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Friday Favorite: Art & Photos by Marc Loret
I can’t remember how I came across Marc Loret, but I was immediately attracted to his photography. Let’s take a peek.
Marco lives and works in France where he pursues his two passions: photography and nature. Many of his photos are of the natural world. He sells his work at his Etsy shop. Standard size prints are 6″ x 6″ and sell for $9.00. You can order larger prints as well.
I suggest buying several and grouping them. Buy three – one in a larger size and two in the same. Mat and frame them and you’ve got a lovely wall.
When Marc isn’t taking photos, he’s creating his own illustrations on vintage books.
You can find these at his other Etsy shop. Most prints sell for about $10.50.
Erin Ruth Gift Wrap
I’m taking the day off to catch up on some personal stuff. Be back tomorrow! Don’t forget to enter by giveaways!
In the meantime, take a peek at Erin Ruth’s beautifully tasteful gift wrap. It’s now on sale at her Etsy shop.
See everyone tomorrow!
Regretsy
Handmade? It looks like you made it with your feet. A friend sent me this link to Regretsy, a site dedicated to poking a little fun at strange handmade items. I thought you would enjoy this one.
I wonder if she could do the same thing with dryer lint. I have this favorite sweater…. That’s my laugh for the day. Enjoy.
Candied Fabrics’ Handcrafted Art House
I want to play in this house. But I’m too big. Candy Glendening hand-dyes all her fabrics and transforms them into beautiful things like Baltic Avenue. Then she sells them on Etsy. Yay!
Candy’s series of houses are made from her own fabric and something called Peltex – a material used to make baseball cap brims. The house is about one foot tall and wide and ten inches tall. It sells for $225.00. I think she should make a kid-sized series. Don’t you?
Candy also makes messenger bags and other accessories. Maybe I’ll drag the sewing machine out on of these days and see what happens. This is inspiring. I’ve made some Christmas tree skirts and stockings. What have you made?
Carolina Cottage: It’s all about the accessories
Remember the film, The Devil Wears Prada? I watched that movie about a zillion times when I was recovering from hip surgery. I usually watch movies to study the sets (The Holiday is a recent fave). This time it was the clothes which, one could argue, were the sets. Watching Ann Hathaway sashay her way through a gorgeous wardrobe I realized that it a great outfit is really all about the accessories.
The same is true with interior design. The curtains can be great, the sofa just so. But it’s really the accessories that make the room zip. Which (finally) brings me to Carolina Cottage and her beautiful decoupage trays, votives and paperweights.
These trays are the kind of thing you don’t find all over the place. And at $30 each, they’re easily affordable. 
Fill them with plants, stack up some books, group some cooking oils. Trays are great for organizing. Think of them as a purse for a table.
Votives anyone? If trays are the purse, votives are the earrings because they sparkle when they’re lit. Line them up along a mantel. Dot them around an entire room – or place just one in a powder room. These are $15 each.
Paperweights look terrific on top of a pile of books. They’re the… hat? Yes! Because they top things off. These are $7.00 each.
Scoot over to Carolina Cottage (at Etsy) and let her accessorize your home’s wardrobe.
Do you decoupage? It’s easy to do. My mom decoupaged a trash can once. That ended her craft career. I wish I was one of those people who could pick up a piece of trash and turn it into a vase in 15 minutes. But I’d have to research it first. Ack!
Decorative pillows by Nena Von
Home accents designer and Etsy shop owner, Nena Von, sews up some terrific accent pillows. Let’s take a look, shall we?
Nena uses higher-end fabrics for her pillows. This lumbar style is made with fabric from Romo ($30.00).
She has a good eye for putting things together. And I like her choice of fabrics and colors.
The cut velvet lumbar pillow (above) is my favorite. Her down pillows come with the insert. At $20.00, that’s a steal.
In addition to pillows, Nena sews up memory boards and has another shop featuring accessories for the nursery.
Batik fabrics from Etsy’s Brilliant Batik
I love Batik fabrics. I made a nice scarf in a textiles class I took a few years ago. It’s fun and not too difficult. ZyHan, is an expert – a true artist. Her batiks are unlike any I’ve seen before. They’re true works of art.
The designs she creates are very ornate, compared to most you see with an overall design.
She sells a variety of fabric lengths, fat quarters and some accessories in her Etsy Shop, Brilliant Batik.
These remind me of Hermes scarves. ZyHan works mostly with high quality silks. Most of her fabrics are 1 meter in length and sell for $30.00. But she’s happy to take on custom work.
Batik fabrics make beautiful curtains – these would be especially beautiful for that. Pillows and cushions are an obvious way to go. Cotton batiks are perfect for bedding – sew lengths together to make a duvet cover, or sew up some toss pillows for a finishing touch on the bed.
ZyHan was nice enough to share her simple instructions for creating your own Batik masterpieces. Stay tuned tomorrow for that.
In the meantime, have you used batik prints in your home? Send me photos!
Spoonflower’s Etsy Shop
Spoonflower is the place to go to design your own prints and print them up on cotton fabric by the yard.
Yay! They just opened an Etsy shop, which will feature their favorite designs sold by the yard or in fat squares. Here’s a peek at what they have up for sale right now.
Kim designed this Flower With Fuzzy Bee pattern using a free program called Artrage. One yard is sells for $18.
This is last week’s winning pattern, designed by Crafty Ginger. Coco Stripe is sold by the fat quarter or by the yard for $18.
Felted Up
I know that’s a bad pun, but it’s Monday.
I think everyone has just realized that the Holidays are right around the corner. Christmas is only 6 weeks away. If you’re like me, it gets harder and harder to think of something original to surprise your favorites with. No worries this year! Design Hole is on the job. Here are three deliciously beautiful felted bowls that anyone would love to have. Let’s take a peek.
This Blue Felted Bowl ($39.95) is from Etsy Shop, Jennywren. It measures 8″ in diameter. This is my favorite item in her shop. But check out her selection of jewelry and special things for Christmas.
Yes, we’re at Esty today. Petal Lassies offers this unique, 6″ felted leaf bowl for $17.00.
Pick up this set of three nesting bowls, made of felt, from Papaververt. They come in a variety of colors and sell for $120. The largest is 6″ in diameter. Check our their plant holders, too. Great stuff.
Votives from Maryink
Here’s a favorite from Etsy. Tennessee based company, Maryink, designs lively patterns which she applies to T-shirts, totes, aprons and votive holders. The votives are a real favorite of mine.
They come in lots of colors and patterns. All colorful and lively decoupaged designs that sell for $10 each and you can buy them in sets as well.
I also like the fact that they hold a candle of your own choice – a votive (they also come with one candle). This way you can choose an unscented candle, or buy a bunch of one scent you like. I like the romantic setting that candles lend, but without having to think about the blending of scents.
Urban Daisy
Heather wrote to me the other day to share some of her artwork and photography. She’s an artist/photographer from what folks in Michigan call “Up North”. (That’s the top of the Michigan Mitten.) Heather has an Esty shop where she sells prints like Urban Daisy, below. She also sells notes cards.
Indian Inspiration at Etsy
I guess I’ve got India on the brain today. Indian textiles are especially appealing to me. The bright colors and bold patterns could be at home in any part of the world. Rayela Art, over at Etsy, specializes in all things Indian. She makes her own things using vintage textiles and buys from other traders from various countries around the world. I thought you’d enjoy taking a peek at her shop.
Vintage Suzani Tapestry: $125
Indian quilt: $145
Vintage textile: $150
