1. not exorbitant or extravagent by city standards, however in a rural setting (like upstate new york) it is in fact, quite fancy.
2. a wonderful blog dedicated to art, design and other things that are indeed upstate fancy.
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How cute are these upcycled bird houses. Made by atomic birdhouses, these modern dwellings are created from repurposed wine boxes and cigar boxes. Not only do I love the look of them, I also love that they are one of a kind. I’m thinking theses would make a great fathers day gift for you early shoppers.
I love love love backyard creatures! Birds, squirrels, chipmunks and all the other little ragamuffins that roam in our yards. Which is why I was so excited to see these unusual bird seed trays from Illuminated Bird. These stunning feeders are made of upcycled lenses from old stop lights. Which means not only are they functional but they also cast lovely shadows as the sunlight passes through them. I beautiful mix of form and function.
We are always looking for new ways to go green. We have switched from Poland Spring bottled water to reusable aluminum water bottles. Now PeopleTowels brings us a new way to cut down on paper towels. “PeopleTowels™ is the newest concept in sustainability – 100% organic cotton, reusable personal hand towels that make going green as easy as drying your hands. Switch from paper towels to PeopleTowels to dry your hands in public facilities to saves trees and reduce waste.” Switching to PeopleTowels for 1 year will save 1/4 of a tree, reduce landfill waste by 23lbs and conserve 250 gallons of water. Best of all they have some really cute designs.
If you know me at all you know I am not a fan of warm weather. Give me a pair of jeans, a hoodie and a high of 65 I would be set for life. I do however love the changing of the seasons, spring included. That time of year when the colors come back into the world. Perch! design also seems to have a strong attachment to spring as well with their beautiful glazes they use on all their pieces. My two favorites are of course the Frida desk lamp and these mini fade pots. How cute would these be lining your windowsill or sitting on the back deck? Now if only I could buy a green thumb to go with them!
If tap water was a little more stylish would people buy less bottled water? Faucet Face thinks so. Tap just needs a little makeover. These BPA free glass bottles feature work of several amazing artists ( Seb Lester, Ray Fenwick& Annika Tran) and are sure to fancy-up your tap water next year. Through the month of December these awesome containers are 25% off and will ship out between feb/march. Perfect for that springtime picnic!
We are all trying to be more eco-friendly. One easy way of course is to cutdown our use of plastic bottles. A lot of us carry around those aluminum canteen like water bottles which can sometimes be a bit bulky especially when its empty. The new vapur bottle allows you to carry the same refreshing water but when it’s empty it folds up small enough to fit in your pocket. It still has that ever convenient carabiner so that you can hook it to your bag or belt loop, it also will still stand upright when filled with water. And with a price tag of $9 it’s a no brainer.
I had a great time this weekend at the SOWA market in Boston. Everyone i met was super nice, and i got to run into and old friend as well. I have a few new things up in the peppersprouts etsy shop today. One of them being a limited edition Boston coaster, the other being the long awaited bird coasters. These little guys have increased in size to 3.75″ in diameter, sure to fit any drink! There are a lot of new things in the works over the next few weeks, holiday goodies, magazine racks, even picture frames. I am very excited to say the least.
Whether you are getting engaged, getting married, or just dreaming of love, there are some beautiful rings perfect for you on etsy. I’ve never really felt like I had to have a big diamond on my hand to know that my dream guy really loved me. I find the whole thing actually a bit old fashioned. I also really dislike the idea of my dream guy going to the jewelers in the mall, or god forbid “He went to Jarred.” I love the idea of having a ring that was handcrafted with love. These are a few of my favorites.
Clockwise from top left: Natural diamond set – 14k white gold from Onestonenewyork – $645, Pink Gold and .5 carat White Sapphire Solitaire from singleBbeautiful – $600, Wedding ring set – satin finish sterling from LouLouBerry – $230, Oval White Sapphire and Silver Ring from Silverwoods $135.
my boyfriend was joking that i need a new project to work on, (I currently have 4 rather large projects going on currently, one of them is of course my product line.) But that got me thinking about all the great things that are available on etsy, and all the wonderful kits you can buy on there to learn a new skill, make something tasty, or just make someone’s day. I used to love getting craft kits to keep me busy in the summer months. So I took a peek at the vast pages of the etsy universe and here are a few of my favorites.
a. DIY cheese kit from Urban Cheesecraft $21 b. Designer chair tablescape kit from L Brandt $30 c. Giraffe embroidery pattern from Penguin and Fish $6 d. Make your own cup cozy from byrd and belle $8 e. Spice kits from Purpose design $16 f. Cottontail needle felting kit from fancy tiger $12 g. Moss terrarium kit from Lady Farrah $35
One of the things i miss most about living in a small town is garage sales and thrift stores. I don’t miss the lack of other things to do however. I am going to upstate NY this weekend to see Matt’s sister graduate so maybe we can sneak in a thrift-store visit between congratulations. The plates by Sarah Burden really caught my eye this week. I love when people take something that is looking rather unloved, and revamp it to make it a must have. Upcycling is such a simple idea a lot of the times, and in a throwaway culture, in which we live, I always appreciate an object knowing love made it into something better than it was before. So check out her upcycled dishware, this girl can really draw.
