Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens...

It is Friday again and I decided to give you a few more of my favorite things. Maybe this will become a weekly installment!

LittlePinkPosies - this adorable shop is run by a mom with 2 kiddos. Her shop's name was a play off her daughter's nickname, Little Pink Princess, since as she says "the child was born to wear pink!" The shop carried gorgeous hair clips, for both big and little girls, but what caught my attention were the posy girl(TM) pendants. Each pendant is 2 inches tall, hand painted and finished with varnish. You can even customize your own posy girl and choose her hair color, color of her dress and the letter on her little necklace! Adorable for those little girls on your gift list - check out LittlePinkPosies and happy shopping!

Ulljas - COOKIES! Need I say more? Well, how about we let the picture speak for itself? These are Ulljas personal trademark shortbread cookies that are shaped like ice cream scoops. They taste thick and almost fudgey.

Ulljas is run by a professional pastry chef who has a European Pastry and Bakery Shop in central Texas. There were so many requests for online orders, Ulljas.etsy.com was born! I ordered the Raspberry Margarita package for my mom for Mother's Day - 4 delicious raspberry chocolate chip shortbread cookies and 4 key lime cooler shortbread cookies. Mmmmm....Now wipe up that drool and visit Ulljas!

SheerWhimsy - I entered a giveaway contest on the Downtown Boutique's blog and I won!! How great is that? And this is what I won - the mushroom gadget garb! These tiny little pouches are just big enough for your cell phone, ipod, or small digital camera. They are made with the utmost attention to detail - there is a layer of ultra thick batting to protect your little tiny technology, beautiful coordinating material, a vintage inspired button on the flap, a hand appliqued mushroom (or blow dryer, tree, cupcake, paw print, etc...) AND a tiny little sheerwhimsy label on the inside. I am in love with my gadget garb - it holds my cell phone, keeps it safe, makes it easy to find at the bottom of my purse and it is just so cute!! Check out SheerWhimsy's shop and you'll agree, the shop name fits.

These are a few of my favorite things....

I've had bloggers block and haven't been sure what to write about lately. Today while browsing through my favorites on Etsy I realized my favorite shops and items are so colorful and so fun that I wanted to share them. You'll probably get a little glimpse of my personality through these shops. I hope you like them as well. And if you have any colorful and funky favorites, send them my way!

TheFlashBulb - this shop is SO COOL! The artist behind this shop lives in Austin Texas and has her items in a couple of stores. She specializes in sewn art! Her shop is full of some of her originals along with prints and notecards of her originals. What a fun and funky shop! If I ever have another little one I might have to get some sewn art for the nursery.

Gracie Designs - the shop owner behind this store is married to an etsy artist and her sister is on etsy too. She makes the neatest mini wallets, check book covers, business card holders, coffee cup cuddlers and ice cream cuddlers as well! She also makes aprons and headbands and hair clips but my favorites are the "organizers" like the business card holder, mini wallet and checkbook cover, Plus they make your purse insides really pretty. :)

CurlyQCuties - okay, how cool is a shop filled with fun and funky plush toys and monsters? These cuties are made by a mom in central Texas who started making cuties for her kids and has branched out and started offering them on Etsy! She has all sorts of monsters and cuties AND tooth fairy pillows that you hang on the bedroom door at night with the tooth in the pillow's back pocket and the tooth fairy can easily access the tooth and put a couple quarters in it's place.

I'll leave you with these 3 shops to check out. There are so many wonderful shops on Etsy and such talented artists. I am always browsing to see what new shops I stumble upon. It's wonderful being an Etsy artist but sometimes it is even more fun being an Etsy shopper. :)

Featured New Etsy Artist - bethjt

Once again, I have found another military spouse to feature on Fray Baby! Beth Thompson, the amazingly talented artist behind the Etsy shop bethjt, is an Army spouse of 12 years. She, along with her husband, have a son who is 4 years and a daughter who is 16 months. Besides art, Beth loves to read, travel, photograph anything and everything, and she's a shopaholic. She also loves hunting sea glass and said,"I think its fascinating how nature has taken our careless litter and turned them into beautiful gems of every shape and color." Here is our interview:

Wow! I noticed that you do commissioned portraits and paintings, that is incredible! How long have you been drawing and painting?

