Saturday, May 26, 2012

Sunny Disposition

I created this Treasury on Etsy a while back and wanted to share it.  Make sure and leave some love for the shops in the comments below. :)


If you're in this treasury leave a comment and don't forget to add your shop URL or Twitter tags.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Thrifty Thursday



Being thrifty is a way of life and honestly doesn't take any more time than buying things at regular price.  True, if you want to give a handmade gift then it will take a bit of time, but it's so worth it!

If you have some thrifty tips to share please do!  We love to save money!







{I'm on the Look-out} this site has so many recipes and ideas for pampering yourself without spending a lot of money. My mom and I have used several of the recipes for skin care, cleaning and laundry soap. They work great and do not even come close to breaking the bank! 







Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Window Shopping Wednesday





Today we're starting our Window Shopping in Berlin, Germany by visiting Esther and Moritz at MakeLifeParadise.


Original Photograph by Moritz. 



This shop has quite a nice selection of colorful photography prints.  The staircase to the left is one of my favorites!  



These prints are very affordable and would give your space quite a worldly air. 















Next we see this red shutter photograph.

Original Photograph by Moritz
 This is just awesomeness! 
 It says it was taken in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Way cool!






























Next we travel to..... Tel Aviv, Israel and drop in on Ann Ozer at WearMeUp
Black Elegant gloves mittens with vintage floral pattern -
Arm Warmers pink polka dots Yoga Gothic Dark victorian retro blue flower





Talk about cool! Gothic, eclectic, cool, awesome those are just a few of the words that come to mind when I look through Ann's shop.  Wow!


These would be great for a wedding, or just to jazz up your everyday outfits!














Next Stop Vienna, Austria...






 where we find these organically shaped all natural lollipops made by  Amanda Gynther of CafePrimrose.   Holunder Spritz Lollipops and Lemon Lollies with free shipping!





Last stop for the day is back in the good ol' USA where we head to Highland, California to visit Andrea Robinson at MissCrackleberry where she offers Handmade Cards, Journals and Chipboard books.

















This is just one of her adorable cards, all handmade and quite unique!




This is such a cute way to save for a trip!  Love, love, love it!   






























That's all for today... hope you enjoyed our window shopping trip this week!  Please leave comments below and make sure to visit the shops!  





Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Tipster Tuesday




Tip #1...If you want to save some money on Iced Coffee at home... It's just as easy to brew your own pot, mix it up with the flavored creamer, or flavor syrup... whatever you have and you want.. then pour into a pitcher of ice.. keep in the fridge and drink as you like. (tip from Me).  



Tip #2...To save money on the flavored creamer we all love, just buy the flavored syrup instead then add it to the milk or half and half, whichever you use.  It's much cheaper and  you can make it the strength to suite your taste. (tip from my Mom).

I like Torani syrups like these...   they are fairly concentrated and great to add to half and half or milk or straight to your coffee.  

Monday, May 21, 2012

Not so Mundane Monday


Happy Monday! :)  This week's Not so Mundane Monday is all about decorating my new {soon-to-be} Studio... **Happy Dance**!!   We finally found a house that is closer to the Hubs' work (Chino Mine in Bayard, NM) so we're moving June 1!  I finally get to set up my studio again.. I can't tell you how excited I am about this.  It has been so difficult getting all of my materials out, working for a bit and then having to put it all to the side or stash it out of the way again.  Triple the work, for sure!


So anyway, I have my choice of several rooms and I'm pretty sure I'm settling on the would-be living room with the huge window for the natural light and so I won't feel closed away from the outside world.   I'm not a fan of working in a back room and not knowing what's going on around me.  The room which is huge for a studio, but small for a living room, is approximately 10x10 and like I said one wall is one huge window!

I've found quite a few sites with great pictures of craft-rooms, which I am using for ideas for mine.

Photo by Cindy
I really like the cubby style shelf unit in this photo I found on Home-Designing.

I'm collecting budget friendly ideas (I love to re-purpose!) so if you have an idea that has worked for you please share in the comments below... I'd love to get your input!
I will post pics and videos of my studio as I put it together. I can't wait to get started!!








