Caught Red Handed

Is anyone else as mesmerized as I am by these post earrings at Caught Red Handed? I cannot stop staring.

Post Earring Collection, $16 each

Mixbaby

I've been a little bit obsessively watching What Not to Wear, and I started questioning whether or not I should wear headbands. Am I getting too old for them? Are the sufficiently sophisticated? And then I stumble on Mixbaby's shop in my favorite's list, and all of a sudden want to star in my own retro photo shoot.

Polka Dot Headband, $11

Green Satin Headband, $9

Black Lace Cocktail Headband, $25

What do you think? I mean, I could definitely rock one of these while cleaning my house, that's for sure.

P.S. Terri, the mastermind behind this fabulous shop, has her MA in Fashion Merchandising and works as an engineering tech in her day job. Color me impressed!

Yumi Yumi

Aline is the artist behind The Yumi Yumi Shop, and she makes the most delightful prints. At first I thought these would be adorable in a child's room, but the more I looked around, the more I found things for me, too. I am now seriously in love with these floral prints.

Still Life with Ranunculus, $20

Still Life with an English Rose, $20

Still Life with Peonies, $20

We mustn't forget the birds.

You Are My Buttercup, $20

If you'd like to learn more about Aline (and her adorable family), she keeps a blog with beautiful photography.

Rain's End

Keeping in line with the wedding theme from yesterday are these adorable wedding accessories from Rain's End. I know, birds have been done. But I refuse to ignore a good thing when I see it.

Wedding Cake Topper Birds, $30

Bird Nest Ring Pillow, $30

Love Birds Cake Topper, $120

And this has nothing to do with weddings, but I couldn't resist a pottery chicken inspired by the artist's very own backyard chickens. Happy shopping!

Pottery Chicken, $16

Twigs & Honey

Twigs & Honey is by no means an undiscovered shop, but in a world full of big box stores, a successful tiny business makes me sigh in relief. Myra sells the most gorgeous wedding accessories, and despite being married, I still kinda want a few of them (an unsung danger of eloping).

With wedding season in the not-so-distant future, I'm sure a few ladies will find this a tantalizing prospect. Keep in mind that her current turnaround time for made to order items is 3-7 weeks, so don't wait too long!

Bridal Headpiece, $245

Bridal Comb, $185

Bridal Blusher, $110

Hey, Look! A collage!

Have I mentioned that I'm subscribed to hundreds of blogs? I am. I don't have time to read all of them anymore, so I pick and choose, but I'd say there's a good few dozen that I read on a regular basis. Anyway, the reason I mention this is because I noticed that a lot of bloggers make collages of outfits, color-themed housewares, or just pretty pictures. They always catch my eye, but I figured I'd have to know how to use Photoshop or something to make something similar.

Well, today as I was ripping out inspirational outfits from a catalog, I thought about how it's such a shame that all those gorgeous catalog clippings end up piled on my coffee table with no one to share them with (except my husband and cats...). And also, how I don't really like piles of paper scraps around. It would be so much nicer to digitalize them and share them with the world. If only I had such a way...

All of a sudden (that is, after a quick google search), I realized that Picasa, a free online photo editing software that I use all the time, can make collages! The default mode is to make a little collage that looks like a pile of photographs, but there is a little drop down menu where you can make crisp organized photo grids, or all sorts of other stuff. Since I only had four photos, here's my first go at it:

Boston Proper Summer 2012

Sequin Mesh Tank Dress, $129

Knit-Front Tube Top, $49

Palm Leaf Cover Up, $79

X-back Travel Dress, $79

Well, what do you think? Do you prefer my standard one-at-a-time, vertical-style of photo listing, or are you feeling the collage look?

Tiny Hands International

Sometimes I want to go shopping and feel completely guiltless. I want to support something good -- and maybe that's why I end up looking at Etsy so often -- because I like to support small businesses and encourage entrepreneurship. I like to feel like my money is voting for something positive. But charities are good too, and sometimes I forget that when I'm feeling like shopping, I can spend my money at a charity.

I learned about Tiny Hands International from a do-good crafty blog, Tiggy's House. They're focused on helping orphaned children, sex-trafficking victims, and the empowerment of women. Their current goal is to build a self-sustaining "dream center" in Nepal, where they can have homes for a few families, as well as a school, medical center, and dental center that can serve the surrounding community. 

The Dream Center Project

If it sounds like the kind of thing you'd like to support, you can always just donate outright. But if you're a more shopping-inclined individual, you can always take a look at the shop and (added bonus) know that your money is going to help support something a little bigger than usual. In case you're wondering, 100% of the proceeds go to support the charity, and all products are made handmade locally in Nepal. Here are some of my favorites:

Freedom Carry-All, $25

Dipa Bracelet, $12

Maya Necklace, $25

Loving this jewelry for beachy summers. Happy shopping!

Savor

I've spent most of the past year immersed in graduate school, but I have successfully come out the other side and once again feel like blogging -- the best news is, I have a lot of fun stuff to share after so much time gathering new favorites.

Looking back into the depths of my favorites list, I found savor, a little skin care shop that I've admired, but never ordered from before. I quickly corrected that by ordering a set (or two...) of her body mist samples. I'm such a huge fragrance fan -- candles, incense, body sprays, perfumes -- that I really couldn't pass it by.

The more I looked around savor, the more I learned about the shop owner, Lisa. She was featured in Etsy's Quit Your Day Job series last year and talks about how she came to start up her shop and become the productive work-at-home mommy she is today. In her interview, she also mentions her Facebook page, where she advertises her (bi)annual soap sales. "Like" savor, and you'll be alerted when her sales take place! In the mean time, here are some products to tantalize you:

Lip Butter in Vanilla Pear, $5

Jade Shea Butter Soap, $5

Calistoga Goat Milk Shaving Soap, $4.50

Remember that Mother's day is coming up, and you can honor another mom by supporting her business. Happy shopping!

Sweet Paul Magazine

I'm very much in love with Sweet Paul Magazine. As you can see, the photography is gorgeous, which is enough to keep me a dedicated reader. The best part is that it's free -- and online -- for instant gratification. They just published the Summer 2011 issue, which marks the 5th issue. Don't forget to check out the back issues, too!

Treasury: Citrus Green

I am very much in love with this color (and have been for several years now).