I have been drawing since I was 2 and was able to draw recognizable things right away, so my dad really encouraged me to keep it up. I started drawing portraits for people when I decided to stay home with my first child. My children are a great inspiration to me and I have drawn each of them countless times. Although I have drawn every type of person and pet, my favorites are dogs and babies. Something about drawing softness is very calming. (The picture to the right is called "April Blossoms, it is a limited edition giclee print 18"x24" from Beth's graphite and watercolor original. Limited edition of 200 worldwide.)

And what about jewelry making? I notice you have some very delicate and artistic pieces in your shop.

Creating jewelry is also something I've done since I was in grade school, but didn't get really serious about it until my daughter was born. Now it's a downright obsession and I want to learn and try everything I can about it. Of course I don't have time to do that, but I get creative time in when I can late at night and my one day a week (really a half day) off from being mommy.

I see in your profile that Breast Cancer is an important issue for you and that you are donating 25% of the proceeds from any of your items that are pink, or any items that you make with awareness ribbons, to breast cancer awareness and research centers. Can you tell me more about that?

Discovering Etsy has really pushed me to start creating pieces that aren't just for me.The Breast Cancer interest has really come to a peak this past year when my best friend got it at age 29. She really has gone through hell and it seems so unfair. Then another good friend's mom got it and is also fighting it. Now it seems every time I turn around someone else I love or they love has been affected. So the donations I am putting together are just something small a little person like me can do to feel a little less helpless.

And finally, what is your favorite item in your shop?

My favorite item in my shop right now is "Look what I got, Mama" because my son was the model for it, and he and his sister mean more to me than anything.

Thank you for the wonderful interview Beth! Bethjt is an Etsy shop full of talent and grace and I encourage you all to stop by and take a look. You really need to see her shop to get a full appreciation of her talents.

The following are 2 more items from Beth's shop - dandelion miniature art magnets and a pineapple giclee on canvas.

Featured Etsians - CrazyTimesCandles

While browsing on Etsy yesterday I stumbled upon CrazyTimesCandles, a wonderful shop out of my home state of Wisconsin!

CrazyTimesCandles is a husband and wife team out of Appleton, Wisconsin, who enjoy working together and creating together. They started their business in 2002 with candle making and in December of 2006 they turned their little business into a full time job and expanded their product line to include soaps, lotions, scrubs, sprays, lip balms and wax melts (tarts). Some of their scents include: butterscotch, blueberry, grandma's kitchen, holiday wish, island fresh, sweet pea and very vanilla. Their candle selections are insane! You can order votives, chunk pillar candles, rustic pillar candles, candles in wine glasses, candles in honeypots and pie candles - yes, candles shaped, and scented, like pies! Mmmm, an apple pie candle, wouldn't that make your house smell amazing?

Along with their great selection of products, and candles, they offer a soap of the month club. You can sign up for 3 to 12 months and they pick the soap selection based on the season - spring you get light and floral or fruity and in fall you'll get a spicier scented soap. If you are adverse to certain scents you can put in that request and they will pick accordingly. All the soaps are packaged in clear packaging, to showcase the colors, and a label on the back, to let you know what you are sudsing up with!

So many amazing products and so many yummy scents. And what did I end up ordering from CrazyTimes? Well, I ordered cupcakes!


Yes, that yummy looking cupcake is actually a bath bomb and will fizz up in your tub. I got a nice little assortment (descriptions taken from CrazyTimesCandles store): "Butt Naked" - A fun fruity blend of bananas and berries. Perfect for spring and summer, "Love Spell (VS Type)" - A Victoria's Secret Type Favorite. An absolutely tantalizing fragrance composed of sweet bouquet of mandarin orange, bergamot, and tangerine enhanced by hints of fresh peaches, strawberries, and raspberries on an undertone of white musk, "Strawberries ‘n Cream" - A sweet and light blend of strawberry and creamy vanilla with a nice scent throw, "Lick Me All Over" - A truly delicious scent - smells good enough to eat. A wonderful exotic fragrance with base notes of raspberry, cantaloupe, and watermelon, middle notes of jasmine and violet, and fresh top notes of grapefruit and kumquat, and "Very Vanilla" – Very warm, sweet, high powered vanilla. A definite must try.

