Well this past week has just slipped past me! I suppose that's what happens when you fill your days with book-writing and book-making and book-reading. Whew, that's a lot of bookish things! So my weekly fancy is going to be not bookish at all, really. I hope you don't mind. ;)

In fact, I'm going to be revisiting one of my favoritish, things quite a bit, and you all know that's fiber. ;)


Take this superwash Merino from KnitFitKnitter. Is that gorgeous, or what? It's called Twinkle, 220 yards worsted weight, and I just love it. Maybe it's just my old AP art history class (which was longer ago than I've realized!), but I look at this and all I see is Van Gogh. It's perfect, isn't it? Gorgeous stuff!

And talking about gorgeous...


I can't help but be stunned by this. It's wall art by box64studio, more specifically an 18x18 inch Paper Collage Floral Burst. I am amazed that people can make such gorgeous things out of paper. It seems like such a delicate thing, which I suppose is part of the very beauty of it. These floral bursts remind me of my mother's Hawaiian appliqué, which is something that I've always wanted to do myself. Beautiful stuff!

And then we have this:


Hee. Oh my goodness if this isn't one of the cutest little monster(pair!)s that I've ever seen. This is Daphne and Delilah the Mommy and Baby Monster. It's a pattern, to make your very own little set of monsters, and I can't get over how darling these little gals are. The listing shows the pattern done up in a few different colorways, so you can get an idea of what your monsters might turn out like, and all of them are adorable! This is from dangercraft's shop, and really all of her patterns and creatures are just fabulous.

My next pick for this week is from SunshineMaker, who is brand new to Etsy!


She's got lots of lovely fibery things, but this right here is her Purple Rain batt. 50 grams of gorgeous purple wooly goodness with just a hint of white viscose to make it pop! This makes me wish (not that I hadn't already!) that there had been room in the car for my spindle and fiber when I made the move... They'll get to me eventually, they're tucked up safely down in San Diego... but I see stuff like this and I want to spin NOW. Sigh.

And lastly...


YES PLEASE. As you can see, this is the Buy Handmade shirt from phippsart. What a great way to tell the world your opinion on hand-crafted, high-quality items, versus the dross that we see in department stores? I love everything about this shirt. The color, the style, all the detail!

It's in conjunction with The Handmade Movement, which, if you haven't checked them out, you really should! It's a fabulous blog that coordinates sneak attacks on various Etsy shops... meaning a shop can be "sponsored" by someone, and announced to at a specific time, and as many people as are willing go and purchase something from that shop! It's such a great way to promote Etsy artists, and I tip my hat to them!

It's been a while since I've been able to do a Wednesday Wants post, so I thought I'd get an extra long one ready for you today!

Firstly...


Can you say yum? These are Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies from DeepSouthBakery. Looking at this picture I can almost smell these cookies. They just look amazing, don't they? Classic, rich chocolate chips, and then that hint of citrus? And I don't know if you've picked up on this yet, but I'm all about the citrus. You want to find your way into my heart it's through that fabulous fruit family right there. These look simply divine!

And now for something slightly less edible, though no less yummy:


Here's playatlifefiberarts' Peck of Peppers Kettle-dyed yarn, recycled from a 100% Ecuadorian wool sweater. Such pretty colors! I think the title is just perfect, too, this does certainly look like a zesty little skein of yarn! Looks awfully soft, too, doesn't it? You bet it does.

Next we have something from joojoo, who has one of the cutest shops on Etsy.


This listing is entitled Darlings for your Terrarium. ! How adorable is that? These little polymer clay dears are ready to liven up anything you want to put them in, a terrarium, a water bowl, or as shown, a lovely little jar of salt. Look at those little grass spriglets! And the little green coconuts waiting to ripen on the palm. I love it. I just love it.

I can't quite let this go without one more cute item:


This Octopus Crochet Pattern from trulyoutrageous is just the cutest thing! It includes all three sizes, so you could make a whole little octopus family all for yourself! She has lots of other fun patterns too, so be sure to check them all out!

And lastly, a new little find of mine that is just darling:


This is the Green Weeds Blank Book from Sprouting Oxygen, and she has some other really beautiful books as well. (Actually, her whole shop is lovely!) The look of the wood is appealing on its own, but then the stamp she uses is just the perfect touch. She'll even add a button-enclosure to it for an extra fee, which I think is kinda neat. :)

So that's one more week of Wants. Why oh why must my eyes be so much bigger than my wallet? Well, to entertain all of you, of course. ;)

I know, a bit late (like really late!)... but I still wanted to get a post up this week. I'll keep it sort of short. Just oogling and fawning, you know. ;)

Firstly... sigh.


