Fun Friday: Anemone Wear

Well, all, I've no idea what to say about tonight's featured goodies from artist Keri Rounding than "Squeee!" and "How charmingly brilliant and delightful!" Her shop overfloweth with anemone-reminiscent rings, hairpins, brooches, and even necklaces. Everything is made from 100% merino wool which has been carefully felted into shapes similar to what you see here. Fun, quirky, unique, and sure to please, her items range from $5 - $20, an excellent price for marvellous work far different from other stuff out there.


Any of these pieces would make a wonderful gift for someone you love or yourself. I think the brooches and hairpins are my favourite, but I look forward to seeing a lot more terrific work from Keri!




Custom orders are more than welcome, and you can see if she'll be live and in-person at a show near you here (Keri, come to Pittsburgh!). She has some art pieces available as well.

Dynastic Style

This lovely brooch is made from a pottery shard found along China's Yangtze River. While it can't be dated precisely, it is believed to have been created during the Ming or Ching Dynasty. Thanks to the imprecise and rather nebulous dating, though, you can wear this beautiful piece for just $15. It's silver plated and has a silver pin in the back, making it perfect for attaching to sweaters, handbags, scarves, belts, or skirts. You could also very probably string it on a pendant.

From MTuent.

Standing out in the crowd

Perhaps this robin is undercover? If so, he may find his cover has been blown soon. Regardless, this hand-drawn brooch featuring one robin amongst martins is very cute and fun. Just $5, it would look terrific pinned to your handbag, tote, or jacket.

Something really different

There is a plethora of brooches and pins from indie artists of all shapes, designs, styles, and colours. Definitely something for everyone! But oftentimes something especially sweet or pretty or unique pops up, and this hand-embroidered silk brooch from Contemporary Stitches is just one of those treats. It almost looks like a tasty confection, doesn't it? One almost expects to see a tray of them at a tony bakery to celebrate the advent of spring.

As it is, though, this is a calorie-free but still long-lasting little treat. The 4x4cm round brooch has been beautifully embroidered with light, airy, springy colours perfect for perking us all up in these final, dreary days of winter. Not only is this perfect for pinning to your clothing, it would also look quite charming tacked onto a cloth headband.

Just $12, and the selection at this shop is quite nice. Her work truly is beautiful and worth looking at for its own sake alone.

Fun With Felt

No, it's not Friday, but it has been a rather long week and I thought I'd get started early with the cute. This felt starburst brooch makes me think of candy...maybe Pop Rocks. Layers of custom-printed felt have been layered atop one another and hand-sewn, lending a very charming appearance to a rather retro shape. There's a 2" bar on the back of this impossible-to-miss brooch, which is itself 5" across. Use this $15 cutie to jazz up a sweater, top, skirt, bag, or the brim of a floppy hat. Here is another pretty one; great colours.


Made by Lara of Handmade Pretties, who is a very creative woman: her shop is jammed (and I do mean jammed) with baby booties and sweaters, iPod and eyeglass cases, jewelry...everything is just darling and fun and cheerful, with plenty of whimsy thrown in for good measure.

'Tis my faith that every flower/Enjoys the air it breathes!

I have two very pretty treats for you tonight, and it's two because I (again) just couldn't decide between the comeliness. Additionally, tomorrow is going to be a rather strange day, and I'm not sure when or if I'll be able to post. We'll cross our fingers - if nothing else, the Hollywood Gold Cup is Saturday, and I can post then while floating on a cloud of horse-inspired happiness.



First up is this one-of-a-kind flower pin. The petals have been made of hand-blocked, recycled paper and then coated so they're very durable. Artist Tamar then took a really pretty vintage coral-coloured rose piece and centered it on the blossom, resulting in a really pleasing combination of colour, textures, and prints. The 2" pin is $15, and will look smashing on your tops, handbags, totes, jackets, or even in your hair or attached to the hem of a favourite skirt. Actually, you could probably even string the pin part on a chain and wear it as a dainty, winsome pendant. $15 is a deal!

Tamar has many more flower pins, all lovely and whimsical; I'm sure there's one among the boquet you'll like.





