The Smart Bird

Drizzly Easter Sunday

 

I hope all of you had a lovely Easter Sunday.  We dyed eggs and had a smallish Easter egg hunt for my daughter and the neighbor's girl who is the same age.  The girls donned strands of Mardi Gras beads courtesy of an uncle who lives in Louisiana, adding a bit of color to the gray, drizzly day.  Much cuteness ensued, as you can imagine. 

I haven't dyed eggs since I was a little girl, and so it was kind of a rude awakening.  It's harder than you might think to get even, saturated color, let alone any sort of design incorporated into the mix!  So rather than bore you with pictures of my sad eggs (I've already promised myself next year will be better.  I'm going to do research, read some Martha Stewart books, and generally become an egg-dying expert over the next year), I thought I'd share a charming Etsy shop I recently found.  It's called The Handwork Group, and she sells dolls, tiny felted animals and lovely Ukranian Easter eggs.  The dolls and animals follow a Waldorf aesthetic (simple designs that allow children the most freedom in play and imagination), and are just adorable in every way.  Here are a few of my favorites from her shop.... 

{Photo credits belong to The Handwork Group}

Happy Easter!

Japan Love + Pottery = Perfect

Perhaps because my grandfather was a gifted (and locally celebrated in his upstate New York hometown) potter, I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the artform.  Every now and then I stumble across a pottery artist who really captures my imagination, and AlmaPottery on Etsy happens to be my most recent lucky discovery.  In her own words, "I make fun pottery and I refund your shipping overcharges."  What's not to like?

This was the first piece that caught my eye, and since I'm a self-admitted Japanophile, the combination of Japanese imagery and clever pottery design just kills me.  It's called "Harajuku store front.really.":

(photo credits belong to AlmaPottery)

And these Kokeshi-inspired dolls are adorable, too:

A lovely "Moroccan Zen" luminaria:



A plate and a bowl:



And a polka-dot fairy house.  Because everyone needs a polka-dot fairy house.  Of course.

Holiday Shopping on Etsy

With the exception of a couple of things for the bebe, and one gift for my husband, I've managed to do all of my holiday shopping on Etsy this year.  Pretty nifty!  Not only that, but I came in well under budget, which seems appropriate given the current economic situation the U.S. (and the world) is experiencing.  It seems like a good year to go "small" in the gift-giving arena, while going "large" in the enjoying-the-holiday-and-your-family arena. 

So here is a sampling of some of my favorite Christmas '08 gift purchases:

(photo credits belong to each individual shop)

*Vespa magnet from Circa Ceramics.*


*Faux Bois magnets from Jessica Jane.*

 
 
*Assorted soaps from Anderson Soap Company.  Clockwise, from top left: Beer Buzz Soap Set, Cedarwood and Sage Massage Bar, Mild Almond Mini Soap, Exfoliating Milk and Honey Oatmeal Soap Bar.*


*North Country Lamb print from Golly Bard.*


*Handstitched baseball from Lemon Ball.*



*Assorted bath products from Daisycakes Soap.  Clockwise from top left: Animal Bath Fizzies Pack, Mini Animal Soaps Pack, Honey Bar Assortment Gift Box, Hockey Puck Soap.*


*Snail Jockey print from The Black Apple.*


*Bird ornament from Shoshona Snow (who I previously featured here).*

 
*Mini Dwelling ornament from Petite House.*

Such an amazing assortment from so many talented artists! 

And how about you?  Have you found some great gifts, from Etsy or elsewhere?  Please share.  I'd love to see them! 

You Might Need...

...A ceramic vase from Shoshona Snow. 


Or anything else she makes, like a mug...

   

...or a bowl...



...or a cup/bowl...



...or a bird wall pocket, bird bowl, or bird candlesticks...




...or a sugar & creamer set...



...or another vase (or two)...





...or maybe a snowflake ornament...



...or just a bird ornament.  Or two...



...dontcha think?!

Curiosities

Halloween week on The Smart Bird, Day 4:

I recently stumbled upon this curious Etsy shop: Vintage By Crystal.  She makes weirdly wonderful figurines and ornaments out of hand spun cotton, "using techniques similar to those of the early German artisans who created cotton ornaments for Christmas."  I love them because they seem like the sorts of objects you would pick up at your local Shoppe circa 1880.  You know the type: dark wood floors and counters, assorted objects in oversized glass jars, a shopkeep with red suspenders and round glasses, a sliding ladder for reaching the higher shelves, and built-in cabinets with broad flat drawers.  And of course you would only ever go there at night, when it's snowing.