Isn't she pretty? It's not likely to happen anytime soon, but this Pods n Posies laptop case by janinekingdesigns is just to die for. And it would fit my baby, my 17" widescreen laptop. And somehow it looks a tad more professional than the Hello Kitty case I was previously looking for. (Not that I probably wouldn't still settle for Hello Kitty, if I could ever find one big enough, but that's another story.) All of Janine King's bags are gorgeous, her fabrics are impeccable, and of course all of that is reflected in her sales. She probably doesn't need this spotlight at all. But a want is a want. ;)

Secondly... hand dyed sock yarn. YUM.


This colorway is called Heirloom Tomatoes, which I love—I love fantastic colorway names. It's from lightbrownhare's shop, a fairly new seller on Etsy, but a perfect yarn dyer—I had a lot of trouble picking just one item from her shop that I wanted to spotlight, because all her colorways are really lovely and vibrant. In the end I picked this one because... well, maybe I shouldn't own to this, but I picked it because it reminded me of the Gryffindor Common Room in the Harry Potter films! hahaha And I've always wanted to be a Gryffindor, I admit.

My last find this week... well, "Heavenly" seems pretty apt.


These are haveitconfections' Heavenly Vanilla Marshmallows and Heavenly Vanilla Caramels. Again, it was hard picking something from her shop because everything looks so delicious. So I picked a mix of caramels and marshmallows! They really do look amazing. And, from the shop profile, you can see that this is a pretty awesome shop to patron! Not only do they support Kiva.org, a website supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries, but they're also super-green and use a portion of their sales to pay for trees to be planted! Very cool and very much what the handmade movement is and should be about! Not like you need an incentive like that, when they're goodies look as yummy as they do, but still. Awesome.

I can't help myself—this one's all fiber, folks! If I had the time I'd expand, do Wednesday Wants and Fiber Fridays... but sadly there's no way I could manage that, so you'll just have to suffer through it. :-P

Firstly....


This is the lovely Age of Wisdom Luxury Lace by theyarnside. These colors remind me of a cool autumn evening with falling leaves. And with a mix of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere, it'd be sure to keep you cozy, too. Think of the shawl you could make with this! I don't think I could resist doing some lacy, leafy pattern. Mmmm.

Next we have a bit of grunge! But grunge at its very prettiest.


This fantastic colorway is called Swamp Fairy, very appropriately. It is by the isajulfiber, who has really gorgeous things. I just love the playfulness of all these colors, mixed in with the bold black and white bits. I can just imagine the awesome funky yarn this would spin up into! I love it.

And then... sigh. Mulberry Silk Top in Evergreen, by chimera.


I admit, I have a thing for shiny. There's a reason why the first spinning fiber I bought was a smidge of soysilk at a ridiculous price. It was shiny. And soooo soft. Just look at all of these lovely, shiny greens! I've never spun silk before (haven't even touched my soysilk yet - I'm a bit afraid of it!) but it's supposed to spin like a dream. Maybe if I had the generous 4.6 ounces here, I wouldn't be as worried about messing a bit of it up. ;)

My last pick is... well really just a doozy.


Take a closer look at this picture. Don't just let your eyes glance over it, because you're bound to miss something if you do, and the listing really is for all of it. It's pumpkinhaus' One Gallon Top Whorl Spindle and Fiber Kit in Superman Ice Cream. So there's a spindle, 2.7 ounces of very Superman-y colored merino, a project bag, plus scraps, buttons and some pre-spun yarn to play with as you will! Pumpkinhaus is quite the spinner herself. I haven't really tried any artsy spins as of yet, but the idea does really intrigue me. Definitely an awesome kit for someone out there!

So there you are. That wasn't so bad, was it? ;)

First and foremost...


Congratulations to Luna (moonmandrake), Elizabeth (SheepShapeSpinning), Particles of Stone and lilm4105! You've won ad space through the end of July! Please email me your 125x125 pixel ads at CinderLisaDesign AT gmail DOT com, and I'll get them up as soon as they get to me!

Now... on to Wednesday Wants. =)

Firstly, a little something from PearTreeGallery:


This is called Peacock and Jazz, and oh do I love it! The aqua/peacock colors are pretty much my absolute favorite variety of colors. I actually wore a peacock-blue dress to my high school prom - which looked darn good up against my Japanese yellow undertones, thank you very much. I'd love to put a huge version of this painting up on a wall in my house. You know, that house I own in my head that has big white walls and enormous spaces. Yeah. That one. It would look really nice there.

