Recent Purchases!

So here they are, my most recent purchases--from Etsy and elsewhere! First up is my adorable crocheted ninja (who I named Hiro after Hiro Nakamura from Heroes--cannot wait for that show to start again!) from Needle Noodles. She has TONS of cute stuff in her shop; eventually I'll have to buy her pirate amigurumi. But on to Hiro:

Aww, look how cute his little ninja star is! And here's another one with him trying to fight all my Tokidoki pups:

I think I've yet to mention my great love for all things Tokidoki. Here's my latest purchase from tobi.com--a beautiful Tokidoki bag in Carnival (with Hiro trying to conquer it, of course):


Here are some close-ups of my favorite characters:


Ah, so cute! And speaking of cute, next we have my cute crocheted Edward Cullen doll from Deadcraft, along with my breakfast toys from Kidrobot and Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane:


And let's not forget another crocheted favorite of mine-this lovely flower clutch from Miss Indie, along with a recycled t-shirt scrubby kindly given to me by Right Brain Thinker (and no, Hiro is not trying to defeat my flower purse, he merely thinks it is pretty):


Well, I hope you've enjoyed my recent purchases (I know I have!); I think I'm beginning to see why I'm constantly broke . . .

New Items Added!

I've very proud to announce that I've added lots of new items, so now would be a great time to go check out my shop (or not, y'know . . . if you don't want to, I won't make you *sniff*).

The next couple of posts will be about all the awesome purchases I've made on Etsy. I have some cool stuff I need to share with the world (and by "the world" I mean the whole ten people that read this blog--you're awesome, thanks!!). I really need to end this post before the smell of desperation becomes too much to bear.

Please check back for more features!

Featured Shop: Linor Store!

Today's featured seller is Linda Blatchford of Linor Store--a shop that features original handmade gemstone and glass jewelry creations. Her designs reflect the harmony of specific gemstones and colors used to increase spiritual vibrations. For example, the color purple is for royalty, green is for healing and calmness; just read her awesome jewelry descriptions and you'll see what I mean!

Linor Store is for women who can appreciate beautiful and well-made jewelry. Linda also creates little girl's jewelry sometimes. She uses many gorgeous gemstones and glass beads in her pieces, so you know you're only getting the best in quality jewelry.

Linda likes to watch TV while she beads (like Gray's Anatomy and Colorsplash). Her favorite person is her husband, John; they have two cat children: Stubbers, who is 16, and Buddy, who is 4. Linda also loves to create stamped greeting cards, ornaments, and kipot.

Linda has her own website at linorstore.com. She also has a blog: Linda Loves Beading!

Featured Shop: A Cache of Jewels

Today's featured seller is Sandra of A Cache of Jewels--a shop that features antique and vintage costume jewelry, knitting (especially Judaica work), and many dog-related items, thanks to her English Springer Spaniel, Cookie. Her dog is the love and inspiration for those items for dogs and owners; when Sandra fell ill a couple of years ago and first came home from the hospital, Cookie taught herself to be a service dog. Making beautiful items is Sandra's way of thanking Cookie for all she has done.

Sandra's shop is more eclectic than most because of its multi-focus. She makes jewelry that is comprised of many items, but mostly beadwork and Swarovski crystals. She loves glamor and glitz, a trait inherited by her mother and grandmother; one collected costume jewelry while traveling around the world by steamship, while the other owned a large bridal shop that Sandra worked in growing up.

A Cache of Jewels has a little something for everyone: intriguing patterns for knitters, vintage jewelry for women, destash, and dog items for animal-lovers.

Sandra is still trying to play catch-up, due to her illness of the last couple years. She is getting back into teaching Ballroom and Latin-American dance. In her quiet time, she loves reading a good mystery (her favorite authors are Rex Stout and Ellery Queen). She loves her Jewish heritage and expresses it through her cooking, especially during Passover.

Sandra also has a site of her own, aptly named "A Cache of Jewels", it has some wonderful links and a beautiful gallery!

Featured Seller: Miss Karina's

Today's featured seller is Karina Nathan of Miss Karina's New Orleans--a shop that specializes in a very different sort of clothing!

Miss Karina's features clothing and costumes inspired by life in New Orleans. Costumes include party wear, Halloween, Carnival, festival wear, and burlesque. You will even find funky accessories to play up your costume!

Karina's shop is meant to be humorous (especially the Merkin Hair Panties, which I'm sure are the only ones of their kind). She loves the whole Trashion movement, so a lot of her work incorporates recycled materials. Her clothing is for women who enjoy life and wear clothes that express this attitude.

