Saturday Night at the Market 1/30/10

I’m all warm and cozy on this snowy January evening – snuggled up on the couch with my doggie.   The scene just outside my back door is one I’ll be sure to remember fondly come July when I’m wishing for a cool breeze as I’m mowing the lawn! 

It’s a perfect evening to spend catching up on what’s new at 1000 Markets.  You can find lots of new lovelies just in time for the romance of Valentine’s Day or dreams of the spring that will be on the way soon. 

 

If you’re in the mood to treat yourself to a new pair of earrings  (and who isn’t, lol!) check out the lovely Golden Cranes earrings from Steetnoodles’ shop - made with the most scrumptious peach quartz drops, what a great color! 

 

 

Another delightful pair that caught my eye were the sweet Lily of  the Valley earrings from her “in the woods’ collection.  Ellen’s shop is a  treat to browse through – find something whimsical and different to light up your day!

 

Speaking of whimsical and different – do make sure to check out the shop of Catnip Studio.  A treasure trove of all-occasion gift tags,  decoupage decor and  a super holiday collection, this shop is definitely eye candy!  I particularly love to create pretty packages when I give gifts, and I will definitely be ordering some of the wonderful tags from this shop!  

The perfect tags for wrapping that special box of chcocolates are the very special  King of Hearts Valentine gift tags.  

 

 

 

Or, if you prefer something a bit more flowery, the gorgeous, and very French Paris Rose gift tags are just perfect! 

 

 

But, I think my very favorites of all are the Butterfly Season tags.  

These come in a set of 4, one for each season.  The colorful butterflies are layered onto black  card stock and accented with wonderful  antique peacock feather artwork for the background.  (By the way, this great butterfly design can also be found in the shop as decoupage wall art.)

I’ve decided to surprise my Mom with a new pair of earrings (she’s crazy about earrings, just like me) and the butterfly tags are just perfect for these new butterfly earrings that I’ll be making for her.  I’ve paired vintage brass butterflies with luminous moonstones, and they just might be my new favorite design!  I’ve also made a ring to match – I’m calling it “On Golden Wings”.  Yep, it might be a cold and snowy January night, but I’m dreaming of Spring, that’s for sure!

Sunday Morning Coffee and Etsy – 01/10/10

Hope everyone’s New Year is going well so far!  I’m still enjoying that feeling of a fresh new start that comes each January.  The anticipation of  new artful treasures waiting to be discovered is such a happy feeling I can almost forget the frigid temperatures outside.  One day last week as I was checking on my Etsy shop hearts at Craftcult.com, I came across an ad that showed  a lovely  beaded bracelet in the most delicious colors.  I just had to click on it, and discovered Fredbean’s Nook, the shop of bead artist  Emma  who lives on Aquidneck Island near Portsmouth, Rhode Island.  I am in love with the colors and textures she uses in her pieces, and I want every one of them!  The “Garden of Color” bracelet is what caught my eye first.  The soft jewel tones and matte textures in this piece are perfection!

The “Sparkling Skies” necklace is my next favorite.  I do love turquoise, and her beadwork, paired with the great textured square silver beads is indeed heavenly.  This piece reminds me that I want to make some silver beads, and has given me inspiration for getting started on that new project! 

Emma’s hoop earrings are also wonderful – simple, classic, and oh, so perfect for the necklace!

These beauties also come in a delicous raspberry color, – just about the color of raspberry sherbet – yum!

 

Another great discovery this week is handmade shoes. Yes, handmade shoes, believe it or not – check out  Smartfish! 

 Indeed,  Alisha Budkie makes shoes completely from scratch!  She studied Industrial Design at the University of Cincinnati, where she focused on footwear design.  She also spent time interning at Adidas and New Balance.  Alisha’s designs are classic and understated – the perfect everyday shoe.   And if that’s not enough – her shoes use sustainable materials, are completely vegan, and created without using any adhesives.  The pairs pictured above are made from natural brown hemp canvas for the uppers, the outsoles are made from natural latex and sawdust (hand poured into molds made by Alisha!) and the insoles are made from salvaged cork, that has been coated with natural latex.   The lining is made from organic bamboo.  (Bamboo is good – read a little about bamboo clothing here)  Last, but not least, if your shoes happen to get dirty, the insole can be removed, and the shoes turned inside out and washed.  Perfect!

I found these wonderful shoes on the Etsy Treasury created by Walrus Tusk, that featured my little moonstone ring.  What an eye she has – her gorgeous treasury made the front page of Etsy yesterday afternoon – woot!  

Originally from Fairbanks, Alaska where she  learned the art of bead work, she now lives in Arizona where she draws her inspiration from the dry desert environment.  Walrus Tusk not only does bead work, but quill work, sewing, knitting, creating petroglyphs and refinishes furniture too! 

All of her beadwork is beautiful, but her Silver Medallion bracelet is simply sensational!  (And how great would it look with those shoes – yum!)  This bracelet would go with absolutely everything I wear – the soft greys with the hint of beige is an inspired color combo, and her workmanship is evident in every detail. 

I can definitely ‘see’ the desert landscape and colors in this piece.  I used to live in Arizona, and I do miss the warm dry air and the views that go on forever .  It is very much getting to be time to go back for a visit – I wish I was there right now.  I need the sun!  I do hope you all have been keeping warm on these frigid January days!

Saturday Night at the Market – 01/02/10

   I am looking forward to creating more one of a kind pieces in 2010, and my 1000 Markets shop is the perfect place to feature these new pieces.  I’m also happy to have the time again to share the beautiful things I find at 1000 Markets when I do my ‘armchair shopping’ from my cozy chenille chair – no malls for me!  If you haven’t heard of this wonderful online shopping site, or you have not stopped in for a look around in a while, do go and check it out.  It is still a new online venue, but over the last year, lots of little tweaks have been made to make shopping there easy, pleasant, and just plain pretty!  I do love the boutique feel that it has, and I always feel like I’ve been on a trip to an eclectic little city full of artsy shops and cafes when I stroll though 1000 Markets on my laptop. 

Something I have been looking for lately is Lavender – especially culinary lavender  because I am planning to be a vendor at this year’s Farmer’s Market here in Greeneville, and will be selling lavender based food items in addition to having a display for my jewelry.  (I’ll be planting a special culinary variety of lavender in my garden this year, too) 

I searched for “lavender” at 1000 Markets, and to my delight the very first result was fine culinary lavender grown and packaged by Blossom’s Wild Herb Lavender Farm.     In their own words:  “We grow all herbs and perennial plants on our 12 acre farm in an unheated polyhouse. We feel by not forcing our plants to grow un-naturally, we create a hardier plant to take on the hard cruel world. To view all plants with pictures it is best to visit www.blossomfarm.com for complete listing.”

They also have several yummy lavender  recipes listed, and I will surely be trying them as I prepare my Farmer’s Market product line this winter.  The Lavender Blossom muffins sound splendid – I can’t wait to try them.  

Something  else I want to start doing is making homemade  bread this winter now that the holiday rush is past.  There is nothing more wonderful than dipping warm homemade bread into herb-infused olive oil, so I was excited to find these fabulous  Tuscan Lavender Bread dips – in Blossom’s shop.  Of course, homemade bread is also delicious toasted with butter and honey, so I’ll have to try the Lavender Honey as well!

Blossom’s shop is filled with many more heavenly herbs and spices, but they also have a wonderful collection of lavender items for the bath and for weddings and special occasions.  The heavenly looking Purple Bouquet Lavender gift collection is a positively decadent collection of goodies to pamper yourself with!

I’ll close for now, as I am heading off to dream of the warm sun shining on fields of lavender while I sleep……..