DIY Ice Cream in a Jar

How awesome is this idea... Ice cream in a jar for your hotel-bound guests! This would be such a nice treat for welcome bags or just as a stand alone gift to guests. See the details at Style Me Pretty, here.

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Easy DIY Packaging Kits

We have a busy summer ahead of us… a handful of showers, weddings, and a baby on the way! With all of these exciting events on the horizon, I’ve been spending a lot of time looking for those perfect details on Etsy; some twine for this project, envelopes for that, and the list goes on.

 

While knee deep in the craftiness, I found this shop: belladrummer. Debee runs the adorable little shop, which is based out of San Diego, and chocked full of little embellishments and supplies to make all your crafting projects shine.

 I love these packaging kits, which include everything you need to bundle up a little gift in style. They’d be so perfect for bridesmaid or flower girl gifts, and don’t involve a lot of extra effort!

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Orange & Blossom online boutique

I love Etsy just as much as any other girl, but it seems lately I just don’t have the patience to sift through the good, the bad and the ugly. Basically, Etsy has gotten so big that you can’t find the things your looking for as effortlessly.

Earlier this week I was contacted by Lisa Marie of Orange & Blossom, and she truly opened my eyes to the possibilities out there. Orange & Blossom is a highly edited shop created from a select group of artists, designers and vendors to bring you the best in wedding embellishments without all the digging.

I love the fact that the shop is updated every Thursday with new items, so you know you won’t get overwhelmed with a bunch of unrelated items. You can browse through items like jewelry, stationery, and my personal favorite—vintage items.

Check out some of the amazing items above by visiting the Vintage & Rare collection now, and keep in mind, all vintage pieces include free shipping!

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The Key to My Heart: Tiffany & Co.

I’m pretty sure just about any girl who likes jewelry has ventured over to the Tiffany & Co. website for a peek of their sparkly new items. I’m guilty—I’ll admit it. I haven’t made any big purchases over there recently, mainly because I loose jewelry just about as often as my car keys. And somehow the thought of loosing anything worth more than $50 makes me a bit sick.

Aside from that, how beautiful is the new collection of Tiffany Key Pendants! Any of these would be a perfect wedding day gift from your hunny, no? You may just have to drop some hints, maybe leave a few printouts or catalog pages lying around—and then give him the credit for coming up with the line It’s the key to my heart, and I’m forever giving it to you! 

They range dramatically in price and style, so there's something for everyone—my personal favorite being the Petals Key Pendant, the Floral Key Pendant, and the Heart Key Charm.

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Friendship Rings

Remember when you were a little girl, and you’d give your girlfriends friendship rings? I’d always craft something special for my besties, or pick up a few little rings while on vacation. Those pieces of jewelry represented our bond — our never ending friendship!

These days I don’t do much swapping of jewelry, but the thought still crosses my mind! I think I’d still be tickled at the thought of receiving a friendship ring, or the likes of... which is why I’m sort of in love with the idea of giving each of your bridesmaids a little symbol of your friendship — in ring form.

These little beauties from Etsy seller Patrick Irla Jewelry, are just perfect for that. This tiny three-petal hydrangea sets atop a delicate band, accompanied by a small accent diamond.

There are a few other fine selections to choose from, all just as pretty!

Check out the shop of Patrick Irla Jewelry here!

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Wedding websites over wedding registries

I’ve run in to a few instances this season where brides want to include their registry in their invitation design, and I’ve been torn about providing a solution. While I understand the logic behind this, it’s still considered bad etiquette among some guests. So instead of plastering their registry information on their enclosure cards, I’ve been suggesting a substitute — their wedding website.

The website tends to be a classier way to provide additional information to guests, including where to purchase gifts for the bride and groom.

TheKnot.com has a free website service, but those can occasionally have long url’s, not suitable for a small card enclosure.

Here are a few of my favorite free sites: Onewed and eWedding. In addition to the registry information, many of these sites offer photo uploads, online rsvp features, audio/video, downloads for your guests and much more!

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Sage Street additions today

Oh yes, you guessed it. A few new items featured today in the Sage Street Market shop... take a peek!

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Sage Street Market opens!

I've always been obsessed with little vintage items... you know, the ones you sprinkle around your house for a bit of character. The same ones that strike up conversations about where you found that exquisite piece of china, or print. Well I can't keep hoarding it all for myself, so I've opened up a small Etsy shop where you can have dibs on it all! Sage Street Market is being stocked up as we speak, so bear with me as list new finds.

Check back often for special sales and new items!

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Frame the Date via Earth Friendly Weddings

You absolutely have to go check out today's post over at the Earth Friendly Wedding blog... Jennifer is featuring a few amazing products by Frame the Date, and I think I'm in love! I've always drooled over those clever compilations of letters in nature, that spell out your name or an inspiring word. Frame the Date is similar, but better in my opinion! I'm definitely going to be keeping this one in mind for future wedding gifts!

