Pretty Things

Since I don't have new goods to put up in my shop at the moment, I was going to spend my time looking out for practical, useful things that make life better.

Fortunately for you, I am easily distracted by baubles, so you get to look at some jewellery today.

Welcome, Keys & Memories:

Typewriter key jewellery, like scrabble tile jewellery, has reached new levels of pedantic, so I was delighted to find someone producing charming pieces that you might actually want to wear if you weren't a thirteen year old girl.

It pleases me that her pieces have finished backings and a jump ring large enough to put a proper chain onto. Beyond that, she offers filligree style rings and pendant settings.

If she lived any closer, I would barter warm winter wears for the rods from her typerwriters (they make great antenni!).

Enjoy!

StephG Sidewalk Art - Year Round!

So, I have a bit of a girl crush on the work of Stephanie Gerolimatos, and I adore the weekly sidewalk doodles she puts up on Sundays over at d'arteboard.

I cannot tell you how tickled I am that she now has work up on Cafe Press.*

Including Monkey Freak . .

. . on all manner of accessories: I know I do not need another mug, but I just might be having one. I already have the calendar and a pack of postcards in my cart - now if last weekend's sales would just clear, dangitall!

*I think Cafe Press rocks a little more than redbubble because you can get your stuff on mugs and magnets, too.

Original - Affordable - What're YOU Lookin' At?

I am a big fan of useful things - I like gifts that serve a purpose. I also like to have the occasional object on the shelf that makes people do a double-take. Like my (replica) skull pencil holder or my lynx jawbone.


<><><><><><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><>>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><


I am going to start with a vintage woman's shoe mold from the interwar period, offered by MLO Artwear. This would look particularly well on a birch or beech wood shelf, or set off on a dark shelf by a crisp linen napkin.






<><><><><><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><>>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

My next suggestion is a ceramic insulator from AtticEclectic. I am partial to these, in ceramics and glass, because we have them all over the house. One of my uncles was an electric company linesman for a lifetime and as these were phased out from active service, he would bring them home instead of sending them to the tip.

They are also great fun at parties when you have to explain to people under the age of thirty that electricity was not always carried through thickly insulated cables, but once came through live wires that had to be buffered from the wood and metal of the thickly tarred poles (otherwise everyone who tacked up a 'Lost Dog' sign would have been electrocuted.

<><><><><><><><><>><><><><><><><><><><><>>><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

RetroThreads offers this absolutely terrible pair of fabric covered trinket boxes. They are so horrible, I cannot help but adore them.

I want that fabric for an ottoman - or at least a floor pouf.

Actually, I suppose this satisfies both my desire to have something useful - after all they are storage boxes - and to have something that makes people stop and stare.

Original - Affordable - Zombies!

It has been a week - it is now time for me to share some more purple zombie love. Yay Purple! Yay inanimate zombies that will not actually eat my brain!

This asymetrically horned sock creature has obviously just eaten an entire large cherry pie. It is very hard to have good table manners when you do not have opposable thumbs. On offer from Underroos for $20, he is one of an army of colorful sock monsters.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

Office Flair from SickonSin! These adorable zombie children are available as either pinback buttons for your bag or as magnets to brighten up that filing cabinet. Either way, they are guaranteed to bring a giggle to your day, and at $6 you can afford to share the love!

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

Rocky the Zombie reminds us that even zombies are afraid of something - in this case it's an anthropomorphic dinosaur, or maybe a mutated snapfish. I am not sure what it is, but it is unnerving to say the least. At $15 this original painting is a steal; a very cute steal.

Original - Affordable - Art for Kids

It's never too early to teach your child (or your neighbor's child or that screaming kid in seat 4a, who's parents didn't have the sense to sit behind the bulkhead so their kid would be kicking the wall instead of your sacrum) the value of respecting their tools and the joy of taking their art with them every where.

Two of my favourite kid's art organizers are below - both offer a convenient, compact way to store and carry crayons and drawing paper. One of the best features is that the scrap paper can be easily replaced - either with notepads or 3x5 notecards available from any office supply store.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

WeePereas brings us the Crayon booklet - room for the eight basic crayons, a 4x6 drawing pad and a dandy velcro closure. Even the smallest hands can manipulate velcro. Cotton fabric, machine washable, available in this and other prints from $12.50





Oh, and I have some of that tree fabric - it's adorable, isn't it?

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

WhimsyBitsandBobs offers another eight crayon wrap-up, with a ribbon closure and room for twice the scrap paper, perfect for older doodlers. I think I might need one for me. Cotton Fabric, Machine Washable, available in this and other colour combinations from $12

Original - Affordable - Tile Pendants

Learning to love pendants is a great, economical way to keep a wide jewellery wardrobe within a budget. Just two or three chains of varying thickness, perhaps a nice silver box chain and a black silk cord, and your stash of pendants will keep you coordinated for any day's outfit.