And then I love this Lace Leaf Scarflette from kanokwalee.


Ah, crochet lace goodness in such pretty colors! This scarflette looks perfect for a summer evening downtown. I love it.

I must be partial to those colors at the moment, too, because my next want is this Seahorse pattern from tinyowlknits:


How adorable is that?! I wish I had time to do some charity knitting/crochet at the moment, because I'd be all over making these for hospital kids or something. Maybe in a few months...

And before you get overwhelmed by the bluescale -


This is the Autumn Sunset milk latte fiber over at feelingsheepish's shop. Spinning! With milk! How cool is that?! It looks sooooo ridiculously soft. And these colors are fantastic! So much pretty I kind of want to sit and look at it for an hour or so. Sadly I have other things to do today. Sigh. But I really can't wait to try out milk fiber. I've only just started hearing about it, but it's definitely started showing up in the Etsy world, and it looks pretty darn cool.

That's all I have to say about that. :) Until next week!

In an attempt at variety (I know I fail in this, apologies!) I'm going to steer clear of fiber artists this week. Not that I'm not tempted by lots of them... you know I am.

My first selection is just plain cute.


These are KBdesignCo's Chunky Toddler Crayons, basically melted down and reformed crayons that are big and easy to grasp by pudgy little toddler hands. I can't look at these things without imagining the cuteness that would accompany a kid plopped down on a big sheet of craft paper and actually playing with these... or maybe stuffing them in their mouths. Or both. Someday my kids will play with crayons like these.

And something a touch more sophisticated...


This CatNote book of Hattori's is just all kinds of lovely. This one picture doesn't do it justice, so go take a look at the others on the listing. I can't say much about this, because it really speaks for itself. If I had the money for this lovely I would snap it up in a heartbeat.

My last pick this week is a little bit sentimental for me. CherryBlossomCo was actually where I made my very first Etsy purchase, a year ago from Saturday, as a matter of fact. I didn't realize until just now that it's nearly my Etsyversary, but all the more fitting that I showcase C&B, now that I know that it is! I bought a Pomegranate and Rosemary lip balm, and it is fantastic stuff, keeps my lips nice and smooth. Starting to run low, too!


This is C&B's Grapefruit Shea Butter, as you can see. Grapefruit happens to be my favorite scent. Pretty much any citrus will do, but grapefruit is hands-down the winner, any day of the week. It's just such a light, happy smell, and the teensiest bit exotic. And, while this is starting to change, it's not exactly the easiest scent to come by when you're looking for bath products. It took me years to find a body splash. And here's 4 ounces of yummy grapefruit scent, full of body butter goodness. Definite want.

Some weeks it takes some time to go through my favorites and find something that I really want to post about—that is not at all true this week!

Firstly, let's look at jesh's Pink Glow Drop Spindle. Is this lovely, or what? All of her spindles are lovely, really! I'm starting to think that maybe I've outgrown my run-of-the-mill starter spindle, and this is very, very tempting...


And what to spin on it, you ask? Well... step over here and take a gander at hobbledehoy's stuff!


Yummy, right?! This is her Lemon Zinger hand-carded batts. Gorgeous stuff! I've never spun from batts before, and would love to add that to my repertoir. These colors are just beautiful. Love that blend of oranges and yellows and greens.

And lastly, something that's as practical as it is beautiful:


This is one of lilypang's customizable laptop skins, this in particular is the Moonlight Owl. This is something I'm really looking forward to buying, just as soon as I make a sale that warrants it. I have a new laptop, and this is just what I need to keep my baby protected—and gorgeous, of course! I've seen a few at Fry's and Office Depot, of course, but I have an oddly-shaped laptop, and besides, what's the fun of that? lilypang's skins can be ordered to the size of your own laptop, and she even has matching skins for the hand-rest area! My only problem is deciding which skin I want, because all of them are utterly gorgeous. Go look for yourself!

I've been clicking "Refresh" a lot these past few days. I just can't help it the first days after I've listed something. But that doesn't mean that I've been keeping to my own shop all of this time. These are some of the things I've been falling in love with lately:


Gorgeous, are they not? This is the listing for one of immortallonging's Shakespeare Journals. (This one is Ophelia) It would do you good to read her profile page, because this woman comes with some very impressive accolades - her work is featured in some of the most prestigious theaters in the world, and these journals are available right at the Shakespeare's Globe shop - or here on Etsy! Her artwork is just beautiful, and really does give you the feel of the plays and characters she's portraying. Lovely stuff.

