stained glass candies

While not at their prettiest inside their wrappers, these stained glass candies would be beautiful displayed in a glass jar, en masse. They come in several different flavors, including black and white coconut and chocolate, bright red cinnamon, vibrant orange, and many others. They could be lovely as favors in see-thru boxes.

charmed, I'm sure.

The proprietor of a delightful little Etsy shop called Hazelnut Cottage emailed me this weekend to tell me about her wedding jewelry and accessories. I love the delicate customized bouquet charms (right), as well as her gorgeous vintage inspired jewelry. Check her out!

emunique: jewelry empire

{ white pearl wrapped in silver earrings }


{ white peacock earrings }

brooklyn-based milda sedra has not one but *three* etsy stores. the largest, emunique, has colorful wire-wrapped and crocheted gold and silver jewelry; simplemunique is a pared down version of the same, and her wedding line, bridalemunique, is a relatively new offshoot. she takes on custom work as well, maybe sets for the bridal party or special gifts.

samples below are linked from all three stores:





more at emunique.etsy.com, simplemunique.etsy.com, and bridalmunique.etsy.com

evapaul redux: modern invites

{ custom calendar save-the-date }

since my first post, evapaul has added some lovely things -- here's an update!




more at evapaul.etsy.com

love: beirut

off-topic! here's my obsession of the week: this sweet, sad, mournful, joyful, intimate series of single-take videos from beirut:



"i'll gamble away my fright..." --

le sigh. makes me want to fall in love, move to brooklyn, and play the french horn.
there's one for each song on the album at flyingclubcup.com
what's your non-traditional love song, friends? maybe i'll start a series.

pocketfullofpoesy: engraved rings

{ hand-engraved silver ring }

"my life and my love" -- sounds beautiful in any language, no?

victoria of pocketfullofpoesy is new to etsy but has been creating beautiful rings in sydney for 14 years. not to mention she addressed me as 'ms. smallstar' -- how can i resist? you know how i feel about hand-engraved or stamped jewelry -- am in love with words and with the idea of creating something so intensely *personal* and meaningful. victoria works in both gold and silver and happily takes on custom wedding work, and prices with shipping from australia are quite reasonable.

her shop announcement says she's away until the 6th of april, so hoping this will be a nice surprise when she returns. check out her lovely, lovely things:



more at pocketfullofpoesy.etsy.com

clutch!

I've been finding so many nice evening bags lately! I love the clutches at Holland Cox for their originality and affordability. There's something disturbing about dropping large quantities of cash on something that will only see the light of day a few times a year. At $60 each, you can feel good about having a little extra cash to keep in the bag after you buy it.

a little something special

Faceted Calcite, Green Amethyst, and Champagne Quartz jewelry from one of my favorite jewelry designers of all time, Becky Kelso. The vine earrings are a perfect balance between special and wearable, making them worth the splurge. And the ring? That just makes me happy. I love that green!

carolleedesigns/junkmail: feisty cards

{ hatemail -- 'now you really done did it' }

hilarious. have been looking for a clever non-saccharine way of saying: hey! congratulations! this store is full of anti-pink-packet sentiments. well, that and some genuinely mean cards. but well-designed mean. that counts for something, right?

(off-blog-topic faves: i love 'thanks from the baby mama' and most especially 'you park like an idiot' mini cards -- oh, the places you'd go.)

there are also thank you and gift sets, for your sharp-tongued friends.

and yes, it's not just you -- the posting has slowed down this week. am working on something (again). excuses, excuses :)




more at carolleedesigns.etsy.com

you may develop a leathery tail...

honestly, you've all probably seen this -- one of my friends hadn't, and so just in case:

{{5.1.08 please bear with me! the nbc widget is making my firefox crash. will post a new link shortly}}



makes me laugh *every* time.

pretty boxes

Some more great finds from Estilo Weddings, either for well wishes, money envelopes, or as a guestbook of sorts. Have each guest write their best advice for a happy marriage on a card and drop it inside the box. Open the box and read all the advice the day after your wedding with the new hubs. You'll laugh, you'll most likely cry... you might even take some of the advice.

oyku: felt shawl

{ white merino felt and chiffon silk shawl }

strange and wonderful textiles: istanbul-based oyku uses traditional felting techniques to produce non-traditional items. for those of you planning a fall or winter wedding!

more at oyku.etsy.com

joan shum

I love the vintage inspired, custom-made gowns over at Joan Shum's Etsy shop. This tea length corset-ed number is my absolute favorite, and reminds me of a 1950's Vogue cover. She also has a wonderful 1940's inspired shirt-sleeve dress that I love called The White Dahlia. What a great name! Check her out!

not your moma's bows

I'm back! And to start my return off in style, I'm pointing you in the direction of these amazing gowns over at Neiman Marcus. I love that each of these dresses has a rather unexpected type bow. Be it minimal or right up front and center, they're not your Moma's bows. The first one is Jay Godfrey (for a steal) the second is a bit more indulgent, but certainly no less stunning, from Dior.

claylabdetroit: custom photo platter

{ your photos personalized platter }

claylabdetroit makes *really* cool ceramics. check out this great gift idea: send in your photo; clay lab works the magic and your 8 lbs. of clay are "thrown and screened while the clay is still wet, resulting in a Warhol-style print permanently fired into the porcelain." you can have multiple platters made with the same screen at a discount rate (one-stop gifts for parents, step-parents, grandparents, godparents, dogparents, etc. etc.) the results are dishwasher and microwave safe and the image won't fade over time. instant heirloom, or go kitsch with the happy couple above.

such a fun shop!



more at claylabdetroit.etsy.com

update: handmade wedding series

hello all! as promised, here's an update on etsy's handmade wedding series, including the following great articles:

budget and indie planning resources
handmade wedding invitation finds
vintage indie and the indie wedding guide
calligraphy and invitation info
invitations and paper finds with poppytalk
eco-wedding tips from portovert.com
diybride on myths about DIY weddings
(my little etsy finds feature :)
an awesome review of custom/indie registry websites
registry ideas from design*sponge
inspiration boards with style me pretty

see these posts and more articles here, and happy reading!

stars tribute sampler

each photo links to its shop.

short post today! am headed to a birthday party. in the meantime, saw stars last night, absolutely brilliant live. a little rock star sampler in their honor above!

(21.march -- edit! for lovebirds, check out 'the aspidistra files,' 'my favourite book,' 'elevator love letter,' 'today will be better,' and 'the first five times.' or see myspace tour info xoj)