Our other goodie tonight is this gigantic tote, also from Tamar's shop. Just look at the scrumptious, mouthwatering, vibrant colours! Pink, orange, yellow, turquoise, green on reinforced cotton - so perfect for summer. The interior has a sweet striped lining in heavy cotton, so this bag will be quite durable and entirely able to stand up to all of your needs all summer long and beyond.

Not only is the bag pretty, it's practical (ahhhh, the beauty of capitalism). There is a big split pocket on each side of the exterior, not to mention a long, deep pocket on each end-side of the tote, good for phones, water, pens (I can't be the only one eternally digging at the bottom of her bag for a pen, can I?), chopsticks for your hair... The interior has three more pockets, so unlike most totes, you'll definitely be able to keep all the small things in their own place without having to call out the dogs to search for a ponytail holder or lip balm.

This bag really is huge - 21" x 15.5", with 19" straps. It's looks to be about four or five inches wide, but I'm not sure on that one. I really like the soft, curved edges of this $50 bag; it looks more feminine and sweet than your typical tote bag. As Tamar notes, this tote is big enough to be a diaper bag or to carry everyone's goodies to the beach with you. I think it's a pretty good buy, all things considered.

Both items are available from Tamar's shop, Nest Pretty Things and VeryFairy, where you'll also find home decor, greeting cards, and of course more flower pins and great summer bags and accessories pouches. She has a very feminine, graceful sense of style that I really like. The wreaths she makes are quite charming and fanciful, too. Everything in her store is...well, romantic. I don't know any other way to say it, but it's definitely a good thing.


By the way, if you're curious, the title line is courtesy of William Wordsworth. :)

It's Okay, Be A Yo-Yo

We spent the majority of our weekend house-shopping, which is both fun and exhausting. I must say, someone like Holly from decor8 would be beyond horrified (as I was) at the decorating - well, lack thereof - in many of these homes. I haven't seen this much dark wood paneling and bad laminate cabinets since Napoleon Dynamite. (Of course, wood paneling tends to mean plaster damage, not just a lack of style sense.)

Furthermore, if you want to know where all of the ugly silk flowers in the world are going...I think this region is the universe's black hole for lilac, pink, and purple silk flowers. To say the least. Wow. I could start a business doing my own "Designed To Sell" - or at least, "Please Move This Horrible Stuff Out of Your House Because I Can't See The Floor and No One in the WORLD Will Buy This House As Long As The Sink Is Still Harvest Gold And You Have Stained Shag Carpeting In the Dining Room".

(We have seen one sweet Cape Cod bungalow - I adore bungalows, especially Craftsman and prairie style - with the most fabulous, swank 50s bathroom you've ever seen. Picture doesn't begin to do justice to its cuteness. It's almost entirely original, in pale aqua tile with black tile accents. It is DARLING. But obviously, I love retro.)


At any rate, I desperately need to Listerine my eyeballs and brain after some of that, er, excitement, and thought these darling yo-yo brooches from Boqinana are a good way to start, don't you? Handmade with darling print cotton, felt, and topped off with a vintage button, each $5 pin (yup, just $5 for this handmade goodness) is a fabric confection suitable for your jackets, sweaters, handbag, maybe even that laptop case or a cloth headband. I can even see them decking out the hem of a swishy skirt...oh, the cute! At this price, you can buy a handful for yourself or friends, and it's a great way to freshen up your summer wardrobe. The chic colours are bright, cheery, and will really pop.

These little yo-yos have taken the indie craft world by storm, showing up as they are as pins, hair accessories, and even making up entire handbags. That means Madison Avenue will pick up on them in a month or so, but why not be ahead of the game?

Featured here are some of my favourites - the somewhat patriotically coloured No. 14, plum-and-teal No. 13, featuring Japanese windmill cotton, and No. 17, which has a fabulous button and is the sunniest green - if there is such a thing - I've seen in a long time. They all have a brooch pin sewn securely to the back and are 2.7" across - just the right splash of style and colour for anything hanging about in your wardrobe.

Boqinana has quite a fun selection of accessories, from handbags to cushion covers and scarves, as well as some fun and funky felt brooches and cloth-covered button hair ties. Her sense of whimsy is terrific, and I think you'll have as much fun looking at her great things as I did!