Go on, go see for yourself!

The Earth Friendly Wedding blog is this way...

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Yart Sale at Etsy

Definitely don't miss the 2nd annual Yart Sale featured over at etsy, beginning today and running through Sunday (June 14th). You can find our deals here, at our Etsy shop!

Learn more about the Yart Sale by reading up on this helpful article.

Image courtesy of: Misosoup

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Custom Cameo Silhouettes

There are times when I feel good about giving a newlywed couple pots and pans or some fun kitchen utensils. But there are also times when I want to break out of the box and give them something unique and artsy.

These custom cameo silhouette portraits would be perfect for an easy-going couple with natural or vintage décor.

I love how Jenny of jennyleefowler spiced things up by cutting out the silhouette from a piece of birch bark. Jenny has lots of experience cutting traditional freehand profiles from paper, bark, leaves and other materials. You can check out her etsy shop, flickr site, or blog for more inspiration!

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Handmade for Mother's Day

Mother’s day is one of those holidays where a handmade gift will only do. But if you’re as busy as I am, you may not have time to start a DIY project for mom. Etsy to the rescue! Check out some of my favorite handmade items from the best place to buy & sell all things handmade.

Links: black pepper soap, potato sack market bag, porcelain mug, succulent basket, tin picture frame, tiny mexican planters, papercut silhouette, sweater brooch, recipe box.

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Rachel Sudlow Jewelry

Found yet another cool Etsy shop while searching for some doggie swag. Rachel Sudlow Jewelry has custom dog tags, and much much more. These more casual pieces would be perfect as a bridesmaid gift, anniversary gift or just because!

I love the little sweet pea necklace, the heart drop necklace and of course the doggie tags!

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Gifts.com to the rescue!

Have you ever wanted to look up gift registries for friends or family, but didn’t know where they were registered at? I’m there.

This summer my husband and I have 4 weddings to attend, so in order to get a head start on gift buying (and get the best selection), I wanted to start now.

Gifts.com has this handy tool where you can input the bride or groom’s name and find out where they are registered. If your friends aren’t registered anywhere, gifts.com also has some helpful suggestions depending on the occasion and recipient.

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Luxe Design

I'm in love with tiny little details lately, and I don't know why! I've also been searching for that perfect piece of jewelry that I can wear almost everyday... with a t-shirt, a sweater or a dress. Well, I think I've found it, and it just happens to satisfy my little detail craving as well!

Luxe Design, based out of Vancouver, offers a Make it Your Own line of jewelry, where you can create personal and meaningful jewelry from their assortment of charms and sayings. You'll never believe how many different charms you have to choose from!

Check out their blog for some design ideas!

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NEW: Card packs at Etsy

I've recently been inspired to design with geometric shapes and patterns, and have translated a few of my early designs into folded cards. I love the punchy colors, shapes and white space that these cards hold, not to mention the fun, coordinating envelopes!

You can find the new cards at my Etsy shop, here!

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How to cook everything

Ever since I met my husband, I’ve been enthralled with cooking. In college I loved experimenting with new ingredients and challenging recipes… making things for the first time was an incredible rush. I know, I know, I’m a food geek. But while enjoying cooking so much, I never really knew who the real “foodies” were.

For our wedding in July 2007, we received this book, How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman and Alan Witschonke. My husband was actually the one squeeled with delight at the sight of the book, he obviously knew who this Bittman character was. It didn’t take me long to realize that Mark Bittman is a food genius, and this book was a godsend. (Also available is a vegetarian version of this book)

Anything I could ever think about making was here, no phone call to mom needed! If you haven’t already checked it out, flip through a copy at your local bookstore… it will save your life, and any dinner party at that!

Image courtesy of amazon.com

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Cordon Bleu Fromage Plates a la Target

Gotta love this set of cheese plates, perfect for hosting appetizers and drinks, as a lovely married couple! I found these at my oh-so-trendy-go-to-store; Target. Check out the wine country inspired plates here!

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Valentines at Bold Loft

Have you seen these adorable sets of valentine's mugs from Bold Loft? There are so many designs to choose from, and each one makes me smile. Plus, who doesn't need another coffee mug around the house, especially if you can match your hubby or fiance!

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Digital Paintings by labokoff

Before Christmas time, I decided to purchase a few original pieces of art from Etsy seller labokoff. She's based in Paris, France and combines her photography and painting skills to create these lovely digital renderings. I love them all but decided on going with the sous la pluie and the coquelicot. I knew they'd be the perfect addition to our dusty blue bedroom walls, that severely lacked character.

Here they are!

I'm so happy with the prints themselves, and I think you all should check out the Etsy shop of labokoff! She has a wonderful line of postcards for sale, that would be just perfect as table numbers or in lieu of a guest book!

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