Needlings

So I mentioned in my last (first) Etsy favourites post, there is an endless supply of amazing handmade things so here are a few more of my favourites.

I came across this Beetlejuice terrarium by Rachel the Bish the other day and I thought it was too amazing not to bookmark. It also resulted in me having "Day-O" in my head for the day. I guess now it will be in my head today now too.  Which is totally fine.

If you've known about Etsy for awhile then you've probably heard of Emily Martin's The Black Apple. She has been amazingly successful since Etsy started in 2005 and was actually my first purchase on Etsy! And a few more mixed in there. I love her illustrations and now she has written this beautiful children's book she's selling with a print.  I can't wait to pick up a copy!

I've had my eye on these beautiful fabric pendant necklaces from The Whirlwind for awhile.  I think the only reason I don't have one is because I just can't pick a favourite. Pastels and polka dots are making a good argument here though.

I was first introduced to Misala Handmade's adorable little change purses when I saw them on Dots & Loops facebook page as they were posting photos while stocking their new store in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.  Of course I was checking for my Needlings to arrive but was happy to find some other adorable things in the meantime.

Ashley G is one of my favourite etsy illustrators! I love her little girls with forlorn faces.

Another one of my favourites: Cat Rabbit!  One of my favourite plush artists to be specific. I'm also a little jealous of this little guy's outfit.

So there you go, just a few more lovely items. Let me know if you have any favourites you think I might like!

I am officially back from vacation and back to work finishing up those owls I was working on while I was away and reorganizing my to-do list to figure out which stores need restocking next.

Coming up on the list first is another restock for Chapters in Ancaster, White Rabbit in Iowa City, and Kid Culture in Toronto.

I thought I would take a little break from diving in to all that sewing work to share some thrifting adventures from my vacation.  Between a huge (somewhat shady seeming) flea market in Columbus, Ohio (of which I forgot to bring my camera to) and a big Goodwill in Delaware, Ohio - we had fun looking around in the newly nice Springy weather and I managed to find a few usable goodies.

In a mess of old tools, bootleg dvds, and other horrifying things at the flea market, I found a woman with a booth in the back who was selling yards of fabric and other sewing notions.  I really wish I would have brought my camera because it was stacked so high it reminded me of that scene in Labryinth where the junk lady emerges from the piles of junk.  Except it was piles of fabric instead.  

I found these ones that I think I will be able to make use of for sure.

I've always loved tiny flower prints.  

Later in the week we took a trip from Columbus to visit a friend who made us a lovely lunch and showed us Delaware's huge Goodwill.  It really was big, you guys.

Although I would have considered owning these ugly old chairs if I weren't out of the country, instead I picked up this skirt and managed to find a couple other things I thought family at home would use.

And then we had a fun backseat ride home!  

We spent my last day in Columbus doing an AMC's "The Killing" marathon which we got hooked on a little too late in the trip to finish without a hardcore day of TV watching. So worth it - such a good show!

 I had the sweetest vacation hosts and had a really nice time because of it. Columbus has become a little home away from home for me.

And now I'm home in Ontario!  Back to work on Needlings work and thinking about future local thrifting adventures and the next time I'll be back in Columbus.

Be back at the end of the week for a workroom recap!

The internet seems to make it easy for us to save our favourite things all over the place so I thought I would take the time to share them here occasionally: books, music, art, plush, movies, tv, fashion, design.  Basically, "things." You get it.

Today I'm going to share some of my Etsy handmade favourites since I have so many.  Thousands. I'm sure I'll never run out of them - there are so many amazing things being made all over the place. Sometimes when I think really hard about it I get really excited and feel all warm about the world in my heart. Dramatic and sappy! I just love handmade so much!

Ok enough about me, here are some things I like (ha):

This is a print from the APAK Shop on etsy.  It was hard to pick just one, they're all so dreamy.  I have the 2012 Apak calendar put out by Little Otso that I picked up at Wholly Craft  (they carry Needlings too) on my last visit to Ohio so I get to enjoy Apak daily.  

These amazing fuzzy guys are made by Kit Lane. I love everything she posts but I haven't been able to get my hands on one yet since they sell out so fast! Not surprised.

This delicate handstitched wall wear is by fellow Canadian, NeaWear, from Montreal.  I'm a big fan of special little wall trinkets and these are no exception.

I use a big ol' glass mug for my big ol' mug of tea but I would happily trade out for this mug and yellow canary friend by Laura Walls Taylor.

I've been covetting this Ships Large Zipper Tote from fellow Hamiltonian, Jenna Rose Handmade.  Actually I'm really loving the Yellow Honeycomb one too.  Decisions.

And since we're talking ships here, I've been in love with these automatons by Cartoon Monster since I saw them mentioned by Dots & Loops Handmade a sweet shop in Lunenburg, N.S., that carries Needlings as well as these genius little sculptures. Something about them reminds me of The Science of Sleep, one of my favourite movies (I'll probably talk more about that someday too).

You have to watch the video to see how cool these things are:

So cool!

Well, there's a few favourites.  I hope that will set you off on hours of clicking around on etsy to find some of your own.  Feel free to let me know what you find if you think I might like them and email them to me! heather@needlings.ca.

I'll be back with more later!