Crafts and oddments at Etsy

Winter has tightened its grip, making indoor projects attractive. A lovely mock-Victorian ornament tutorial is available on Etsy from Ullabenulla, whose classes make me wish I lived in Berkeley. If needlecrafts are more your style, maybe a new pincushion will cheer you up. As I like cute toadstools, I found this one at pennysbykristie.

Peter Rabbit

I love Peter Rabbit. Shop for cute stuff with him at the official online store. I am in love with the watering can clock and the music box. So sweet! We have a lamb theme, but Peter Rabbit would have been great fun, too. You can also find a whole other range of stuff at the National Trust (the English version) under Beatrix Potter. It reminds me that when I was in the UK I couldn't get over how much Peter Rabbit stuff was sold at all of the little shops, even in places like Stratford Upon Avon, where I thought I'd see different merchandise. But it is still so cute.
Pottery Barn here in the United States has some really cute Peter Rabbit stuff as well. Table runners, tumblers, and plates can decorate the children's table this Easter, and then provide a cheerful look throughout the Spring. I bought some Beatrix Potter themed plates for Baby to use when he is old enough last year on clearance at PB kids, and I've had plenty of opportunities to use them already for little friends who come to play. And for clumsy guests at parties...
For people who have more confidence in their childrens' ability to keep plates on the table, Wedgwood sells gorgeous china plates, cups, and bowls for little ones (at left). 

Pink Purses

Snow or not, Spring is coming, and accessories are a wonderful way to plan for it. Visit Kate Spade for the pink evening bag with the strap bag right, or Coach for the fabulous pink clutch at left.  

Easter Dresses

Easter is coming, hurrah! The holidays are such fun with a little baby--who is rapidly becoming a big baby.  In addition to ordering his pretty birthday suit, I placed an order for a terrific Easter outfit from Best Dressed Child. This website has wonderful selection of old fashioned sailor suits, brother-sister outfits, smocked sunsuits and dresses, and a plethora of other items, including invaluable baby knee socks (his pants are always riding up, exposing chilly calves). This is a great place to shop for seasonal clothes: Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas have been well-represented. You could also buy lovely baptismal gowns there.
The prices range from expensive for Florence Eiseman to very reasonable. However, the website itself is in dire need of an upgrade: sold-out items will not appear in your basket, but they still appear on the sales page, and the refresh is painfully slow. Still, it is worth a good browse. The smocked Easter Bunny on little sits and dresses is adorable.

Tie it with a bow

Looking for ribbon? Shop at the marvelous The Ribbon Jar. They will make gorgeous jars to your order, though you order the theme and not the specific ribbon. However, if your needs are specific, you can also order lots of gorgeous ribbons by the yard or reel. Their website is lovely and creative, with beautiful  artwork, a clean design, and lots of ways to sort your ribbon--by color, price, type, etc. The owner of Ribbon Jar has a fun blog, colorchic.typepad.com.


Ribbon can also be found at Strano Designs, which also sells interesting ribbon hair bows, lanyards, and other items. They boast lovely striped, dotted, and patterned ribbons that would be fun to use to wrap presents or trim something. They sell a product called "ribbonstiff," which is a glue for ribbons, which would be useful.

I started this quest a while ago, because I was disappointed that our wonderful local ribbon sources seem to have dried up. However, I'm still not convinced that I could buy ribbon online instead. It is such a textural experince.

Owl Sweater

Baby is wearing an adorable owl sweater that is 35 years old. It looks new! My grandmother knit this for my brother. The little owls are made of cables and have button eyes. I tracked down the pattern in a matter of minutes, and discovered that it was designed in the 1960s by Penny Straker, and that she also has a whole raft of lovely Aran sweaters and so forth. Retro but coming back into style. I will order some patterns for my next knitting project, if I ever finish the giant needlepoint fox I've been slaving over for two winters.


The blog Needled is lovely in layout and content, with interesting posts and fresh photos. She has a version of this sweater for little kids, the yellow one.

I found a grown-up version of the owl sweater immediately, right here on CraftGossip. It looks gorgeous.

There is a nice pattern with a colorful owl at a craft site I look forward to exploring sometime. Actually, owls seem to a fashionable motif these days. Who knew? Or should I saw, Hoo hoo?

What a bad joke.

