This Says It All!

BESTteam Featured Shop - Fish Princess Designs

Fish Princess Designs  is a fly-fishing, jewelry designing, accountant with two grown children.  As you browse her shop, you will feel her inspiration from nature and the great outdoors in her designs!  Her jewelry appeals to all women which makes her pieces a great gift for Mom or that special woman in your life.  And you may just have to add a little something for yourself to your order.  Her lovely necklaces, bracelets, and earrings are created with a variety of natural materials – fossils, freshwater pearls, crystals,  semi-precious gemstones, and copper.

 

Etsy's Feature Shop - Lightkeeping

Lightkeeping – All Things Beautiful

You have to stop by Lightkeeping at Etsy to view Anastasija's absolutely gorgeous lampwork jewelry! Her work is fabulous. She has a great eye for combining textures and colors. I love every piece in her shop! Anastasija hails from Ireland and lovingly makes each piece; taking great care to all details and paying attention to color, proportion, symmetry – and most importantly – beauty! Her fondness for color, simplicity, and harmony are evident in each bracelet, necklace and pair of earrings. Most of her pieces are lampwork but she often incorporates Swarovski crystals, precious and semi-precious gemstones, and pearls. Wearing her jewelry will brighten your day and put a smile on your face.

Etsy's Feature Shop - Paradise Purls

Paradise Purls @ Etsy is full of beautiful hand knitted and handcrafted accessories.  There is a wide array of hand knitted hats and scarves  as well as some lovely beaded earrings.  Her colorful hats are perfect for children and babies. These soft, fluffy scarves will keep you warm and cozy on those chilly winter days.

Elizabeth is a self-taught knitter and beader who creates her items with a passion for attention to detail and style.  She has a great eye for color combinations and patterns in her knitted items as well as in her jewelry.

Here are some of my favorites:

     

      

For new listings and news about sales:
Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/paradisepurls
Blog - http://www.paradisepurls.blogspot.com
Facebook Fan Page - http://www.facebook.com/paradisepurls

Red Shirts!

The red shirts are still protesting! Since they have been camped out since the weekend, the shopping malls and some of the five star hotels in central Bangkok have been shut down resulting in the loss of millions of Baht.  Despite all the hoopla downtown, it really has had little impact on our daily lives out in the 'burbs. We are still working and going about our normal routines. Some of our friends who live in town have had to leave work early. One friend said she didn't sleep all weekend as the noise never stopped. It is amazing the red shirts have continued to last this long as it is hotter than hell - temperatures range from the high 90's F to over 100 F! Life is never dull in Thailand!   (Photos are from the Bangkok Post)

Cherry Blossom Time

The National Cherry Blossom Festival began on March 27 and will last for a two week period until April 11. This event celebrates springtime in Washington, DC.  The trees were a gift to the US from Japan in 1912 to symbolize the enduring friendship between the two countries.  This a little collection of handcrafted cherry blossom items from the shops of Etsy in honor of this festival.

 

Click the pic to visit the shop.

Nevita's Boutique-a-holic at Etsy

This week’s featured Etsy shop is HANDKNIT AND GOBELIN BOUTIQUE-A-HOLIC, a shop full of gorgeous handknits by Nevita of Sofia, Europe.  Nevita learned to knit, crochet, sew, and create gobelin tapestry at a young age whenever she visited her grandmother during the school holidays. Over the years she continued exploring these handicrafts, but realized that knitting and gobelin tapestry were the ones that gave her the most pleasure and satisfaction. Her creations symbolize how beautiful and precious life is.

Her scarves are so lovely – her spring collection is featured on her front page, but be sure to look at the winter collection (which is on sale)! There are a variety of rich colors and textures in many fashionable styles. There is also a section with adorable hand knitted baby wear.

Having an Etsy shop allows Nevita to spend time with her beautiful baby girl and to create beautiful pieces of clothing and art.
    

Here's where else you can find Nevita:
www.boutiqueaholic.blogspot.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/handknitbynevita
https://twitter.com/handknitbynev
http://www.youtube.com/handknitbynevita

The Clever Crafter

The Clever Crafter of Etsy has a fabulous shop featuring handcrafted jewelry made with a variety of unique materials.  Check out the button bracelets and guitar pick earrings! Very CLEVER!  Wearing these awesome jewelry pieces, will make you stand out in the crowd!  This clever crafter is always finding new ideas which keeps her shop fresh and exciting.

You are going to want to stop by the Clever Crafter’s blog to read three special weekly features! On Monday an Esty artist and shop is introduced. Tuesday’s Top 10 is theme oriented and includes 10 different Etsy shops - love this!  On Friday Lily, her very talented cat selects 7 different items from 7 Etsy shops that features cats.

 

Empress Jade Vintage

Empress Jade Vintage - Pin-up Glam to Cool Kitsch!

