My Pretty Picks

Free Shipping through Monday

2009-11-29T08:47:00.000-05:00

Just wanted to let you know that I am offering free worldwide shipping on everything in my shop through Cyber Monday. I've added a few new pieces and am hoping to add some Christmas pieces this week. I'm experimenting with Resin and vintage stamps....we'll see where it leads!

New Moon .....

2009-11-19T07:39:00.003-05:00

Okay- I have to confess- I am a Twilight groupie. I am 39 years old a wife and mother of 2 and I am no longer embarrassed (well a little) to admit it. I purchased tickets for New Moon a week ago and am going on Saturday night with a friend. I have been so excited for this that I can't think about anything else! I find myself drawn to the TV whenever I hear the name "Twilight" or "Rob Patinson" - right now I am waiting for Today to show me a peek at Rob- he is on this morning and I refuse to go anywhere until I see the interview. Is it the love story, the vampire- bad boy thing that we seem to be drawn to, all of the above? What is wrong with me???? I guess the same thing that is wrong with the other billion people obsessed with this!
photo courtesy of mix 107.3 fm

Goddess Necklace

2009-10-28T12:16:00.000-04:00

I finally had some time last night to sit down and finish up some pieces. One of them was this "goddess" necklace which I made with my favorite color combination. I just listed it today~

Maybe I'll have some more time tonight..... oh no- we have football practice, husband working late, bath night.... maybe Friday.

Giving Thanks...on a Budget

2009-10-23T06:30:00.000-04:00

Thanksgiving is around the Corner~~

I'm not sure about all of you but i am on a tight budget this Thanksgiving. We are possibly having Thanksgiving at my house instead of my sister's this year because she is having her second baby in November- yeah! can't wait! Now comes the problem- setting a table that is functional, cute and affordable. I was browsing through Etsy- as I do every day- and came across these adorable (mostly vintage) pieces that are so lovely and quite reasonable to add to our tables this year. This set of colorful platters is from Savanteer.etsy.com $22, and the silver wear is $10 from Susantique.etsy.com

then there is this gorgeous tablecloth at the amazing price of $18 from VeroVintage.etsy.com and these stunning teal plates from allthegoodthings.etsy.com
~don't forget the turkey candleabra from thebestthings.etsy.com

Yummy retro bun warmer from laurahardie.etsy.com
Brown and Teal platter from sosovintage.etsy.com

Lovely harvest mugs from rekindle.etsy.com, and whoooo wouldn't love this cute little owl shaker? Just $8.99 & I love the color. ricracandbuttons.etsy.com

Last but absolutely not least, a vintage bakelite carving set from SagePatch.etsy.com also visit her blog at sagepatch.blogspot.com

and super sweet beeswax taper candles from beeswaxartifacts.etsy.com

Boys vs. Girls

2009-10-22T08:08:00.000-04:00

I have 2 children. A boy, Ian, who is 11 and a girl, Eve, who is 4.

Ian is my sweet, sensitive child who gets straight A's without trying, plays football, baseball, skateboards and has a lot of friends who I like too. He is sensitive and caring, he grew up afraid to say a bad word and afraid to hurt mommy's feelings.

My daughter however, is bold, explosive, "chemical" as my husband says. She flies off the handle with the least bit of provocation. She tortures her brother. She doesn't care about getting into trouble, says "I hate you mommy", slams her bedroom door, talks back constantly and is always challenging me. Is this normal 4 year old behavior???

Don't get me wrong- she has her wonderful qualities: a splendid imagination, she is very loving- when she wants to be;), passionate, determined and makes me laugh like no one else and deep (very deep!) inside- she is soft and sweet.

So, is this the boy- girl thing or the second child syndrome? I understand that they are 2 different people but they are so completely opposite, I wonder what happened!!? And yes, they have the same father! A lot of my friends have girls and say that girls are just different..... I don't know.

I didn't know that Celluloid is so gorgeous...

2009-10-19T10:22:00.000-04:00

Oh- my- I just opened my packages from the mail over the weekend. Normally i can't wait to get the mail to see what treasures I received that I forgot that I ordered - but I had a stomach bug this weekend and didn't even think about it. Yes- I have issues with shopping on Etsy!
Anyway- I am in love with this new piece that i purchased from Theresa at UnfinishedBusiness (on Etsy)
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5072008
- I can't wait to make a necklace out of it- it's a vintage celluloid brooch with hints of blue on white.

New Themed Pieces

2009-10-17T08:11:00.001-04:00

Well- I have been experimenting with "themed jewelry" and here is 1 piece that I have come up with: Sisters Necklace, listed in my shop
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=31626042

These are really fun to make and I just finished another one last night centered around "motherhood". I'll be listing that one today.

More themes that I have begun are Friendship, The Goddess and Dreaming. I thought these might be nice for the holiday season when thinking about friends and family gift giving...

I'd love more ideas for themes- just post 'em and I'll check out your ideas.

Should I Give Up Coffee or Not?