Some are the rather ubiquitous Scrabble tile pendants that seem to be everywhere these days (are my mother and I the only ones who still actually play the game?), some are glass and the Ultimate Answer is clay, but they are all lovely.

Each image is linked to the seller, click through for an even greater variety of offerings from each artist.

Original - Affordable - Stationery

I have a bit of a crush on Amy Sedaris, who still does not have her own website, but she does have a fabulous book (I like You: Hospitality Under the Influence) and one of the recommendations I totally agree with is that stationery, address books and stamps make great gifts for Housewarming, Engagement and Graduation gifts.

And as someone who knows that your child's schoolteacher absolutely does not want to receive another mug or teddy bear holding a bag of candy, I can say that an attractive box of notecards makes a lovely alternative.


Below you will find my recommendations for sets of gift cards - ranging from six to fifteen pieces, including monogram options, all for under $20.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><

The following two selections come from Miscelena, and would make excellent Housewarming and teacher's gifts, respectively.

The following two selections come from TrendyCards and showcase some of the available custom options. The first and more formal would make an excellent (and unexpected) engagement gift and the lighthearted informality of the second offering would be ideal for a tween girl (when you do want to give a useful, appropriate gift that does not feed the HSM3 machine)

KootiesCloset offers these:

. . . . . . . . . an ideal housewarming gift for that friend who adores his shag carpeting!

My last suggestion comes from AgathaArts, a stout collection of fifteen custom cards with matching initialled envelopes:

Certainly when you give a gift like these, there is no excuse not to receive a 'Thank You' in return!

Original - Affordable - Yarnworkers Supplies!

It is time for an under-$20 gallery of supplies for yarnworkers - some for knitters, some for crocheters, some perfect for both. Why? Because sometime you want to give a gift that is actually useful and is also not a duster.

So, away we go:

We'll start with some knitting supplies (I will learn to knit, seriously, this year I mean it!)* from SouptoKnits - worth shopping there just for the fun name!

Of course, you will need to know what size needles Aunt Matilda uses before you get a pair for her birthday, but it will be worth the sneaking when you present her with a pair of handpainted, varnished birch needles with hefty, polymer clay ends.

What? You do not have an Aunt Matilda? Well, then what about your cousin patty, who has taken up needle felting cute little woodland creatures, or maybe tropical fish? Whatever her penchant, SouptoKnits offers some glorious rovings, in all the colours found in nature.



<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>



Now we turn our attention to SlippedStitchStudios, who have a great variety of supplies for the knitter in your life - or yourself, when you are in the market for support products, rather than direct use supplies.

Whether you are just starting to collect multiple sizes for multiple projects, or you have so many needles hanging out of your project bag that sitting on it would be the equivalent of sitting on a hedgehog, SlippedStitchStudios can help you organize that mess.

There are plenty of purveyors of organizers out there - I make them myself, but I am particularly fond of these, because they offer a double row of pockets and really wide channels. As a crocheter, the handles of some of my hooks are pretty fat, and that is one of those features that can make a useful product a necessity.

But wait, there's more!

This set would be the perfect gift for that tweener in your life who has just started to knit. Including a set of care cards for handmade gifts, a pair of fabric covered magnetic pattern markers, beaded stitch markers, and a handy little tin to hold everything. The tin even includes a magnet in the lid for holding spare safety pins, yarn needles, etc.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Our last stop on this journey is at the shop of TwiceShearedSheep, offering more thoughtful gifts for the yarncrafter in your life.

Let's start with a gift tin set of stitch markers and row counters:

You get your choice of colors in delightful, lightweight (and snagfree) stitchmarkers coordinated in a handy tin.





And if all that seems a little too personal - what with figuring out what size needles to get, or what color stitchmarkers (although you can never have too many stitchmarkers, no matter the colour), then pick up a pack of adorable notecards! You might even get one back with a 'Thank You' inside!

* yes, it does kill me to sometimes end with a preposition.

Original - Affordable - JellyBug

We know I have a bit of a crush on JellyBug - you can read me wax lyrical about her work here, so it was totally natural that I include some of her work in my efforts to promote artworks under $20.

Following are some of the fabulous pieces you can buy now, all without breaking the bank (unless you buy all of them at once, I guess):

JellyBug Jewellery:

JellyBug Personal Adornments (okay, hair thingies, but 'personal adornments' sounds much more stylish):

You can even treat yourself to JellyBug Housewares:

Who says $20 can't buy a fabulous gift - I see housewarming presents, Mother's Day and just the right thing for that girl who's suddenly a teenager to gussy herself up with!

Affordable - Original - UndefinedVillage

UndefinedVillage is currently offering a 10% rebate on all prints (through 02/28) in her shop, as long as you mention that you found her here.

Samples of her work include the following cityscapes:

There's also a fabulous collection of floral studies - eye-popping reds and yellows (and my beloved purple!) just calling out for a sleek black frame and a place on your wall.

Shop loud, shop bright, shop happy!