The one thing I know I will be doing is creating various work stations. I'm so tired of getting materials out and putting them back and I do so many different things I think having different work stations are exactly what I need for keeping my creativity flowing.  I watched this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TdQcz3E1eY&feature=related YouTube vid on palettes one day and got the idea to keep my paint palette loaded and ready to paint at the spur of the moment.  I have done this and have painted so much more since doing it. When I get a few minutes to paint I can come in paint a few things and leave again without taking the time to decide what I'm going to paint and then putting the paints out on the palette and getting ready.  I'm always ready!  This is such a time saver and allows you to be creative at the spur of the moment.





Photo by new-memories from Rate My Space
This pic is really close to how I see me setting up one of my stations.. don't you just love it?
I found it on HGTV Organized Craft Rooms.

I really like the pen holder along the window, but I'd use it for my colored pencils. I'm going to look for vertical storage for my pens.















I'm definitely going to get a couple of OttLites like this one for table top use.
Isn't it cute? It's a tulip style, I just love it!
They also come in floor lamp versions and you can even buy just the bulbs. These are so awesome. They give true color light like being outdoors!




I could go on and on but I won't today. I have so much to do in the next ten days to get ready to move!   Please leave any ideas below I'd love to hear from you!!







Thursday, May 17, 2012

Green & White Jewelry Set.. Newly Added

I just love this set.  It's a chunky necklace, bracelet and earrings.  The weight of this necklace is very comfortable, more comfy than any necklace I've put on.

It is just over 22.5" long and has a regular clasp.  I tried a magnetic one but the necklace is too heavy and I was worried the magnetic clasp wouldn't hold.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/98273038/green-and-white-marbled-and-solid-chunky
The earrings are just over 2.5" long. The ear-wires are silver, easy closing with three little rhinestones.  



https://www.etsy.com/listing/92857558/green-and-white-marbled-and-solid-chunky




The bracelet is 8" long and has a magnetic clasp.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/95395730/green-and-white-marbled-bead-dangle

Each of these items are available in my Etsy Shop.

Thursday, May 10, 2012

:) DANCE







Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Wednesday Window Shopping


Our first stop on today's Window Shopping tour is in:


Paris, France with lamamadesmatous
This shop features an eclectic mix of knits, stained glass, jewels, vintage, and French antique linens and paintings. 



I'm a bit of a handbag fanatic so this shop really caught my eye because of the vintage bags.     


















These are just so lovely, I don't know if I could pick just one... pretty sure I couldn't! ;) 








There are some brilliant colorful knits available also... 





Surely some of these are OOAK (one-of-a-kind)  and are just too beautiful and unique!


I just love the color and texture of the knitted items in this shop.  They're so vibrant and so much fun!  Definitely going on my Wish List!  
 (hint, hint Hubs) ;)
  



Our next stop is in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada at SandrasCornerStore

This shop features vintage and handmade items!  Check out the welcome message, 
it looks like you can get a discount for buying 4 items! Awesomeness!!  

This pretty beads caught my eye first, wouldn't they make a wonderful necklace? 
hmmm... 
now I'm sidetracked thinking of a design to use these in...  
Oh MY Goodness, there are quite a
few different styles and colors available!  
okay I'll have to come back and check these out more. ;)

Oh look! Vintage hankies!  I love these, they're so sweet and work wonderfully.  
People seriously need to go back to carrying hankies in their purse, 
it's more "green" than using tissues.


Next we're off to Texas to PracticallyWhimsical

Cute shop with lots of affordable jewelry and Oh WOW, lookit!  Are those wreaths made of...
 they are!   they've up-cycled magazines to make these wreaths, check 'em out....






Aren't these just the neatest?
I can think of so many
magazines sitting my shelves that should be used for something like this...
but I let's be honest, I have so many irons
in the fire I don't think I'd ever get to it!
Glad Practically Whimsical does them, because I  want one! ;)


Now we're heading to Iowa to visit AccursedDelights

This shop is super cool and fun! 

 I absolutely love this first handbag (naturally!) that grabbed my attention.   
I can think of quite a few people who would LOVE these earrings... 

Okay my time is running out, I have errands to run so have to stop shopping for today.  :)

Well that was quite a window shopping trip. I'm pretty sure some of the items I found will end up either in my house or under my Christmas tree this year!

Have a great day all! And remember if you'd like me to include you in next weeks Window Shopping comment below!






Friday, May 4, 2012

Treasury I'm Featured In....

Thank you Mary Anne for including my blue and yellow necklace in your cheery treasury!

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Treasury I'm Featured In...

Check out this fabulous Treasury!  Thank you Lorraine for including my Mom glass pendant!