Myrtle Studio's Sweet Nutcracker Suite

We're absolutely taken with the work of Leslie of Myrtle's Studio! Her use of trims, textures, colors and whimsy never ceases to amaze and delight us.  When she shared photos of a custom nutcracker order she'd just created, we asked her if we could share them here with you all as well.

If you've got a special occasion and need something extra special to make the day all the more memorable, consider engaging the artistic talents of Leslie.  From ribbon cornucopias to luxe gift tags to rich ribbon wreaths, Myrtle's Studio has something to delight everyone.

Specialty Christmas Cards for Sending and Decorating

Things We Love: kitschavan

It's always a delight to see what people make with the craft supplies we sell.  In this case, kitschavan, in England, has taken simple bottle brush trees and turned them into individual works of art that are a feast for the eyes and sure to delight Christmas lovers everywhere.  She's been bold but discerning in her color choices and layered the trees with tinsel cording and glass balls and then anchored them in great figural ceramic bases that lend themselves perfectly to her trees.  Even Santa and Mrs.Claus would approve!

Do stop by her shop and take a look at her artful creations here: kitschavan

Still Time for Advent Calendars!

Things We Love: Meaicp

We love the way that meacip combines vintage millinery elements, glass and tinsel ornaments and picks, and adorable spun cotton characters to create the most festive Christmas, holiday and special occasion corsages.  They are truly a burst of cheerfulness!

She has more than just heirloom quality corsages in her Etsy shop, even awesome retro fabrics!
Be sure to stop by her shop, as you're sure to find something for yourself or someone special. 

New Styles of Old Fashioned Favorites -- New Blown Glass Beads, Dresden Foils & Christmas Scraps

Happy Halloween!

TocameMika: Absolutely fascinating!

It's no secret -- we love seeing our supplies in use.  So imagine our delight and amazement to see this gorgeous fascinator created by Mika of Madrid, Spain.  Dramatic, elegant, and with the most beautiful greens and reds together, this piece took our breath away!

Specializing in fascinators and headbands, you'll find a wide range of colors and shapes in Mika's Etsy shop TocameMika.  Thank you Mika, we love your work!

Caturday #1

Thomas, our favorite guest, enjoys the sunshine on one of his daily visits.

A Quote by Any Other Name

This was too cool not to post.  I find myself saying many of these on a daily basis.  Thanks to Gerard for posting this first.

New Scraps from England

Just in from Europe: New Blown Glass Beads

We've just received several new styles of blown glass beads and have them listed HERE in our Etsy shop.  Apart from new shapes, we're also stocking pretty new colors like aqua, deep teal, light pink, hot pink and even black.  I'm partial to the acorn beads in matte green and shiny brown and the bell shapes, shown below.

Have you started crafting for Christmas yet? I have ideas swirling around but haven't actually started working on anything yet.  I get both nervous and  excited to think that Christmas is less than 4 months away!

New Shop Additions: More Chenille Tinsel

We are excited to tell you that we've added 14 more colors of rayon chenille tinsel cording to our Etsy shop.  Beautiful color mixes just in time for holiday crafting: red with red tinsel; green with green tinsel; hunter green with silver tinsel; violet with silver tinsel.

I can't decide if my favorite is the snowy silver, the old gold, or the violet and silver.  And of course I LOVE the red, pink and silver mix -- very Valentine in a tiger stripey way!

The Cat Days of Summer

Nothing like a cool drink on a hot summer day.  Thomas digs in.

New to the Shop: Bouquet Holders from Germany

Also new to the shop are three different sizes of bouquet holders from Germany.  Best described as strong doilies attached to small cones with a split center hole to accommodate flower stems, these elegant floral embellishments are perfect for brides creating their own everlasting bouquets.  Above is a medium sized all white, and, below, a detail shot of its pretty edge.

The medium sized style below features a beautiful hand-tinted edge.  Color choices are pink, rose pink, green, lilac and yellow.

The small size below is available in plain white, gold foil or silver foil.  This size also looks wonderful on a Christmas tree with white lights stuck up through the holes.

New to the Shop: Crepe Paper Streamers for Halloween

Also new to the shop are two styles of crepe paper streamers from Germany.  Both feature Halloween designs and come in 32 ft. rolls.  Apart from decorating with these garland-style, they are wonderful for putting around the edge of a party table, embellishing cones, and making spooky rosettes.  Both are HERE.

New to the Shop: Dresden Cake Decorations

We're excited to say that we've added a range of adorable dresden foil cake decorations from Germany to the shop.  Each features a gnome scene with a different number, 0-9, on a food-safe wire.  And each number is available in red, fuchsia, gold, silver, green or purple foil.  You can also remove the wire and use these in card making, scrapbooking, as gift tie-ons and more.  Click HERE to see them all.

Christmas in July on Etsy

Christmas in July on Etsy begins tomorrow, July 14 and runs through July 24th.  If you're participating and are in need of a banner, avatar or both, please click HERE for a whole host of festive and customizable choices free for you to use.

Needle Felted Goodness

I love browsing through the needle felted pieces on Etsy and am always amazed by the expressions and character the artists give to their creations.  I couldn't resist sharing three of my all-time favorites with you.

The gray kitty above may well be real with his whiskers and sweet expression.  Made by Teresa Perleberg of bearcreekdesigns, she also offers kits for those wanting to try their own hand.

 It doesn't get much cuter than a polar bear in the snow.  Made by talented Latvian artist Inna Pavlova and available in her shop BinnieBear.

KaysK9s has such a knack for capturing the subtle nuances of her subjects.  I've been a fan for a long time, especially of her custom pet creations.

New Additions: Chenille & Tinsel Cording

We're very excited about this chenille & tinsel cording that we've just added to the shop.  Made in the USA especially for us, here's a look at the tinsel mixes. I'm partial to the copper, black and pumpkin orange mix below -- so perfect for Halloween projects:

You can see all 28 colors of chenille and chenille/tinsel mixes, HERE in out etsy shop.

The cording is not wired, it's loose and bendable, making it ideal for creating ornaments, embellishing packages scrapbooking and card making.  Which is your favorite color?

It's Starting to Feel a lot Like Christmas

There's been some major stockroom organization going on lately (hence the lack of posting).  Shelf installation, consolidation, rearranging and even a little discovery.

We uncovered a couple of boxes of vintage Christmas stuff all made in Japan: picks, glass ball clusters, millinery berries.

Everything has made its way into our Etsy shop.  We just love working with the sparkle!

Old Los Angeles

For all the scores of times I've been to Malibu, yesterday was the first time I walked through the grounds of the Adamson House.  Breathtaking doesn't even begin to describe the gardens, house and tile work.  Here are a few pictures:

 I can't get enough of the outdoor fireplace.

A free-form tile mosaic makes a beautiful segue from pathway to patio.

An elaborate built in fountain with a view of the coast behind.

 More stunning tiles.

I can't get enough of the old California architecture.

Looking up the beach from the back yard.  The houses in the far distance are part of the Malibu Colony -- semi-private beach and enclave of the rich and famous.

I LOVE this planter! The landscaping featured a very small mix of plants, all growing in sweeping bands of bold color or cascading from ornate planters.

New Spun Cotton Mushrooms from Germany

We adore German spun cotton mushrooms and are happy to say that we have several new colors in the shop in multiple sizes!  There are now ones in black, orange, aqua, grass green, and a pretty new yellow.  The much beloved pinks are also back and this time in a new jumbo size as well.  Here's a peek at what we're stocking:

We also can't get enough of these very large paper mushrooms on dowels:

It's hard to pick a favorite but I'm loving the orange and black ones!