 

While I'm intrigued by the Halloween figures, I also love the Christmas ornaments.  Especially this tempting bird's nest.  This would make such a unique centerpiece for the Christmas dinner table...

Well I'll Be...

 

In my last post I wrote about lino creative.  I'm kind of obsessed with her stuff, I must say.  So naturally I checked out Sandy's blog, and she had a link to a site I had never heard of called Red Bubble.  It's a place where artists sell their art in various mediums - t-shirts, prints, greeting cards, etc.  I guess they just upload their images, and Red Bubble formats into whatever you want and sends it to you.  How cool is that?!  It seems to be an art-print version of Ponoko. 

What?  You've never heard of Ponoko?  Wellll...that's where artists go when they want to make something in laser-cut acrylic or wood.  Don't laugh.  It's quite cool.  You just download their design software, make your design, then upload it to Ponoko.  Then you sell your pieces - jewelry, shelving units, puzzles - on an as-ordered basis in your Ponoko shop.  Here's a little sample:

So anyway, back to Red Bubble.  In lino creative's Red Bubble shop, you can order one of her prints as a greeting card (see above), framed piece, or even t-shirt!  Be still my beating heart.  I already have such a weakness for graphic tees, so it's not hard to get me excited about great images on anything with a scoop neck.  I'm loving the Swan shirt:



And how beautiful is Night Swimming in a dark wood frame?  The answer is: very lovely, indeed.

lino creative

I'm always on the lookout for great art for my daughter's room.  At this point, I'm running out of wall space (and reserved wall space I'm keeping open for prints I have my eye on or haven't gotten around to framing yet).  But I may have to expand my sights to the hallway, front foyer or even a little nook in the living room that could use some color.  Why?  Well...

I stumbled across this great shop on Etsy today and I'm completely enamored.  I love the bright colors, graphic images, and adorable animals, and of course the lovely old-timey typewriter (which, if you remember, I have a certain weakness for).  What (grown-up) kid wouldn't love to have these on her wall?

 

All You Need Is...

...and that's all you need.

Got An Hour To Spare? Or Five?

 

Here's a great idea for those of you who want to add a little handmade touch to your holiday gifts, but don't know where to start.  Clothkits offers these adorable doll kits that you cut out and sew yourself.  Everything is included: printed fabric (no need to mess with fussy paper patterns), "top quality" thread, and polyester stuffing.  They even sell dress and kimono kits so you can dress your doll.  How cool is that?

And, after you've practiced making doll clothes, you can step up to the next level with unbelievably cute clothing kits for living, breathing children.  I don't think I would trust myself to tackle one of these just yet, but they give me something to aim for! 




Finally, once you've honed your chops on the kiddie stuff, you can step up to ultimate, and final, level: a skirt for yourself!



I might just go for the "ready made" skirts, though.  They're only £15 more, which is about $26 at current conversion rates.  If, like me, you'd have to actually buy a sewing machine in order to make one of these skirts, then the extra cost is pretty trivial.  Plus, the Trellick skirt in red only comes ready made.  Darn!  ;-)

The Holy Trinity

Sometimes, if I'm in just the right mood, I can play these three CD's back to back for most of a day.  Today was one of those days.

I didn't realize until searching tonight that the Opal CD is actually kind of a collector's item.  I feel very lucky to actually own two of them, as I bought a copy for my husband when we first started dating (you know how it goes: "You don't have Opal?!  Why, you must!").  I feel even luckier that I was first introduced to this album on vinyl, so I got to hear it in its "pure" form (I'm a closet audiophile).  The only thing that could have possibly made it better is if the turntable had been hooked up to a vacuum tube amp.  But, alas, I guess I'm a solid state gal after all. 

I also found out that, of all things, Rain Parade has a MySpace page!  I didn't spend too much time there, though.  I prefer to keep my idealized mental image of the Roback brothers, Kendra Smith and especially Hope Sandoval, as ephemeral and elusive.  So on that note, here's a video of an unreleased track I found on YouTube. Enjoy!