2009-10-11T08:19:00.000-04:00

OKay- so, my husband's doctor told by him to give up Caffeine for health reasons. Yes- it's horrible, I know. We are both coffee addicts. The aroma, the flavor, the pleasure of that first cup in the morning- nothing like it.

So the question is- do i make the ultimate sacrifice? He won't have to smell the pot brewing in the morning and watch me sip out on the back deck. I asked him if I should quit too or we could switch to decaf? Of course he said "no, no... I will just quit cold turkey"- I guess he has something to prove to himself.

Now- if the tables were turned, and he kept drinking coffee in front of me i would.... somehow rig the TV so that it exploded just before kick-off during his favorite team's football game, or put my 4 year old alone in a room with his best Guitar and glue, stickers and permanent marker. Is that horrible? Am I selfish?

Would you quit to make it easier for your husband/partner? I don't think I am that big of a person!

Wonderful Featured Seller From Etsy

2009-10-10T16:53:00.010-04:00

I came across a sweet little shop named Tuuni. This stunning bag caught my eye and she graciously agreed to tell me her story~ She is a lovely person and uses recycled materials for her work~ she is offering a gift with purchase for her first three buyers!! How terrific is that? See details in her shop Tuuni (on Etsy):

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7803078

and here is her story~~

"My name is Tuija Lommi, I live in southern Finland near Helsinki in a lovely country like district. I live with my husband, been married 10 years now, and with our lovely daughter who is 1 years old.

My love for crafts come from my family, all my aunts are devoted artisans. I have also studied Crafts and Recriation in HAMK University of Applied Sciences and got a degree “Bachelor of Culture and Arts” in 1999. Since then I’ve been working in a design boutique in Helsinki, the past five years as a shop manager, doing my craft projects every now and then. Now I'm staying home with my daughter and enjoying it! When I found Etsy, it changed my life. I realized there IS a market for craft items and they CAN be cool! It gave me hope and strength to do what I always wanted to do.

"Tuuni" is a Finnish name for a girl. It refers to something peaceful an calm. My shop name "Tuuni" also refers to to a finnish word "tuunaus" which is commonly used when making products from recycled materials. I guess the word in english would be re-purposing.

In my purses and accessories I use vintage and recycled materials such as table cloths, napkins, curtains, mens shirt, buttons, etc... When I go material hunting, I usually look for interesting patterns and colors, and feelings from the past decades. Ideas pop into my head when I look the piles of fabric, I like to think that tablecloths an curtains “speak” to me; what needs to be done from this specific fabric. I find things in local second hand and charity shops, sometimes from vintage stores. All of my items are one of a kind or limited editions. I draw my own patterns and some of the bags are “build” without any pattern.

My cushion covers are made from vintage bed linen. Finland is full of abandoned and rejected bed linen with most amazing hand embroidered initials and hand made crocheted lace. It was a common school project for girls in the past century to crochet a lace for their own bed linen. The most beautiful ones were made for a bridal box. I love these beautiful crafts and hate the fact that they probably end up covered in dust in the attics. So I wanted to give them a new life!

My shop on Etsy is rather new and right now I am trying to stock up for the holiday season. Lots of new stuff coming soon!"

Looks like a super place to shop this holiday season!!

Please check back tomorrow.... more shopping to follow...

Soup Day

2009-10-07T12:19:00.000-04:00

Eve and Ian are in school so i have a few minutes to sit and write...finally! Thinking about what to make for dinner tonight and can't come up with anything that sounds good. Anyone have a blog that has simple recipes? I am a Soup-a-holic, I could eat soup every day. I discovered (well- my sister found it and i stole it from her) a terrific Soup and Salad recipe book. It's from Food & Wine magazine called "quick from scratch Soups & Salads cookbook" Some of my faves are the Hungarian Beef & Potato Soup, Turkey, Mushroom and Lentil Soup, Tomoato Soup with Chicpeas and Pasta and I recently made the Thai-style Beef Salad over Angel Hair Pasta. These recipes are truly easy and full of flavor and all of the ones that I have made are ready in 30- 40 minutes or less. I highly recommend this cookbook. Now it's from 1998 ( ISBN# is 0916103803) so you may have to get it on ebay, half.com or Swaptree (i'll save that for another day). Okay- I have to start some laundry, list a pair of earrings on Etsy and pick Eve up from Pre-school.....

I will be listing these today in my Etsy shop:
http://prettylittleshop.etsy.com

One of my pieces: Rustic Winter

2009-10-06T09:36:00.001-04:00

New Adventures

2009-10-06T08:48:00.000-04:00

Well, it is my first day of Blogging and ...... my daughter is calling me from the potty. i am trying to work a little so i am ignoring the calling until it starts to sound really important. maybe when she is in school tomorrow i will able to focus....
I will be telling you a bit about my favorite pieces from Etsy. Etsy is my second home. My place to escape, and live in the minds of artists. My blog will be a kind of Gift Guide with themes to help you along with your holiday, birthday, anniversary etc.. shopping. Stop back tomorrow and see what i have to show you!