Next I have something that just makes my fingers itch to hold it:


This is GreenwoodFiberworks' Calypso Handpainted Merino Wool Roving. Look at all of those colors! This name definitely reflects the feel of the color palette. I love every single color here, they're so rich and warm! I think I would almost have trouble spinning this... I'd just want to admire it in the braid! ;)

And lastly... a true little indulgence.


Five Travel-Sized Scrubs from SpaGoddess. These just look decadent, don't they? There are eight kinds available that you can pick and choose to suit your own tastes, and besides being gorgeously packaged and such pretty colors, they have fantastic titles, too! And of course she's got a whole line of other products to compliment.

So yes, that's what's catching my eye this week on Etsy. Until next week's wishes!

Okay, I'm a teensy bit post-midnight in posting this, but oh well.

Also I have some other cool news to share, also somewhat in relation to this topic, but that will wait for a bit.

Like many people, I've been drinking in Stephenie Meyer's Breaking Dawn this week. Though unlike many, I'm still reading! Things have been busy. But I thought I'd bring you a Twilight-filled version of Wednesday Wants. It was bound to happen eventually. Here's a little jumble of some of the fantastic fandom crafts you can find on Etsy, all about our favorite girl-meets-vampire story.

First and foremost: your very own Edward Cullen! deadcraft's fantastic Edward Cullen Crochet Doll is so cute you'd let him bite you, wouldn't you? I bet he doesn't leave quite such a sting as the original, either. ;)



Look at that fantastic hair-shaping though! And the cravat (is that a cravat?). I love it.

The Twilight books themselves have also been well portrayed in the miniature genre. sophiesbeads' Custom Book Series Stitch Marker Set is a GREAT example of this:


(Though, to be honest, I kinda want her Harry Potter set more. And by kinda, I mean a LOT.)

Or, if you just want the miniature book itself (and okay, I don't have a miniature house, but if I did, all the miniature tenants would be Twilighters!) check out miniaturebookshelf24's Dollhouse Miniature Books Twilight Series Set:


But all that vampire stuff is good and well, what about the OTHER supernatural influence in the series? Personally, I'm a wolf girl myself. Cold and stony I could do without. But warm and solid? Yes, please!

So to represent on the pack side, I bring you the lovely, lovely wolf-inspired Unicorn yarn by Setembrina.


I love all the hues in this luscious yarn, and there's definitely something very earthy and vibrant about it, which is so much how the wolf boys always seem to me. I think this blend of colors represents them perfectly, and it kinda makes you want to knit socks for a wolf, doesn't it? Or maybe just for yourself, as you wouldn't want him to shred them to pieces while phasing.

So that's Wednesday Wants for this week! These have been a crazy couple of weeks (months, years?), but I'm back on track now, I think. As I said, news to share very soonly, I just need a link or two confirmed. Keep watch!

It was impossible to narrow myself to three today. Impossible. But I don't think I'll really get complaints about that, will I? ;)

Have you ever noticed on Etsy, that along with the showcase and the little self-refreshing Recently Listed Items, right at the very top under the headings, there's another random listing of four items
that also refreshes from time to time?

That's where I found shagpile's Alisandra.


This is a "Ladybug" Handbag, which is enough to catch my attention, and look at how pretty and soft-to-the-touch that fabric looks! I'm a tactilaholic—if it feels nice, or apparently even looks like it feels nice, then I'm a fan. The pretty blues and greens and swirly flowery patterns are lovely, and call me silly, but I think those two little, plain ole' purple buttons lined up just make this. She looks like she could hold anything you need and do it sturdily, too, which of course is always a plus. :)

And, because it's a constant temptation, some yarny goodness!


This is temptedyarn's Rusted Blonde Bad Grrl. Look at those rich colors, hm? I'm a sucker for bold colors, and these reds and oranges do the trick. I've got to say, I'm not a sock knitter as of yet. I'm a California girl, I just don't wear socks—I live in flip flops (and occasionally heels). So the idea of knitting something I'm not even going to wear is not so appealing to me.

But sock YARN. Now that's a different story. Sock yarn I fall in love with left and right. And who ever said you had to knit socks with sock yarn? There's always shawls, gauntlets, fingerless gloves... you know, something.

