They are so cute. They are made from polymer clay and the spot-on detail is unreal. Makes a great gift for the iphone user on your Christmas list. You can find them at bearduck.etsy.com.

wednesday wishlist

I'm totally head over heels for tin jewelry right now. I just love knowing that each unique piece is recycled from some totally random item. Was it a tin someone collected buttons in? A tin that was a gift full of sweets? Or just vintage packaging someone's grandmother held onto for many years. I love how the illustrations are cropped and you only get an abstract piece of that history. Bits of type. Gorgeous patterns. Vintage details. Here are some of my favorites and where to find them on etsy.





























1-2 - fofum.etsy.com
3-5 - christineterrell.etsy.com
6-8 - theflyingtrapeze.etsy.com
9-11 - littleblackrabbit.etsy.com

easy and fun locket tutorial!!

In wandering around on the web I found this project on marthastewart.com. This is a super fun and easy project that she had on her show a while back. I wanted to try it. So I'm sharing photos of the locket that I made along with the steps I followed and where to buy the supplies. Its hard to live up to Martha and her amazing team, but I was pretty impressed with how it turned out.































1 Purchase a large locket that has a recessed area on the front.
2 Arrange your accents however you want them
3 Sand the center where you will be decorating the locket. Wipe away the dust. This will give the materials something to adhere to.
4 Pour colored nail polish into the center of the locket.
5 You can use the nail polish brush to move the polish to the sides. Don't fill it too full, because you will need room for your accents.
6 While polish is still wet, using a tweezers, place all your accents on the locket. Let dry overnight. You can use a cotton swab and nail polish remover to clean up any little smudges if you get any on the accents or sides of the locket.

Be creative choosing your accents and charms. The possibilities are endless, especially on etsy. But I've compiled a list below of where I got my supplies in case that helps. Enjoy! Happy crafting

locket - WanWanCorner.etsy.com they have a great selection of lockets. The antique brass one I used also comes in silver
flower - WanWanCorner.etsy.com
butterfly - findingme.etsy.com I got mine here, but there are many other places on etsy with similar butterfly charms.
filigree leaf - halolo.etsy.com This was a three petal leaf that I snipped apart to arrange differently

shop, swap, and blog

I'm thrilled to participate in this swap. I came across this on the last day to enter and thought it sounded super fun. Pattie from mystructuredchaos.blogspot.com, had an idea to do a shop swap and blog. Basically this is where you send your partner something from your shop, packaged up all cute along with some info, and they in turn blog about the experience! I love this kind of thing. It's like a fun little crafty grab bag.

I got matched up with my partner and am totally excited to pick out what item to send her and see what I get in return. I will be posting pics, Stay tuned!

NEW jewelry!!

I have a lot of new jewelry pieces in my shop. I'm working on more too. Lots of new earrings are on their way as well as some new products. What do you think...have a favorite?

wednesday wishlist

I woke up to 40 degree weather. So first and foremost on my mind is staying warm! So here are some knits to keep us warm here in MN. Is it supposed to be this cold in September? If you don't hear from me tomorrow... it may because my fingers are frozen to my laptop.































1. The Incognito chunky knit cowl in chartreuse - Happiknits
2. Blue Blossom Dog Hat - BeanTownHandmade
3. The Beekeeper in cream - hurleysashimi
4. Pumpkin Beret - PandoraSpocks
5. Flower Wrist Warmers - OlliesWoollies

brrrrrr bring it

I spent the weekend in Chicago with one of my best friends and her family. I've known her for a very long time. Her daughter is almost four and seriously sooooo cute. I wanted to pack her up and bring her home with me. I love that age when they are super silly and fun and chattering away. And she is so smart. Right away when they picked me up at the airport, she was playing with mom's iphone and seriously knew how to totally use it. She was using the itunes to play her favorite songs and sing along. This is a kid who never really got into nursery rhymes, she likes Beyonce's Put a Ring on it, T-Pain's Apple Bottom Jeans, and Big & Rich's Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy. I was hysterical, had tears running down my face as she sang along.

We had some girl time just relaxing and hanging out. then went to their cabin and went boating on the chain of lakes. It was a great time and I miss them already.

I came back to MN and it is FREEZING. I swear it was almost 80 degrees when I left! When I landed it was 55! I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of fall and winter, that's part of why I love Minnesota so much. (And why I have an obsession with winter coats.) And because I'm one of those girls whose hair totally does not agree with hot humid weather. I always wished I was like my friends who have naturally straight hair that can just air dry and be perfect. I have to fight with a hair dryer and flat iron if I want to achieve that. Which is not fun in hot weather. Plus when you walk outside, all the curl starts creeping back. And not in a pretty way, its more like a wavy frizzy mess.

But I wasn't prepared yet for such a quick change in temp. I came home and immediately pulled out my Uggs and winter coats, added more blankets to my bed. Bring on the cold weather, now I'm prepared.

well-dressed package

I am in love with all the cute packing tape that is out there now. Let's face it. Shouldn't your packages be as stylish and well dressed as you are? This tape is such an easy way to sass up a boring old box.

I am obsessed with and often spend as much time wrapping my presents as I do picking them out. Am I already thinking about Christmas? That seems wrong. But a girl's got to plan ahead and be prepared. Check these out, the colors and patterns are endless.

lace tape from oboiler.com
gorgeous tape assortment from tapeswell.com
palette of solid colors and set of striped tape from thetintedmint.com
tulip and lace tape sampler set from hebeaccessories.etsy.com

wednesday wishlist

This week I am longing for these gorgeous items for my home.

































vintage wallpaper lampshades from drawflowers.etsy.com
parlour chair in tangerine from cb2.com
i love orange flowers pillow from jamtartbaby.etsy.com
print: "and then he kissed her" from seasprayblue.etsy.com
circles in citrus pillow from pillowhappy.etsy.com

spread the etsy love

I wanted to share a new etsy shop. My Aunt has beautiful photography that you can find at islandwomanstudio.etsy.com. She is a talented artist in many different mediums. I fondly remember taking painting lessons from her at a very young age. Recently Dawn bought a charming log-sided house on an island in northern Minnesota, where some of her photos were taken, along with photos from many of her travels. Definitely check out her shop.