Empress Jade’s etsy shop features vintage woman’s fashion from the 40's through the 80's. Check out the Bombshell 50s, Mad Men 60s, Rich Hippie & Disco 70s, 80s New Wave. There are cute, indie, fashionable vintage party and day dresses, tops, skirts and more. You ‘ll also find glamorous vintage lingerie with a ton of slips, nightgowns and peignoir sets. Classic to indie fashion.

All the clothing is authentic vintage and there are almost never more than one of the same item. Often pieces are one of a kind, so once they are sold they are gone forever!

Empress Jade has such a unique collection of vintage clothing. You ‘ll find vintage separates, accessories, as well jewelry! If you love vintage, this shop is a must see!

Visit her blog http://empressjadevintage.blogspot.com/ which features vintage and indie fashion from the gorgeous to the downright weird.





      

Off the Wall Expressions

Off the Wall Expressions - "Helping you to Express Your Personality"

Off the Wall Expressions is a husband & wife team specializing in vinyl graphics for home and business. Mick has been a designer of signs, graphics, catalogs and everything in between for over 20 years. Tina is the idea person, blogger, order packer, e-marketeer and corresponder.

Vinyl designs are quick and easy to apply, instantly transforming your space into something special. You can use vinyl to decorate, make a statement, motivate, inspire, amuse, and organize any area. Vinyl can be applied to any smooth surface such as walls, windows, wood, glass, refrigerators, plastic, bathtubs, picture frames, and many more. Use your imagination, or use ours. They will also create custom designs for you.

This shop has some thing for every one of every age as well as styles to match every one’s taste! Their vintage chalkboard was featured on ABC’s Good Morning America!  This chalkboard and the chalkboard labels are some of my favorites! Stop by and visit this fabulous shop at Etsy!

Visit Off the Wall Expressions' blog.

I love the cherry blossoms!

 

Cool cardinals.

Bloggers Street Team - featuring Chriscreaclub

I am a member of the newly created Bloggers Street Team. One of our goals is to blog about one of our members each week. This week I’d like to feature Chriscreaclub.

Christel Nolle from the Netherlands is the owner of Chriscreaclub at Etsy. She makes darling crocheted key rings, pin cushions, bags, and little gift tags. Her love of color is evident in her work.

According to Christel, she is “addicted to eating ice cubes, drinking cappuccino and twittering. Having creative ideas all the time. Working on getting the ideas out of my head and making them real. I love (besides my boyfriend, our daughter, my family & friends) colors, reading, blogging,  bags, rings and a lot of other things. Hope to be famous once in this lifetime. “

Please stop by to visit her shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/chriscreaclub

Blog - (http://www.christelnolle.com)

Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/christelnolle

Fashion Week

Fashion Week has been happening in New York - But the designers on Etsy deserve a little exposure. There are so many talented designers! You can view their collections from the comfort of your home or if you are working, from your desk. I hope you enjoy the collection I have put together. The photos are clickable - and will take to its Etsy shop.

Year of the Tiger

Chinese New Year begins on February 14.  Those people who were born in
1914, 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998 are Tigers.
Tigers are sensitive, given to deep thinking, capable of great sympathy. They can be extremely short-tempered, however. Other people have great respect for them, but sometimes tiger people come into conflict with older people or those in authority. sometimes Tiger people cannot make up their minds, which can result in a poor, hasty decision or a sound decision arrived at too late. They are suspicious of others, but they are courageous and powerful. Tigers are most compatible with Horses, Dragons, and Dogs.

These great items were found on Etsy (If you click on the photo, you will be taken to the shop).

Quilting!

I went to an art show this afternoon that featured Karen Sengel 's beautiful quilts. Her work is absolutely gorgeous and features scenes of life in Thailand. It was hard to pick a favorite - I loved them all; the mangosteens, the flower girl walking her bike, the temple bells, the hilltribe women, and the teapot. Please take a peak at Karen's website to view her amazing quilts.

Wasabi!

I have had an obsession for wasabi for weeks now! Although I love Japanese food, I am especially fond of anything that I can add wasabi and ginger to! One of the local bakeries makes a onion bagel sandwich with salmon, dill, and wasabi - what a delicious combo! In the snack section of the supermarket, there are cans or packets of wasabi dried peas and wasabi peanuts! They can pack a punch! One of my favorites is wasabi flavored potato chips, but I haven't seen them in the stores in ages. Must look for them again.
Wasabi is also known as "Japanese horseradish." It is a root vegetable that needs to be grated into a powder and mixed with water to create the paste. It is served with sushi and sashimi. It is definitely an acquired taste.

Maybe I am taking this obsession a little too far!  I searched for "wasabi" on Etsy and found 432 items tagged with the term.  Wasabi catnip, lots of jewelry, scarves, hats, hairclips, soap, body scrubs, etc...Here are some of my favorites.  Click on the photo to visit the shop.