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Saturday Selections – Calming and Soothing

It was a hectic week at work.  To say the least.  So, I’ve tried to pick some of my favourites from Etsy that put me into a calm mood this week.

First, I’ve chosen this beautiful cushion by Norajane.  It features soothing creams, pinks and blues, with pretty little flowers and cute little birds.  I fell in love with it the first moment I saw it.

I love the soft and pretty colours in this romantic necklace from Nostalgic Studio‘s “Edwardian Collection”.  Its delicate design features a beautiful antique hand painted porcelain pendant:

With its soft blue thread, this framed embroidery titled “Flight Pattern” by Jennifer’s Gift would be a beautifully calming influence on any wall:

Finally, I just love this print by Paper Moth.  It’s called “Perennial Moment“, which I think is a lovely title!  I love the soft background colours and the image of the dandilion blowing in the breeze.  A beautifully calming picture.

These items, a cup of tea and a weekend sleep-in are just what the doctor ordered for stress relief!

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Sunday Selections – Pretty in Pink

I know, I’m a day late with this one – I was having a very lazy day yesterday.  I’m hoping to make up for it with lots of painting today.

This week’s Saturday Selections (well, Sunday Selections) is inspired by the colour pink.  Pink and I have had a chequered history.  I loved pink when I was little, and then as I grew older I decided I hated it – I think I was rebelling against the whole ‘pink is for girls’ thing.  Now that I’m older still I’m loving it again – so here are a few of my favourite pink items from around Etsy:

First up is this devine lace tunic by Lirola.  I have been eyeing this one off for a while now – I just love the pretty fabric and the applique embellishment!  I think this top would be great worn with a pair of jeans, a pretty necklace and heels. I will be snapping this one up myself just as soon as I can afford it!

Lace tunic by Lirola

I’ve been really into wearing bracelets lately, something I never used to bother with, but there are so many pretty ones around that I just can’t resist.  This is one of them – it’s called Monet, Iris’ Sterling silver lampwork bracelet, by Kajulee.  I love the mottled colours in the lampwork beads, and the Swarovski crystals they’re paired with make a beautiful match.

Monet Iris' Sterling silver lampwork bracelet by Kajulee

Isn’t this ‘Poppy’ scarf by Tutus2 so pretty and feminine?  It is made using vintage silk kimonos and japanese silk, and is one of a kind.  I love the idea of using vintage materials to make new handmade objects, and this scarf is a great example of that.

Poppy Kimono Silk Scarf by tutus2

Last, but not least, is this gorgeous necklace by Rue de Bijoux.  It’s called “When she visited the Patisserie diet was the last thing on her mind” – isn’t that a fabulous title?  All of the jewellery at Rue de Bijoux has great titles like that – the shop is worth looking at just for that,  but it is also filled with beautiful vintage inspired jewellery.  This pretty necklace is one of my favourites:

When she visited the Patisserie diet was the last thing on her mind by Rue de Bijoux

Be sure to check out all the other lovely items these sellers have in their shops!

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Saturday Selections – It’s a Jungle out there!

This week’s addition of Saturday Selections is inspired by the rainforest… which my garden is looking increasingly like.  It’s been raining a LOT here recently, and it seems that every weekend we’ve wanted to get outside and tidy up the garden, it’s rained.  This weekend the sun is finally out, and when I wandered out into the garden these are some of the images that greeted me:

Jungle garden collage photographs

The grass is knee high.  There is a huge vine choking *everything*.  The insects are out and about and LOVING it.  It’s not going to last though, because I’m determined to get out there today and tomorrow and tidy it up!

Until then, let’s celebrate the beauty of the rainforest with these wonderful Etsy finds:

My first rainforest favourite is this ‘Rain Forest Rivers’ bracelet by Karmelidesigns.  I love the combination of earthy greens, coppers and blues.  It features a  Pietersite nugget, rhyolite, yellow citrine, deep blue dumortierite, and small black onyx beads, a few antiqued copper spacers, and a stylish toggle clasp.