This next I found with Etsy's lovely Pounce mechanism, which shows you shops that either haven't sold yet, or have just made a sale (Etsy is SO cool. I can't stress this enough. It's almost as cool as Ravelry), and that's where I found this lovely little number:


This is appletreejewelry's Flashy Baby Blues necklace, which I think is just lovely. (I know, I know, I use that word a lot!) There's a lot of beauty in the simplicity of this piece, and the tiny, multi-hued stones all through the chain are what make this a definite keeper. For me, the simpler the better with jewelry, and this has a natural look to it that I would love to flash around myself, in fact.

And to end this week, something so tiny and sweet that I couldn't help falling for it. Meet sparklerama's Micro Mini Tiny Birdie:


So, thanks to an obscure reference to an even more obscure, off-the-wall YA book series that I love, I have a serious thing for cardinals. It doesn't make much sense to anyone but me, and it would take a long time to explain, so I won't bother. Besides, who cares? This little guy is the epitome of cute all on his own. I may also have a thing for almost anything miniature in nature—I'm half Japanese, it's in my blood to admire small, physically perfect things if that makes sense. And I'm a quilter, so anything hand-sewn of this kind of size? *whistles low* I'm impressed.

Once again, here's a couple of things that have been catching my eye on Etsy this week:

Firstly, let's look at yearofthegoat's Handknit Lace Up Over the Shoe Legwear. These things are just luscious. Talk about high-class couture.


If the lovely color or the gorgeous pattern of the knitting itself doesn't grab you, the lace-up ribbon definitely will. These leg-warmers (if you can even call them something as commonplace as that!) are a thing of beauty.

And I appear to be in a mood for wearables, because my next pick is The Oceanographer dress by elfland.


This is a dress after my own heart. Simple, elegant, and a lovely aqua blue, with just a touch of asymmetry on the hem, and some very pretty accent lines. And to beat all, you can wear it backwards, too! And it looks beautiful either way. Go check out the listing page to see the rest of the pictures it's been listed with.

And I thought I'd round out this week with a guilty pleasure. I forget sometimes that edibles are available on Etsy, but there really are some lovely ones!


This is worthafortune's Mallow Pop, and as lovely as it looks on the outside, the inside sounds even better. Marshmallows, caramel, and chocolate, who could want more? I'm a sucker for caramel, I've got to say, and this is more than tempting, hm?

ETA: If you do stop by worthafortune's shop, btw, do me a favor and let her know who sent you. :)

Introducing Wednesday Wants, wherein I show you some of the gorgeous things on Etsy that have caught my eye this week. Some of them have been featured on the main page treasuries, some I've found simply by hopping through shops or the favorites of shops that manage to catch my eye. :)

We'll start this week with the GORGEOUS Perla Shawl by adorkable1.



I have such a thing for open lacy crochet. I really need to take a stab at it myself. This shawl is so pretty, and just the type of thing you might actually be able to get away with out here in Southern California, where unfortunately a lot of yarny items go unused and unappreciated for most of the year. I love it.

Of course, with the right yarns you could definitely knit something appropriate for California's summer sun, hm? Take a look at WhorlingTides' luscious Lime Tart bamboo yarn:


So green! Probably my absolute favorite shade of green. I have yet had the chance to knit with bamboo, though I was able to trade for a bit of SWTC bamboo on Ravelry a couple of months ago, but I do love, love, love the look and feel of it, and I can't wait to try it out for myself.

And for something just sweet and silly (and Etsy, I'm coming to realize, is the absolute best place in the world for sweet and silly!) I ran across plushoff's shop this morning, and her little critters are just absolutely adorable. The Black and White Bed Bug Buddies in particular caught my eye, just look at them!


They're so sweet! Man, if I had a little one I'd probably snap them up in a second. I can just imagine them being cuddled by some sleepy little darling. Not that they'd have to go to kids, of course! They looks so furry and soft and friendly... man, I'd love to see them sitting on my bed, waiting for me at the end of the day!

So that's just a taste of what's been tempting me on Etsy this week. I think three is a good number, but then again, I might not be able to restrict myself... I can find a dozen things I want every time I visit the site!

In other news, I'll be working to pretty this blog up a bit in the coming week. I've had some "real" work that I've been drowning in the past couple of days, which has put plans for the blog and the shop on hold for just the tiniest bit longer, but I should be done with the office project I'm working on in just a couple more days. I'm getting so impatient! But it's the family business, and family has to come first, right? Right.

x0x0,

~CinderLisa