vintage

Lately my frustrations with not having an Etsy shop are really mounting. Soon I'll done with school, and then I can become a working girl! Recently I decided that in addition to opening a shop for my photography, I want to sell vintage, too. Though who knows at this point if I will sell on Etsy versus my own e-commerce site.

It's still too early for me to begin to think about that process, but whenever I start a project, it has to have a name. My photography is easy enough, I just use my full name. But the vintage shop has to sound great. And like when I'm writing a fictional story, and I cannot begin writing until I think of the names of the characters, I can't even start fantasizing about my shop until I have at least a working name. Does anyone else have this sort of problem?

So now I bring to you my three favorite vintage shops on Etsy. What I recognize as great about them really comes down to presentation. Great photography all around and very professionally run shops. It's so hard to look through pages and pages of ill-lit goods to find something you like. But if it looks good, I'll buy (or at least drool!)


Vintage electric sign, $40; 1960's letter G flash card, $15; glass flour and sugar jars, $30; and art deco globe, $65, from White Elephant Vintage.


Porcelain lotus bowls, $18; framed owl print, $19; set of 20 postcards, $9; and frosted glass owl paperweight, $9, from Bouquet Thrift.


Three piece red Birkdale suitcase set, $120; classic rotary phone, $30; pyrex mixing bowls trio, $36; and classic onestep land camera, $18, from A Touch of Vintage.

new favorite blogs

I've added thirteen of my new favorite blogs (well, one is a shop) to my sidebar, but I wanted to tell you about them, too!


Clockwise from top, left: Little Brown Pen also has the sweetest Etsy shop for notecards, but on her blog she features loads of other items found on Etsy.
Kate's Blog is brought to you by the designer of all the Renegade Craft Fair adverts (among other things.) She is amazing!
Laurie at Liquid Paper blogs about decorating her home, which is my favorite kind of blog!
And over at Ink & Spindle, three ladies are getting their own studio space up and running.


A Field Journal recently covered a trip to San Francisco with gorgeous photos.
Ez has perhaps one of my all time favorite Etsy shops, Wren & Chickadee, and over at Creature Comforts, she blogs her favorite finds from all over the web.
I never loved quilting more than when I started reading Sweet Jessie.
Drawing in the Back Room showcases Janice's awesome drawings of buildings and cityscapes.


PHM Studio Spaces is full of photos of just that -- artists' studio spaces. So inspirational.
Allyson Hill is also great with photography, she blogs about her shop.


A Girl and a Dog Blog follows Bella and Lulu, two of the funniest dogs around.
I gave up on food blogs long ago because they had a bad effect on my hips, but Cake Wrecks is all about horribly decorated cakes, so at least I'm burning calories laughing while I read.
Stuff White People Like is a little crass, but I love the humor in this blog, too.


And last, but certainly not least, Three Potato Four, which sells such an amazing mix of papr goods, prints and homewares, it's overwhelming!

collection: iPhone cases

I got an iPhone yesterday! Over the weekend I was looking at different cases online, so I gathered up a collection of some of the best cases and wallets out there.


Clockwise from left: 1. Crystal 2 by Vaja, starts at $220. 2. ivolution Top SP by Vaja, starts at $85. 3. Applebaum iSockit by Bly the King, $10. 4. iWood padouk by Miniot, EUR 80.


Top row: 5. Elan Form pink by Griffin, $29.99. 6. Crystal hard shell case, $9.95. 7. Zebra Padded Gadget Keeper Case by Janine King Designs, $19. 8. Black/orange leather case by Covertec, $39. Middle row: 9. Itsy Bitsy Polka Dot Quilted Universal Pouch by Stitch*n*Tyme, $18. 10. Croc embossed pink patent leather case, $15.95. 11. Green Ultra Slim Pouch by Sena, $29.99 12. White/brown leather case, $11.98. Bottom row: 13. Red snap case by Piel Frama, EUR 70. 14. Orange protective case by Incase, $29.95. 15. Chocolate Pox Custom Case by Gurley's Goods, $18.99


Of course, I was too impatient (and I needed to protect the phone from my purse) to buy a case online, so I bought the Contour iSee, $29.95. I love the translucent style and how you can see the black underneath. I also love that there is a piece of plastic over the earpiece, so my ear doesn't come in direct contact with the screen. But no matter which case you get, I highly recommend the Power Support anti-glare film set, $14.95, which is applied to the screen for protection. It gives better traction and no glare, but best of all if you keep that clean and one day remove the film, voila, flawless screen underneath. Enjoy!

etsy sixteen

I decided to make a quilt of sorts of photos from Etsy shops. Here are sixteen great stores, some of them are brand new and some are quite established. You can click on each photo and it will lead you to the respective shop, or click on the links below.

First row: Afterlife of Argyle Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm Azurine Matou en Peluche Second row: SilverMade Studio Simply Shell Rebecca's Soap Delicatessen Winklepots Third row: Flying Rabbit Studio My Cozy Creations Kimberly Monaco Designs Say Your Piece Fourth row: Wendy Conrad Art Second Sister The Painted Lily Hammelman Art

note: each image is copyright its individual store.