Matching perfectly with this bracelet is this beautiful Tropical Rainforest Necklace by Aquasphere.  It also features the earthy beauty of rhyolite.  This volcanic stone’s mossy greens, browns and grays are a perfect match to the rainforest.

Tropical rainforest necklace featuring Rhoyolite by Aquasphere

Of course, once you’re decked out in rainforesty-goodness for your neck and wrist, you need to have something pretty for your ears as well!  I just love these Rainforest Blossom Bouquet Earrings by Eighthnote.  The flowers are pretty and feminine, and I love the way they hang together.  The shades of green and blue are perfect for the rainforest and look beautiful together.

Rainforest Blossom Bouquet Earrings by Eighthnote

Long before I had ever heard of Etsy, I was posting my artwork on deviantART.  I love the support other artists give with their comments, and am inspired by the work of the wonderful artists who also submit their art to the website.  One of my favourite artists from deviantART is Angela Vandendogard.  I’ve admired her work for years and was delighted when I came across her store on Etsy, Jellybeans.  This print titled Rainforest is a great example of her beautiful, whimsical style:

Rainforest print by Angela Vandenbogaard

I hope you all enjoyed this little trek through the rainforest – hopefully by the next time I post, my garden will be looking less like a jungle and more like a garden again!

UPDATE:

Jungle bin

I think the rest of the garden will have to wait until after bin day.

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Saturday Selections – Queen Anne’s Lace

I remember when I was a kid there was an empty field (we called it “the bush” even though there were hardly any trees), where we used to love to go exploring.  One Spring the field was filled with Queen Anne’s Lace, and to my young eyes it was an amazing sight.  I gathered up armfuls of the beautiful flowers to take home to Mum – who was slightly less than impressed, and explained to me that they were weeds 😛

I still love the simple beauty of Queen Anne’s Lace, and last weekend was inspired by the memory to create this painting:

Queen Anne's Garden - original watercolour painting by Brisbane artist Kirsten Bailey

I had a browse around Etsy for Queen Anne’s Lace themed items, and was amazed at how many beautiful things I saw!  It was really difficult to narrow it down to a few items for this week’s Saturday Selections.  Here’s what I came up with:

First up is this gorgeous Teal Green Queen Anne’s Lace Jersey Scarf by Papavier.  It looks so soft and cuddly and I love the asymmetrical design.

Teal Green Queen Anne's Lace scarf by Papavier

What better to pair such a gorgeous scarf with than this Ecofriendly Hemp Bag featuring Queen Anne’s Lace by Uzura?  The colour matches beautifully, and I love the contrast of the dark Queen Anne’s Lace on this bag compared to the light design on the scarf.  It’s eco-friendly and big enough to fit all your bits and pieces in, and maybe a bit of shopping too – perfect for taking to a handmade market!

Ecofriendly Hemp Bag featuring Queen Anne's Lace by Uruza

I knew I wanted to include a pendant in this post, and there were so many beautiful ones to pick from on Etsy that I agonized over my choice for a while.  In the end, I was won over by this amazing Engraved Queen Anne’s Lace locket by Star Creations.  The detail is just incredible and I love the little bird’s nest.

Engraved Queen Anne's Lace locket by Star Creations

I hope you’ve enjoyed this little trip down memory lane 🙂  Try doing a search for “Queen Anne’s Lace” on Etsy – there really are hundreds of beautiful things to find – and don’t forget to check out the stores of the lovely people I’ve featured today.  Have a great weekend!

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Rainy Day Saturday Selections

After the Rain - Original watercolour painting by Kirsten Bailey

We’ve had a bit of a rainy week this week (in fact it is raining as I write this!), so I thought I’d do a rain themed Saturday Selections of my favourite items from around Etsy.