When she's not designing clothing, Karina enjoys many different art forms, including: float design, running her dance troupe (The Bearded Oysters), cartooning, photography, and papier mache. She also loves to travel; she is spending the year teaching art and English in Korea and recently went to Japan!

Featured Seller: Fun and Fashion!

Today's feature is all the way from India: Pallavi of Fun and Fashion--a shop that specializes in Scrabble tile pendants, earrings, necklaces, and bracelets.

Her jewelry is fun and fashionable--great for women of all ages! She also has some beautiful handmade pendants.

Pallavi loves to sing and read when she's not creating for her Etsy shop. To learn more about Fun and Fashion and for some fun contests, please visit her blog "Little Fortune".

Featured Seller: Pretty Little Love Objects

Today's featured seller is Jodie from Pretty Little Love Objects! Her shop specializes in women's jewelry that is designed around the idea of giving presents as a way of spreading love. She likes to use her shop as a way of exploring the different forms that a love token may take, for example: making simple necklaces and then highly detailed ones. There are lots of different heart beads included in her pieces to fit with her shop's theme.

Each piece of jewelry is an individual design and it's very rare that the same design is done twice. Her shop is full of earrings, necklaces, and bracelets that use a range of different materials; right now Jodie loves glass, buttons, and ribbon, but she's also been known to use clay, ceramics, crystal, and wood. She's looking to expand her product lines, and she now has cards and other paper goods.

Everything in Pretty Little Love Objects is an individual design, so you don't have to worry about others copying your style. Jodie offers an inventive, low-cost repair service, so your pretty jewelry will last for a long time. Pretty Little Love Objects is for creative, artistic, and fashionable women from sixteen and up who don't make their own jewelry. All of her items are designed to increase love in the world; every time someone wears jewelry from her shop, they should feel a little bit happier.

Jodie features lots of other sellers and other cute things in her blog. She also contributes to a blog every Etsy seller could use: Surviving Etsy.

Jodie hails frome the U.K., so she likes to drink, shop, dress up, and go dancing with friends. She's really into weight training and plans to do more of it. She loves reading anything and everything; her favorite book is Broke Heart Blues by Joyce Carol Oates. Her favorite movie is Spartacus and her favorite band is Counting Crows. Her favorite drink is unquestionably mojitos. ;)

Featured Seller: Isabeau Bijoux!

Today's featured seller is Keren of Isabeau Bijoux--a shop that makes jewelry with natural stones, sterling silver, and swarovski crystals.

Keren's designs are unique, inspired by her surroundings and life experiences. She loves incorporating gemstones and semiprecious stones because she admires their natural beauty. She makes both casual jewelry for everyday wear and elaborate pieces for special occasions and presents.

Isabeau Bijoux is for any woman, regardless of age, who loves individual design and gorgeous handmade jewelry. You can learn more about Keren and her shop at her blog: Isabeau-Bijoux!

Keren is mid-way through microbiology graduate studies, as well as a metalsmithing course (very ambitious!). When she's not creating jewelry, she loves to draw and paint.

Featured Seller: Simple Vintage!

Today I'm featuring Brittni Wood of Simple Vintage--a shop that specializes in vintage housewares, handbags, clothing, craft supplies, jewelry and more.

Brittni makes Simple Vintage stand out with her unique perspective. Her style is very eclectic and modern and it definitely shows in her shop. She is always collecting unusual objects, whether it be for her home, store, or personal artwork.

Simple Vintage is for young, creative women who are fun and hip and have a sense of humor. Check out more of Brittni and Simple Vintage on the blog Paper and Stitch.

Brittni's other interests mostly include working on art. As a painter and high school art teacher, she is always searching for visual inspiration. Aside from that, she is newly engaged and enjoys hanging out on the couch with her fiance and two pets: Luna and Nuggies (I don't see why your fiance doesn't count as a pet, but that's just me :D).

Featured Seller: Azhure's Jewels!

Today's feature is Azhure of Azhure's Jewels--a shop that specializes in flamboyant jewelry and a few other odds and ends: wands, an occasional painted object, and surplus beads.

Trying to distinguish her shop from other jewelry shops has been difficult (believe me, I know), but she's done so by putting intensity into her pieces and adhering to her own vision of things. Take her Luna Moth, for example; she uses stones to represent the colors of a moth, and the emotion that it instills. She describes her work as "painting pictures with beads."

Azhure's Jewels is for those who appreciate and embrace individuality. Each separate piece has an audience.

Azhure loves anything having to do with history, mythology, or science. Gemstones are her passion (she's even working on a gemstone book). She spends a good deal of time outside; it's her main source of inspiration. She enjoys reading fantasy books and has five aquariums filled with fish, newts, and hermit crabs.

To learn more about Azhure's Jewels, check out her blog and Twitter page!