amy bengtson

It really doesn't get any better than this, for me anyway, sweet jewelry with little birds! The talented jewelry designer Amy Bengtson teamed up with my super fave artist Amy Ruppel to create these necklaces using carved rosewood inlaid with mother of pearl birds. In addition to her necklaces she also creates earrings with handmade petal beads and you can choose the color bead and silver or gold. Love the options.

P.S. The necklaces are limited editions so order now!

bag lust

Argggghhh! A new bag to lust after! The Laurence Hobo bag. $475, ouch but ohhhhh I love!

Satine boutique is brimming with new stuff lately I'll post more later.

Precious

Thanks to Brandy over at Indie Obsession I have now become obsessed with Etsy! My discovery today is British illustrator Mandy Sutcliffe and her adorable shop MillyMollyMandy. Her sweet images of children would be a perfect little set for a babies room or little girl or boys room. I love her little 4 Seasons set and the Dove series is available as a set of cards. I have 2 baby showers this weekend, someone might be getting one of these prints!

amy burhoe designs

I have been on a jewelry class kick lately. I started with wire jewelry class, moved onto metalsmithing, and now my next foray will be learning how to make fused glass jewelry. I do this all for fun and leave the true artistry to gals like Amy Burhoe whose brightly colored fused glass rings and pendants look good enough to eat! Funny enough some of them are named after food: the Key Lime Pie, Strawberry Shortcake and the Fried Egg to name a few. They are also a great price: $18 for rings, $40 for necklaces. Enjoy!

haiku bird

If you haven't discovered Etsy yet, the online shop spot for all things handmade, go there now and get lost! Haiku Bird is one of the many talented mixed-media artists on Etsy and I just loved her hummingbird pieces with little haiku's, especially this one:

hatching of the eggs,
carefully cultivated;
the babies
display their beauty

They are one of a kind and if you are looking for affordable artwork this is it, prices range from $9-$40.

love love love

This adorable clothing line Puella (" girl" in Latin) created by two best friends in LA is my new fave. They take inspiration for their one-of-a-kind prints from vintage scarves and even wallpaper. Then they create a whole collection from dresses to tank tops based on that pattern. You can buy from their website and search their upcoming collections.

wah happened?

I usually blow off Gap for the more stylish Banana, but they are coming on strong this Spring with these stylish handbags at surprisingly hefty prices, $198 for the leather hobo bag and the leather rope bag! But I'm into it, keep it up Gap!

paper mojo

One of my blog readers Mia just sent me this great website Paper Mojo, which is going to start a paper obsession, so look out for more posts on pretty paper (and send suggestions!). This is a fantastic site for everything from flower paper, italian paper and my favorite japanese paper. I like to always have a few unique sheets of paper for wrapping gifts or covering gift boxes but the uses of great paper are endless really. Here are some pretty groupings from the prints and patterns section.

lunch break

I just got back from an excursion to Forev's (Forever 21) and as usual it was a pattern explosion in there. I kinda can't deal after about 10 minutes in that place there is just too much going on. But it's pretty impressive the amount of prints and styles they can come up with. They did have some cute cropped jackets though, I bought a faux linen one in brown for $28!
I then hit my all time fave Anthropologie and bought two over priced tops and debated heavily on a dress but decided to wait on the dress. I can't find pics on their site to share with you, but trust me good stuff :-)

spring is in the air

Ok it's February but it was almost 70 degrees here yesterday, glorious! Sorry East coast I know its still dumping Winter on you but I'm ready for warm weather and skirts! Here are some really cute wrap skirts from Made with Love by Hannah. According to Hannah she takes her inspiration from the German style skirt called a dirndl and being a little German girl myself I guess that explains why I an attracted to these skirts. I love her take on the traditional style. Really reasonable at $62 a pop too.

beep beep

Here is a gorgeous spread from the color issue of House & Garden this month. This realm of blue is what I'm looking for to redo the chairs below. I love #11 a soft blue mohair and #12 in blue/grey leather which might be a whole new way to go. I like the camel color mixed in here as well, maybe I could do camel colored matching cushions. The possibilities are endless!

william morris

If we're talking fabric, I have to mention William Morris, a textile designer in the 19th Century who was hugely popular in the Arts & Crafts movement. I have been salivating over his wallpaper and fabric design for years but since we live in a 50's ranch house and not a Craftsman style house I don't feel right decorating everything in his prints. You can still purchase many of his designs in wallpaper, fabric and other household textiles. I found this Canadian company Charles Rupert with a huge selection of his designs.