First up is this awesome stainless steel raindrop necklace with brain contours titled ‘bRain‘ by Morphologica.  Perfect for a geek girl like me!

bRain necklace by Morphologica

My next rainy-day favourite is this cute set of “Rainy Day, Time to Play” gift cards from Red Letter Studio.  They would make lovely gift cards for a rainy day, or someone who’s young (or young at heart!) and loves to play in the rain:

Rainy Day, Time to Play gift cards from Red Letter Studio

I just *love* this print by Kathy Panton entitled simply “Rain”.  I love the mix of colours and the way the paint seems to flow across the paper.  I sat and stared at this one for a while!  It’s easy to see why it made Etsy’s front page.

Rain print by Kathy Panton

Finally, I’d like to include this print entitled “Kiss Under the Rain” by Afremov Art.  I’ve admired this artist for a while on Deviantart, and only just found him on Etsy.  The way he uses light and colour is so unique and beautiful!

Kiss Under the Rain by Afremov Art

Hope you all have a great week, and remember how good the rain is for the garden (and the farmers!), if not for getting the washing dry.

Prefer the sunshine to the rain?  Check out my latest post on Handmade Spark, Tropical Holiday.

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A Belated Friday Favourites – Merry Christmas!

You would think that now I’m on school holidays I would have gotten my act together and had my Friday Favourites published on time… but you would be wrong.  So this is more like Saturday Favourites (but that doesn’t have the same ring to it!).

I’ve been busy working on a commissioned piece so that’s my excuse 🙂

Next Friday as you know is Christmas day, and I will be busy cooking up a storm (or setting things on fire) in the kitchen – so I won’t be posting a Friday Favourites.  So this week I’ve decided to do a Christmas themed set of red and green items.

First up this week are these beautiful Christmas Cards by Moonmum (who is a fellow Aussie!).  I love the fact that these are something a little different to what you normally see on Christmas cards.  The birds are cute and the stitching really adds another dimension.

I know it’s probably a bit late to be thinking about Christmas cards now, but Moonmum has lots of other cards in her shop for all occasions which are just beautiful, so make sure you check it out!

Next up are these cool Amoeba Kelly Green earrings by Under Glass.  These unique earrings would be lovely for any time of year, not just Christmas!

Time for another red item – This wonderful bracelet titled “Blooming Garden” by Blue Dove Studio.  I think this bracelet would go perfectly with my red Christmas dress – but like the earrings it’s not Christmas themed so would be pretty at any time of year.  I just love the antiqued brass branch charm in this bracelet.

Next up in my little red and green pattern (did you notice?) are these lovely Green Holiday Earrings by AZ Bead Girl.  I just love the little diamantes!

Finally, I have to break my red-green-red pattern because I just couldn’t resist including this beautiful soap by Aniselle Bath & Body.

Isn’t it just gorgeous!?  Would be wonderful to have in the bathroom as a handsoap around Christmas time when guests come around.  The soap is Sage and Pomegranate with Olive oil and Goats milk, so it sounds like it would smell and feel as lovely as it looks.

Well that’s it!  My last Friday Favourites for 2009!  I should be back with another blog post before Xmas though – I’m hoping to do a painting for Monday Artday if I get to it in time.

Have a lovely weekend!

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Inspire Me Thursday – Handmade Gifts

This week’s topic over at Inspire Me Thursday is Handmade Gifts.  Perfect for this time of year!

My contribution is these wearable art pendants I have just listed on Etsy.  I think they would make wonderful Christmas gifts:

And if you’re looking for a beautiful jewellery box to give the pendant in, one of my keepsake boxes would be perfect!  This picture really doesn’t do them justice – they look much nicer in real life.

I have ordered a new shipment of boxes which I’m told will arrive before Christmas.  Some styles of the boxes actually sold out last time before I even picked the order up from the post office.  So if you’re interested in a particular style, please let me know asap and I’ll put one aside for you!

These are the designs coming in the next order – if there’s another painting you’d like to see on a keepsake box, let me know and I’ll put it in the next order:

One last thing – I’ll be drawing the winner of the giveaway later today – so if you’re interested in entering, please do so soon!

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Friday Favourites – Silver White Winter

I know it’s not quite Friday yet, but I thought I’d post my Friday Favourites now as I don’t know if I’ll get a chance tomorrow.

