etsy faves : eclectic crayon colours...

Links: 1. Bird Nests & Paper, 2. Old Fish New Fish, 3. Ninainvorm, 4. Teva Gallery, 5. Ponder and Stitch, 6. Curious Doodles, 7. Vintage Eye, 8. Lilymeru, 9. Lillian Olive, 10. matou en peluche, 11. black rabbit, 12. Bird Nests & Paper, 13. Bird Nests & Paper, 14. SheShell, 15. happy thought, 16. Kitsch Café

Today I just felt like making a treasury... :)

I'm still completely smitten with these crayon box colours, especially that delicious bright red... I just want to fill my home with all these bright red details, vintage canisters and trays for the kitchen... Beautiful art prints and vintage dala horses for my studio... and maybe one or two pretty necklaces just for me... *sigh* ...I just wish my budget could keep up with my insatiable appetite for discovering such fabulous finds... !

Talking of fabulous finds, it was only once I had curated this lovely collection that I realised there were three lovely items from Bird Nests and Paper. A great wee vintage shop that is well worth a peek and one that has a very apt strap line for the way I'm feeling today... 'So much Vintage . . . and so little time!!'

Happy Wednesday!!!
Emma, x

etsy trend : black and white stripes...

Hello my lovelies... :)
Well it seems the whole of blogland has gone crazy for 'Stripe Mania' thanks to Holly, of decor8, and her facebook friend Igor. Together they came up with the ideas of uniting all us bloggers in one big, virtual, Stripe Mania party... yay! Holly asked all her readers to snap a pic of themselves wearing something stripey before Sunday and she would gather them all together in a fabulous stripey Pinterest board. I organised my pic today and you can see it up there right now and maybe take a few minutes to get to know a few of the other faces too... :)

So what more inspiration do we need for a few black and white stripey Etsy faves... !? Whether you're looking for a stripey summery outfit (yeah, scarves are an essential summer staple in Scotland!) or want to add a few graphic elements around your house... enjoy!

Links: 1. YYStudio, 2. rib & hull, 3. ikabags, 4. Lana Stepul, 5. La Marquise des Anges, 6. White Moth

Links: 1. Grainne Photography, 2. LennyMud, 3. artiseverything, 4. be still., 5. Heidi Adnum, 6. Stock Exchange

Wishing you all a stripey happy day,
Emma, x

etsy faves : freshly found...

Good morning my lovelies... :)
It is still completely miserable here today, and cold... so while I have had the heating on, wrapped up in a cosy cardi, I have took in a spot of window shopping around Etsy. Here are a few of my mid-century favourites from this morning... I'm loving the classic black and sage combo with wee hints of pink, red and orange. Enjoy... :)

Links: 1. Golly Bard, 2. arminho, 3. Grey Maggie, 4. Eight Seasons, 5. Grey Maggie, 6. Modish Vintage, 7. dear pumper nickel, 8. broundoor, 9. oh dear watson

Wishing you all a cosy day,
Emma, x

etsy faves : sunny side up...

Good afternoon my lovelies... :)
I'm popping in to share a few Etsy faves with you today, because as soon as I spied this gorgeous sunny yellow, ribbed ceramic lampshade (from Boots N Gus) I just knew you would all love it! I'm sure you will love everything else too and if you're anything like me you will be giddy at the mere sight of Tipico's wee yellow berry basket, not to mention the rest of the colouful mayan baskets in their fabulous shop...

Links: 1. Boots N Gus, 2. Noodle 'n Thread, 3. Pigeon Toe, 4. Nest Pretty Things, 5. Kiki & Polly, 6. tipico

Wishing you all a sunny day,
Emma, x

etsy faves : trend - aqua and red...

Hello my lovelies... :)
Oh, it has been such a long time since I shared any of my favourite Etsy finds with you, isn't it!? To be honest I had almost forgotten about sharing them here after Etsy had introduced their great 'Circle' feature and those lovely wee Facebook 'like' buttons everywhere. And now, because of the improvements to our favourites pages too, I've lost my lust for treasury making and become addicted to making my own favourites page look as spiffy as possible! But I don't want to leave you guys out in the cold or neglect my wee blog, so today I'm getting my butt into gear and am going to start sharing some of the trends that crop up within my favourites. Lets kick off with some bold, graphic motifs in lovely aqua and red, enjoy... :)

Links: 1. Small Talk, 2. fleur fatale, 3. craftyFOLK, 4. Madame Cupcake, 5. Kim's Little Monsters, 6. Design Twenty Six

Happy Wednesday to you all,
Emma, x

handmade artist ~ ponder and stitch...

Happy Thursday... what already!? Wow, another 'whizzy' week is whizzing by in a whizzing blur... phew! Now if I can just get a handle on today, before it whizzes into tomorrow, I want to share one of my very favourite Etsy shops with you.....