ChildrenSalon

The UK has a great shop, ChildrenSalon, where it's possible to order glamorous outfits for the young. The outfits are classic without being too cute. I was so pleased to see that this outfit by Torres costs about what I would pay at an online site in the United States, if not less, despite the lovely details. The shorts are linen and the shirt is cotton.

The baby shoes (by Cuquito, among other hard-to-find brands) are gorgeous. I did not find them at any sites in the states, which makes this site even more pleasant to peruse.

Paper Theatres

Many years ago, my mother and a friend were wandering Covent Garden on a misty afternoon when a strange man appeared in the fog and ushered them into a toyshop full of strange and wonderful paper theaters. We guess that this shop must have been Pollocks, a truly marvelous store that has a great online presence. If you are interested in giving a really wonderful and unusual gift, this might be a place to order from.
They don't sell only paper theaters; you can also find strange and wonderful toys there, like this elephant being ridden by a monkey, and magic tricks like the impossible bottle--what an intriguing idea!

Tennis, anyone?

A woman who plays tennis before I do on Tuesdays has a great tennis bag. I'm not necessarily a good-enough tennis player to rate a pretty bag but it is still worth thinking about (she got hers for Mother's Day last year). The cute tennis bag I saw comes from Mike Lynne's tennis shop, but their online presence isn't fully developed. Still it is a great store.

A weird website called Infinite Gift has a cute pink and green racquet cover. The concept behind Infinite Gift is that you'll subscribe to give the gift every year. I'm not entirely certain why anyone would want to do this--who needs a yearly racquet cover?--but it is intriguing.


Two women in my lesson have nicely tanned legs, so they wear cute skirts like these ones from SmashGal. Adidas also seems to have some adorable tennis outfits.

Warm blankets, chilly night.

It is terribly chilly here in Minneapolis. So that got me thinking about warm cozy blankets.

John Hanley has some gorgeous ones. The baby blankets are especially pretty, but it's hard not to admire the ones here. John Hanley is based in Ireland and also sells caps and so forth. I have never heard of them before I stumbled across them recently... but I am glad that I have!

Of course, Pendleton is always the best for wool blankets with an authentic American look.  I was surprised to see that they have terrific baby blankets in fun, cheerful colors, like the blue one with lambs on it. I like their picnic blankets as well, with the nice backing to keep your bottom dry. But best of all are their classic, fabulous woven blankets for beds at your cottage (should you have one) or your rustic lodge-style dwelling. These would do well as a bedspread for young boys, and I think that baby may get one when he is old enough be sleeping in a big-boy bed. I love the thick texture and the wooly smell.

A gentle madness: elfin cottages for your garden

Spring draws near, and so with it does the desire to decorate your garden. Eh? Yes, it's true!  How about doors for your trees, or little huts for elves? These so cute that they make me go "Ooo!'

Miniature Gardens is a great website and the prices are temptingly reasonable. I'm looking at my potted plants and wondering if any of them have thick-enough trunks to support a door. The answer is no, but still, these are just adorable! The Green Man at right is one of the prettiest.


If you don't have a place for a door, you could also select one of the elf huts. These are wildly adorable. These could go in so many places. In a yard... Or in a basket full of plants... Or a terrarium... The site also sells a number of charming accessories, such as little toadstools. In fact, one could make an entire darling habitat for an elf or gnome: they sell pergolas, tea sets, paving stones, food, flowers, furniture.... This could be a marvelous activity to share with a little girl or boy to plan for spring. This reminds me of one of my favorite stories from my childhood, The Fairy Doll by the versatile and talented Rumer Godden.

Can't hold a candle to the Kindle

I upgraded my Kindle last week, after my pretty original model took a flying leap to the bathroom floor. The new one is nicer in many ways but I really was happy with the old one! The new model is grey (I should have gotten white, but I forgot to check that button at checkout) and I was able to cover it on both sides with a Gelaskin. These are so cool. I choose one that is made up of drawings of cute books in ramshackle bookcases, by Colin Thompson. He writes that he is colorblind and that he is "now" and Australian citizen; we like Aussies here, so that's good, and he is really a remarkable colorist for someone who is deficient in that area.  I was tempted to get the blue and white one that he does but I had the bookcases before and really love it. The skins are made of some 3M miracle material so tough that I peeled the old one off the dead Kindle and used it on my iPod and my husband's iPod case. 

