the haystack needle

the smiths in cross-stitch

There are the bands that you like, the bands that you love and play incessantly on your iPod, and then there are those few bands that touch some emotional nerve when you hear their music or even see their lyrics. For me, one of those bands is most certainly the Smiths. Whenever I hear their music, it takes me right back to memories of being sixteen. And Morrissey's voice has a way of sticking with you in the same way you connect with a favorite comfort food (in my case, homemade pancakes always does the trick.) So I couldn't resist sharing this cross-stitch art by Chez Sucre Chez. I love these pieces. The top embroidery hoop shows one of my favorite lyrics by the Smiths. You can order both from Kimberly's shop of handcrafted goods. And if you fell for the Smiths back in the day, here's a little flashback for your hump day.

wedding + paper + color

 

I'm loving the colorful spectrum of wedding finds on Etsy. I spotted this Wedding Genealogy Chart in Melangerie's shop: it's family tree meets fun game of who's who at your wedding (and how your guests relate to one another.) The blocks of color are so clever — the chart reminds me of paint color chips. Our one year anniversary is coming up this weekend, and I've been thinking how sweet it'd be to have a pretty list of our wedding guests.

 

Another colorful wedding idea: paper garland made of vintage stamps for a 3-tier wedding cake from dsharp's shop. How pretty! And the cake garland below plays with the look of a color spectrum, like the genealogy chart. Somewhere over the Etsy rainbow, it seems you can find every kind of paper goodness.

chalkboards on etsy

I've had five people ask me what Etsy is in conversations this week. It still surprises me that Etsy isn't as known as eBay. But it's really fun turning someone onto the world of Etsy — you just know their jaw is going to drop when they see the enormity of this marketplace of handmade + vintage goodness. I remember how Etsy was a little daunting when I first signed on and didn't know how to search the thousands of shops. These five finds come by way of a search for chalkboards on Etsy and browsing my tagged favorite shops. I think the Favorite tags for shops and individual items is my favorite feature on Etsy. And I can't get enough of chalkboards, in any form.

+ I used wood slices as a base for my wedding centerpieces. I could see this chalkboard on a piece of sliced oak (above) from dash of magic being used to write a table number or sign at a rustic farm wedding.

+ love this chalkboard writing slate with a hook to hang on your wall from bliss in a teacup

+ this chalkboard art is so fantastic — be sure to check out the entire Chalk Chalk shop of bikes and other forms of transportation drawn in chalk. {discovered via simplesong}

+ how hilarious is this chalkboard wall decal in the shape of a thought bubble from A Sign of the Times. And it reminds me of these cool photos by Color Me Katie.

 

+ and an embroidery hoop chalkboard is a sweet twist on the chalkboard trend.

felt blossoms + cushion corsages

I stumbled upon the Etsy shop, A Alicia Handmade Accessories, and promptly fell head over heels in love with these sculptural beauties. Felt garlands, blossom brooches to jazz up a plain-jane dress or white blouse, and cushion corsages! I wasn't a fan of the corsage when I connected corsages to the prom (maybe because I had a hard time finding a date!), but these handmade felt corsages are gorgeous. And what a creative way to give your sofa pillows, shirt, or nook in your home an instant makeover! 

 

rugs + floor mats on etsy

Erin has a fantastic giveaway on Design for Mankind this week. The winner scores this doily floor mat from the Etsy shop, Gildem. I'm probably lowering my chances of winning by sharing the scoop, but hey, maybe some good karma will come my way. I love all of the painted canvas mats in Gildem's shop. I wouldn't have thought to shop for floor mats or rugs on Etsy, so I did a search to see what else is available. Here's what I found:

This modern floor mat is all sunshine in graphic circles.



Love the colors of this handwoven rug.



A long striped woven rug with a pop of brilliant red.



Check out this rug's colorful geometric pattern.



I'm smitten with this gray and white woven rug.
Here's hoping one of us wins!

vintage storage finds on etsy

Sure, the wonderful world of Etsy is first connected with handmade finds. But I love shopping the vintage shops, too. What's great about shopping for vintage finds on Etsy:

+ the prices, for the most part, are reasonable and what you'd expect — so it saves you time if you're not into dealing with a bidding war on eBay.
+ gallery shopping on Etsy feels more like shopping an online boutique.
+ it's easier to search if you don't know what you specifically want. For example, "vintage storage" is a searchable term on Etsy. But that search would pull up all kinds of results if you typed it into Google or eBay. And many of the vintage shops have a true identity — so if you prefer the industrial vintage look (which I love), you can check back with favorite shops for curated finds in that style.

It's been a while since I've shared a roundup of Etsy favorites — here's where I've been browsing:
Starting with the photo above: I adore the Etsy shop, 26 Olive Street! Full of treasures and the Polaroid photos of their shop finds are so fun. I'm sold on the idea of this test tube box set functioning as a stylish way to display all your pens + pencils.

 

The possibilities for wire baskets are limitless: magazine storage, umbrella stand, gift wrap holder, container for belts, and the list goes on. Vintage metal baskets have a special cool factor in my book.

favorite vintage wire baskets + metal locker baskets from these Etsy shops:
1. frisee 2. everyeskimo 3. cabinwindows 4. and one more found from frisee

These wooden dairy milk crates have a graphic pattern you don't often find on vintage crates. (And the prices are comparable with wood crates you'd win on eBay — remember my vintage soda crate?)

This is what I need to get my tax paperwork in order: a sturdy, industrial file cabinet.

And I'd love this cash box from 26 Olive Street to store all of my tax-related receipts.

 

This vintage apothecary jar looks like the perfect place to stash cotton swabs + Q-tips.

This vintage Tiffin set looks just like the new lunch box set I own from Design Within Reach (and that Tiffin box set is one of my favorite things — so perfect for picnics!)

 

Vintage stainless steel drawers spell a fantastic solution for the home office.

This vintage sewing tin has a pretty floral pattern that reminds me of Liberty style fabrics. And you don't have to be a master sewer — I'd use this tin to keep my collection of ribbons and gift tags in check.

 

And these vintage glass jars with their bold typography are fantastic. The Leftovers glass jar is so cute — and it's perfect for leftover scraps outside the kitchen (like paper scraps.) And I'd love to adopt this vintage Spaghetti jar as I mistakenly bought this glass canister from Bed Bath & Beyond (that was the biggest size, so you'd think they'd design it to work with spaghetti.) Once I took the glass canister home, I realized it was an inch too short for spaghetti. I could hear my mother saying — what's new is not always designed better. So true.

p.s. feel free to share where you love to shop at Etsy — or what you've been browsing on Etsy — in the comments below!

etsy favorite: imagire

Digital point-and-shoot cameras sure look lame next to the beauty of a vintage camera. Imagire creates these gorgeous encaustic magnets with the images of vintage cameras (and more.) Encaustics are beeswax + resin coated photographs printed on archival paper and mounted on board. I love their look! And since we are moving on up to a (non-magnetic) stainless refrigerator in the new place, I have my eye on Imagire's mini encaustic wall hangings, like the globe and the vintage telephone. So lovely.