The ever so lovely miss Amy is the talented designer maker behind Ponder and Stitch. She makes the most wonderful dainty cuffs from re-purposed vintage fabrics and vintage inspired fabrics in the most beautiful colours and tiny floral prints. Some of her designs also incorporate snippets of pretty lace or meticulously hand embroidered words. As I have recently become the proud owner of two of miss Amy's cuffs I can tell you that her workmanship is just beautiful! They have that understated granny chic charm that I love so much ~ vintage and nostalgic with a whole lot of pretty! Just perfect for the coming spring... :)

All images: Ponder and Stitch

Please do pop by and take a peek at miss Amy's lovely wee shop to see more of her pieces. Oh, and she also loves to take custom orders so if you would like a different size, maybe even a wee phrase of your own or are after something slightly different to what she has in stock, I know she will do her utmost for you... :)

Emma, x

a breath of fresh spring air...

That's exactly what I felt when I saw this gorgeous new spring collection of fabric necklaces by Tamar, of Nest Pretty Things, over on Flickr the other day. I have long been a fan of miss Tamar's designs because of her unfearing use of bold but pretty colours and how she marries them perfectly with a very feminine granny chic style. If you have not seen miss Tamar's designs before please do take a peek at this beautiful Roma Necklace, a classic example of her signature style.
I am particularly fond of these new fabric necklaces because, while some are still very feminine, others are a wee bit more edgy. I love how the snippets of floral fabrics she has used have become abstracted so that the focus shifts to the blocks of colour, as in her 'Modern' series. Just lovely... :)

All images: Tamar from Nest Pretty Things

If you enjoyed this wee sample of miss Tamar's work I promise you will love the rest of her collection, which is sure to banish any January blues you might be feeling. Oh, and she also has a very sweet children's collection over in her Nest Pretty Things Kids store, which is well worth a peek too... :)

Happy Thursday to you all,
Emma, x

handmade artist ~ edor...

Good morning my dears... :)
Today I want to share with you a very sweet wee Etsy shop ~ EDOR ~ I was lucky enough to be gifted with a gorgeous necklace and bracelet of theirs this christmas. They are both so tiny and delicate and oh so pretty, I have worn them almost every day since receiving them... :)
Their whole collection is just as delicate and beautiful, as perfectly described by their tag line: tiny pretty~*

-{ all images via EDOR }-

What makes them even more appealing (at least to me!) is the very affordable price tags, especially in the face of rising prices and VAT increases here in the UK. The perfect time to treat yourself to some 'tiny pretty' and ward off the winter blues, I know I have my eye on this wee beauty too... :)

Emma, x

plum perfect...

Hello my sweets... :)
How about a few pretty plum finds from Etsy for a wee bit of eye candy this chilly Tuesday?

~ plum perfect... ...or plum pudding? ~

I absolutely love these dusky purple shades but have to admit that I hardly have any of it in my wardrobe! Oh, how I would love to remedy that with this gorgeous silk dress from 13Threads and this stunning vintage mother of pearl button necklace from Quench Metalworks. If Santa could possibly see his way to depositing the necessary funds into my bank account I would be most happy indeed... :)

Wishing you a plum perfect day,
Emma, x

today i'm loving...

Almost everything from Plumo's Winter 2010 collection! A wee catalogue came through my letterbox a couple of days ago and this morning I have been drooling over their entire site. Seriously, everything is just so pretty over there at the moment. I love this faux knitted Antoni & Alison silk dress, this teak cabinet is just gorgeous and I would love to be tucked under one of their flower quilts right now! I so wish this tweed coat was within my budget too... *sigh* ...take a wee peek for yourself and see what I'm talking about...

~ all images via Plumo ~

See! Just gorgeous... :)

Oh, and I must report that the snow didn't arrive in Edinburgh as expected, but the winter hasn't really started yet so there is plenty of time for that!

Wishing you all a cosy day and for everyone who celebrates it I do hope you have the most wonderful thanksgiving... :)
Emma, x

today i'm loving...

The stunningly gorgeous styling and saturated colours of ban.do's Black Label couture collection. I'm also loving the romance of the feathers and flowers and I absolutely adore this first one with the gorgeous turquoise Ostrich feather ~ 'Let Them Eat Cake'.