I was looking around for accessories and found that my design idol Kate Spade has some for sale on Amazon but I find that Kindle covers are kind of annoying. Even so I am looking around at them in case I find one that really works. By works, I mean that it protects without adding weight and annoyance.

I found a gorgeous and outrageous one at Oberon Designs, where you can get hand-tooled leather items of Renaissance Festival-style glamour. But the most fun items to look at there are the purses. Wow!

Cute bookends

Ever think that you'd like bookends? You can find cute ones here.  I like the bunnies. However, the price on one (the ponies) is twice what it is on another site, so I recommend shopping around once you find a cute set. I have no bookshelf for baby, but on the other hand, no place to put bookends. So it's really all academic for me.

Baby clothes

At least in Minneapolis, there is a dearth of high-end children's clothing shops. That means that the internet is invaluable.
I like Alex and Alexa but, wow, it is expensive for major-market clothes.  But the clothes are darling. I especially admired one of the Paul Smith pajama sets. For some reason my graphic popped up showing the back; there are incredibly cute rubber duckies on the front of this.
I also visited Kayce Hughes, where the clothes for children are as cute as the frocks for ladies. Dress daughters of different ages in dresses of age-appropriate styles in the same fabric, or get brothers and sisters to match for a holiday. Mama can wear a funky retro shirtdress. She also sells cute toys and other odd bits and pieces.

Art Fire is Creepy, Speights & Faron is Cool

We all know and love etsy; I just found its creepy cousin, art fire. Weird baby dolls wearing crochet hats, all kinds of other strange and slightly disturbing items. It came to my attention because apparently if you (god knows why) want to buy one of their items, you can add it to your amazon wishlist from their site. The horrible eyeball at right is lifted from their homepage, and this is something they want you to click on to find items by color. Seriously! Also the word "unique" is used twice on their homepage, which is obvious copywriter-speak for "weird and creepy."

A place that actually IS good for shopping is Speights and Faron. Check out the best magnet ever. It would look so cute with the little toadstool lamp from White Rabbit. This site also sells really charming bags, but they are probably too charming for grownups to carry. Tempting though that would be!

Loving Cole Haan

I absolutely adore that Cole Haan has partnered with Maria Sharapova. She is gorgeous and strong and marvelous. And their stuff is too! Glamor and comfort... I love it.

J Crew

I just had fun buying some gorgeous casual clothes at J. Crew online. I was lucky to be tapped for a survey and it got me thinking about their brand. I think that the company has really seriously lost its way in the marketing. Mainly, the clothes look ridiculous on the models--the looks they sell to us prosperous suburbanites (though I am an urbanite, you know what I mean!) are not model-friendly! The models look confused about their outfits, which fit terribly. Also the colors look so drab and dull online. I toss the catalogs as soon as they arrive--I think that Frontgate, Pottery Barn, and Williams Sonoma are the only ones I bring up these days. Oh yes, and Boden! What a great catalog!
Sadly someone brought over pastries and I ate an eclair. I feel rotten about this. I want to go work out, but my husband is still working (as usual, poor guy). So here I am, a giant fat blob. Ugh!

Boden and Lilly

Oh, I wish it was really Spring here in chilly Minnesota!
Baby Boden has fabulous little light-weight sweaters and this adorable little pink dress.  I am very happy that Baby is a boy, but it would be so fun to dress a little girl. However, adorable sweaters like the one at right are very fun to shop for, too. I fingered this at Nordstrom's and it is of a very, very light mesh-like fabric.

Irish Linen

Lovely old Irish linens available at Charles Gallen. Tablecloths and bedding--gorgeous--and a baby section coming soon! What fun to look for Irish items as we approach St. Patrick's Day. This stuff is not at all green and horrible; nor is it quaint and cutesy-poo (though there is a place for all that!). This is elegant, gorgeous old-world table-covers. There is a blue verandah pattern for aprons, tea-cozies, and all sorts of other fabulous things.

Savile Row

Looking for fabulous buttons and braces for men? Bespoke tailor on Saville Row Henry Poole is the place to shop. Liveries are also available, if for some reason you want one. I don't know who wears that sort of thing, honestly.
But maybe you will be invited to the Royal Wedding. Wouldn't that be an event!