A charming glass locket and a beautiful butterfly ring

I just got this wonderful clear glass memory locket from the Etsy shop PoPkO, and I am in love! It is the coolest thing.



You can put whatever you want in it—flowers, leaves, photos, notes, a lock of hair, whatever you want.



And the great thing is you can change what's in it if you want, and show something else in your pretty locket. I chose a pretty yellow flower from my front yard to start off (a buttercup, perhaps?), which dried nice and flat within the confines of the glass.



Another goody from PoPkO that arrived yesterday was this custom butterfly wing ring. It is a beautiful bright yellow color, and looks so lovely on my finger. (This is not my hand, it's from the sale listing, but it shows the ring better than my picture does.)



And no, the wings aren't pulled off the poor butterflies, but instead harvested after they have lived out their lives. From the shop:

All of my butterfly wings are from a Butterfly Conservation garden where the butterflies live in a happy garden until they naturally expire. The gardens collect the wings and I make jewelry with them. I feel this is a great way to recycle these wings so people can appreciate them long after their time. Eco friendly!



I already own a gorgeous Keepsake Glass and Sterling Silver Necklace with a Real Butterfly Wing in it. I have the Cairns Birdwing, which is similar to the one on the lower right. I wear it all the time and get lots of compliments on it. What's really great is that it's two sided, so you can see a little bit of beauty from both sides.

And Crystal, the shop owner, is a wonderful person to work with. She was very patient and helpful when she assisted me in designing my custom ring. And I couldn't be happier with the results. I highly recommend stopping by and checking out her shop.

Kathy Roussel handmade jewelry

I happened to pop over by Etsy to check out what new things they're featuring, and I saw these pretty dangly earrings featured on the front page.



There's something quite lovely about their irridescent gold shimmer and offbeat shape that is quite appealing to me.

I also adore this line drawing necklace



and this autumn leaf necklace



(which are out of my price range, but still cool), and this sweet flower ring



which is quite delicate and nice.

They're all from a shop called Kathy Roussel handmade jewelry. Feel free to check it out, although don't say I didn't warn you that you'll be tempted.

Someone should drag me away from my laptop so I'm not allowed to look at such things. I might be tempted to accidentally drop one of those gorgeous pieces of jewelry into my little Etsy shopping cart...and I won't be held responsible for what happens after that. That's all I'm sayin'.

esdesigns—Elizabeth Scott Botanical Jewelry

I love the shop called esdesigns (Elizabeth Scott Botanical Jewelry) and everything in it. I think this ginkgo ring has been in my favorites list for ages. I keep meaning to buy one of these lovely pieces, but never seem to get around to it. And of course money is tight at the moment, but I still like to window shop every once in a while...

Littleput Books: a little bit of magic, squared

I simply adore the pretty little necklaces from Ryan's Littleput Books shop. Her soft and dreamy photographs are perfect "jewels," each set into a tiny little silver frame.



I just purchased this beautiful little necklace called "Plume in gold."



Ryan also makes gorgeous little handbound books featuring sweet songbirds and colorful flowers.



A closeup of one of her pretty necklaces called "Branches in Blue."



These accordion books are not only colorful and unique, but functional too. A great gift idea!



Another great photography creation are these photo blocks featuring themes, like sky, forest, and ocean.



And aren't these cute little tins so lovely?



A closeup of a necklace called "Unexpected Orange."



Gorgeous cherry blossoms on a handbound book.



"Moss," another dreamy photo necklace.

Ryan used to make these really cool Scrabble tile pendants (a few which I had purchased), but no longer carries them. However, she does show you how to make your own, which would be a fun craft project to do.




Her prices are very reasonable, and her photography is amazing. I have always been impressed by her work, and she has been a favorite Etsy seller of mine for ages.

I mean, how lovely is this pendant called "Cielo"? So pretty!



Be sure to check out her blog, All Things Littleput, where she is currently featuring a free giveaway to her Etsy shoppers. Hurry, the giveaway ends January 3rd!

A mangled mess

My horribly overcrowded and messy jewelry box (notice the cleaning equipment in the background)


Even the drawers are jammed full of stuff.


A close up of the chaos. Notice the wine cork among the baubles, a souvenir from our engagement bottle of wine

Things are out of control in my jewelry box. Several years ago when I first bought it, it seemed like such a luxurious space, just waiting to be filled with all my trinkets. Fast forward to now, when I can barely shut the lid, earrings are disorganized and missing, and necklaces are tangled and jumbled. I hate it, but it'll have to do for the moment. I'm not the type of person to hang each set of earrings on a holder or something, but I do like keeping them in bins according to color and style (studs together, colors together, hoops together, etc.). And as you can see, that is no longer happening here, is it?

I would love to get this jewelry armoire from Pier 1, but it's a bit outside my price range. Still, it's very cool and would definitely fit all my stuff—right now, that is. I can't seem to stop adding a little here and a little there...

(Late) outfit round up

Just thought I'd share my look this week. Sometimes I can't wait to talk fashion and show people what I'm into, and other times I'd rather just schlepp to work in a potato sack (they look comfy but itchy). Since I was sick last week and didn't do too much fun outfit stuff, I thought I'd be more fun and colorful this week. So here goes...

Monday's look:

Plaid wool mini from Goodwill (sorry about my booty shot), brown belt from Target, cream turtleneck from Kohl's, green tights from Target, new brown Chilis boots from Marshall's, gold earrings from Target

Tuesday's look:

Black sweater dress from Target, black shrug from Old Navy, blue tights from Kohl's, Steve Madden black patent leather mary janes from Piperlime, blue and white glass necklace from Shoozles (Etsy), white earrings from Target

Today's look:

Gray argyle sweater from JCPenney, Levi's 515s from JCPenney, argyle flats from American Eagle for Payless, white earrings from Target

I'mot sure that you can see the entire ensembles in these pix, but there you have it. As you can see, I have been busy and unable to offer quality posts this week. I'm going to be cooking up a storm tonight but I plan to blog, blog away while the stuff cooks.

What have you been wearing lately? I'd love to see pix, or hear all about it. I'm always inspired by what other people do, too. Especially people like Georgia, who is one of the most stylish people I know. She "owns" her outfits, as she advised me to do, and I really admire that in her. I am a wimp and will concede to people's comments and insults, and I tend to throw creativity and color out the window sometimes in favor of blending in. But not Georgia! She is truly a unique and interesting person.

Anyhow, hope you're having a great day, and are going to spend some quality time with friends and family tomorrow eating some good food!

Black-booted and skirted in camouflage for Thursday

I FINALLY dragged out my good ol' black boots for Thursday's outfit, and I was glad. They've always been a staple in my wardrobe, and I've worn them a million times, just not recently. I wish they went all the way up to my knee (these hit at my upper calf), but otherwise I love them. They were a nice compliment to my camouflage-like skirt and amber-toned jewelry. I've been peppy enough for the last few days to dress up slightly (and egads! wear a skirt), so I take every advantage of days like that.

Vintage pins

You can find some really gorgeous yet inexpensive pins if you peruse the pages of eBay. There are thousands of pins to choose from, and the styles range from Art Deco to Mod. With pins and brooches being so popular right now, this is definitely a good source for all of your fashion jewelry needs. I've found many a good deal on eBay, and have a few pins of my own that I've added to my limited (yet growing) collection. Check 'em out!

Some pretty things seen at J. Crew

Just got the new catalog in the mail...