This week’s selection is inspired by this painting:

It’s actually stinking hot here right now, so I’m a little envious of my northern-hemisphere friends and their white winters 🙂  To get me into a cooler frame of mind, I’m featuring beautiful items in blue, white and silver.

First up this week is this sterling silver necklace with interchangeable amazonite and pearl pendants, by Emily Wiser Jewellery.  I love that you can wear just the white or just the blue pendant, but I think they look great together.

You may have noticed that I am very taken with swirls, and they feature heavily in my artwork.  Bearing that in mind, I’m sure it isn’t difficult to guess what caught my eye about this beautiful necklace, titled “Romantic Getaway” by Beach Glass Gone Wild!

The next blue and white beauty on my list is this gorgeous vintage vanity fair robe in periwinkle blue, from Fine Vintage Apparel.  It’s just too pretty for words!

This Silver Snowflake necklace from Inbal Jewelry and Design is just lovely.  It would make a lovely addition to a winter outfit, but I think it is so pretty I’d wear it all year round.

Last, but most definitely not least, is this stunning card featuring artwork titled “Buckwheat Branches” by IsabellaFlora.  The card is blank inside so it could be given for any occasion – it’s just beautiful!

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Friday Favourites – Rainbow!

It’s Friday again (Hurrah!!), so that means another edition of my Friday Favourites.

This week’s selection is inspired by my most recent painting, ‘Colours of Nature’

I’ve picked out something in each of the rainbow colours of this picture.

My favourite RED item is this beautiful red pearl necklace from Fine Heart.  It would be perfect to go with that red Christmas Day dress, don’t you think?

My favourite ORANGE item is this signed art card print titled “Alone at the End of the Day” by Fine Art Prints by Amy Giacomelli and Natalia Skye.  I love the colours and think the birds are just so cute!

Now, I have to admit, YELLOW is not my favourite colour.  In fact I didn’t have any yellow items in my favourites list!  I went on a yellow things search and was immediately taken by these beautiful ‘love knot’ earrings by Wing by Sea.  The citrine stone is lovely.

My favourite GREEN item is this wonderful original watercolour entitled “Listening In” by Ali Herrmann.  I love the beautiful soft green she has used.

I just love BLUE, and have a lot of blue things in my favourites list (as you can see from my last edition of Friday Favourites!).  My favourite blue thing this week is this stunning pair of earrings in blue and silver by Chaton Designs.  They are such a pretty shade of blue and are on sale at the moment too!

Last, but definitely not least, is PURPLE.  I am just loving everything purple at the moment, but especially this pair of earrings entitled “Magenta Tears” by LunarBelle.  They are such a gorgeous colour and I think they’re very elegant.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my rainbow edition of Friday Favourites!  As always, please check out the other items these wonderful sellers have on offer.

Don’t forget, I am hosting a giveaway of a $25 gift voucher, to be drawn on the 12th of December.  Grab your entry now – you never know your luck! 😀

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Four Friday Favourites

Welcome to my second edition of “Friday Favourites” – this week I’m lising four of the items on my Etsy favourites list.

My first choice this week is this stunning Lace Noir Vintage Olga nightgown, from TiaLey Vintage.  I’ve been eyeing off this one for a while 🙂  Almost looks like an evening dress, not a nightgown!

The next item on the list today is also a nightgown (I have a lot of these in my favourites list – wish I could afford to buy them all!).  This nightgown from Haute Country Vintage is in the most gorgeous shade of blue – I just love it!

I hope my husband is paying attention to the Christmas present hints here! 😀

Next up is this beautiful turquoise and sterling silver bracelet from Julie’s Jewels.  I love the colour of the turqouise, and I think it would go with so many outfits – you could wear it with casual or more dressed-up clothes.

Last, but most definitely not least, are these stunning Versailles earrings by feminesque.  I love the colour and the swirly shape.  The matching necklace is just as beautiful.  These are definitely one of my favourite Etsy jewellery items!

Well, that’s my Friday favourites for another week!  Please check out the stores mentioned, as they have other lovely things available too!