Oh, and how gorgeous is her fiery red hair!?

emma
x

i so want to wear it all... !

good afternoon my friends, i do hope your all having a fabulous day thus far!?

i have been crocheting like a woman possessed, in fact that's kinda been my whole week. it doesn't feel like i've spent much time online at all other than bringing you a few pretty posts. but this afternoon my hands felt like they needed a wee break and my eyes a wee treat. so what better way than to browse the ever inspiring isles of Etsy? spending a blissful half hour discovering lots of lovely finds that really should be in my wardrobe this winter... :)

~ i so want to wear it all... ! ~

oh, and since i'm now claiming official 'bagsy' for each and every one of these, no one else is allowed to buy them... okay!?

oh, and if you're wondering what i've been crocheting like a woman possessed...
ah well, i'll try and have a few pics ready for you next week... :)
wishing you lots of wonderful things for the rest of your Thursday afternoon!
emma
x

handmade artist ~ tinctory...

so i'm guessing that a lot of you lovelies will have already discovered and fallen in love with the amazing tinctory jewelry line? made by the fair hands of the extremely talented miss Eva...
at the moment i am absolutely in love with her most recent collection of smocked fabric necklaces that were inspired by the theme 'late summer'...

~ don't go yet & bittersweet ~

~ tempered & gather and hold ~

~ first blackberries & setting seed ~

again i am inspired by miss Eva's attention to detail, not only does she hand stitch each piece with exquisite detail but she also hand dyes the fabric pieces herself. since closing her Etsy shop to open an independent store she has been exploring natural dye processes, gathering and growing the ingredients herself and experimenting to find the most beautiful colour combinations. you can follow the journey and evolution of her designs over on her equally inspiring blog.

i am yet to own one of miss Eva's gorgeous pieces but maybe one day soon... as there are only fourteen weeks left til christmas you know... !!!
with that thought i shall leave you and wish you all a fabulous day... ;)
emma
x

sticking with the black and white theme for another day...

because when i saw María Goti Joyas Folium Ring on the front page of Etsy last night it was love at first sight!
i had already discovered her 'Fleur' collection in the past, but when i had a wee peek at her lovely shop last night i discovered her stunningly gorgeous 'Folium' and 'El Viejo Balancin' collections...

i am completely floored by how breathtakingly beautiful her work is... !
~ to find out more about María and her work check out her Etsy shop, website and facebook pages ~

wishing you all a wonderfully monochromatic day... ;)
emma
x

the talented miss Ivy...

it's almost a crime that i've not yet introduced you all to the incredible work of a very dear friend of mine ~ the ever so talented miss Ivy and her hand crocheted jewelry line Edera Jewelry. every time she adds new photos to her blog or a new piece to her Etsy shop you will find me swooning and marvelling at her elaborate creations!
she hand crochets each piece using real gold or silver threads alongside vintage silks and incorporates the most beautiful semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls as she goes. she draws inspiration for her necklaces, earrings and brooches from historical costume and traditional crochet and lace making techniques.
over the last two years that i've come to know miss Ivy it has been an absolute pleasure to see her wee shop go from strength to strength as her designs become ever more intricate and elaborate. i do hope you enjoy her pieces just as much as i do...

~ all images copyright Edera Jewelry ~

oh, if you pop over to miss Ivy's blog today you can find some sneaky peek pics of her very colourful creative space... :)
emma
x

dreaming of summer...

have you been over to Noa Noa lately?

i am completely in love with their sweet vintage summer styling ~ the beautiful saturated pinks, aqua, cream and sage greens are so uplifting and energising...

i'm also loving the oh so 'granny chic' bathing caps... not that it's a trend i think i'll be following, way too many bad memories from my school swimming lessons wearing such a 'flowery' cap in a very sad grey colour as far as i can remember. if only my fellow classmates had heard of 'granny chic' and it's love of all things retro and a wee bit flowery... *sigh*

emma
~ hoping these pretty pics will tempt the sun out from behind the rain clouds today! ~
x

going green for earth day...

...Conscious Clothing...

...b. bags...

...Fawn Potter...

...Muddy Feet...

...BottleHood...

...Just hatched...

...of course we all know that 'going green' shouldn't just be for earth day. no, we should be striving to change our attitude and impact on our environment and show some appreciation for this incredible wee planet we're all living on, every single day that we live on it...

...there are so many easy things we could do daily, things that once we started doing them they would become second nature, things that are so simple that it would be just plain silly not to try!

~ like switching off all non essential electricals...
~ turning off the light when you leave a room...
~ remembering to turn off the radio when you take the dog for a walk...
~ choose a handmade soap for cleaning your mucky pup...
~ choosing an organic peppermint tea...
~ only filling the kettle with just enough water for your cup...
~ try to only buy biscuits in recyclable packaging...
~ choose an eco-friendly detergent...
~ or opt for a (mostly) non chemical approach to cleaning...
~ use bio-degradable rubbish (trash) bags...
~ generally recycle where you can...
~ use recycled or organic yarns...
...choose only to eat organic chocolate ~ and lots of it ;)
~ and obviously, buy handmade!

...now this is just a small list i pulled from my daily routine and i'm sure most of you do all this and much, much more! i would love to hear any of your wee tips if you have them :)

...happy earth day everyone!
emma
x