And how do they smell? Well, I don't know but they sound delicious! I ordered them for one of my best friends for Mother's Day so once she gets them and plop, plop, fizz, fizzes, I'll be sure to get her opinion. But in the meantime you'll have to take a look at CrazyTimes feedback and high sales numbers. They've been selling their products on Etsy since January 11, 2008, a mere 3 months, and already have close to 400 sales and 100% positive feedback!

So what to get mom for Mother's Day? Well, if you didn't find anything in my store for her, then take a look at CrazyTimesCandles and I'm sure you'll find something delicious for mom, and no calories!

For a complete list of scents click here. And for my next purchase, I'm seriously considering the breakaway melts and a warmer to go along with it. (P.S. There's a breakaway melt of the month club as well.)

Featured Etsian - ReannaLily Designs

Jen, the creative mind behind ReannaLily Designs, is another military spouse just like me! She has a degree in Apparel Design from LSU and she currently lives in South Korea. She is a designer and a seamstress and has the best variety of apparel, for women and little girls (check out one of my favorites, the Wild Apron Pants Outfit - to the right - for girls), purses, aprons and blankets. I wanted to know more about Jen, her products and how where she lives inspires her.

You have such a great variety of items in your shop - what is one of your favorites? The best sellers are the Army Cube Purses made from recycled uniforms. Many of my clients provide me with their husband's uniforms for the project. Some clients choose a bag ready-made and opt to customize the name-tape portion with crazy words or hot pink embroidery thread. I do really like the purses.

Do you remember the first quilt you ever made and what was it? I made my first quilt when I was 17. It was a horrible disaster of yellow gingham and purple plaid triangles; set on point no less. I gave it as a gift to my, ahem, boyfriend who was headed off to LSU. (That turned out well, we've been married for 12 years now.) I had no concept of a seam allowance and the quilt unraveled into shreds within a couple years. He did, later duct tape that mangled up mess over his dorm-room window for room darkening... so it wasn't a total loss. Quilts are truly the gift that keeps on giving, right?

Where do you live now and does it bring inspiration to what you create? I currently live in South Korea. My town is the 3rd largest in the country, with 4 million people. Its absolutely wonderful here. We have seasons, culture, holidays and we're treated like celebrities when we're out in town. I know Korea gets a bad rap, but I've found it to be great. Korea is the leader in textile production- meaning truckloads of fabric is printed here- so its a virtual heaven for me. It has been quite an experience here and I'd definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to spread their wings.As far as my inspiration for creation- I've had the opportunity to live on an Army post for the first time and most of my clients are also my neighbors. They encouraged me to start selling my Army Cube purse as well as many other of my items. As many military spouses know, "Its not the town/assignment; its the people."

Thanks for a great interview Jen! You can find out more info about ReannaLily Designs at http://reannalilydesigns.com/. I leave you with pictures of 2 more of my favorite items in Jen's shop- aprons! and this announcement - ReannaLily is having a special Earth Day sales promotion at her store - free shipping! Click on the link to get there.

Featured New Etsian - CojoCreations!

April, the creative mind behind CojoCreations, is a military spouse just like me! Her husband is currently stationed in Hawai and that is where she shares her home with him , their 2 children and their springler spaniel, Jack. She creates beautiful and one of a kind necklaces, earring, laynards, eyeglass chains and wine charms. I especially like her Mother of Pearl necklaces - they are gorgeous and I wanted to know what inspired her creations.

What brought you to designing jewelry? I have always loved being creative. One day about 4 years ago I had a day off from work so I decided to give jewelry a go and that is when it all began. :) I LOVE IT!! For me it is very relaxing to sit and create new items. I can do it for HOURS.

What are your inspirations? Nature has alot to do with inspiring me. I love the colors and smells of the world. Right now I live in Hawaii so the beautiful blues and teal colors of the ocean, the awesome sunsets, the bright greens and the different colors and texture of the sands, the georgeous brightly colored flowers....this is what inspires me.

(Photographs from Hawaii courtesy of April)

Where do you do your creating? As for ideas, they pop up all the time. I try to write them down if I am not home so that I will not forget. I don't have a craft room so my creations are made in the dining room. One day I hope to have a wonderful room that is all mine.

What is your favorite piece in your shop? Right now my favorite piece is SUNSET ON THE BEACH. I love working with shells.

April's favorite piece from CojoCreations - the Sunset on the Beach Mother of Pearl Pendant Necklace - just click on the pictures to go directly to the listings in her shop!

My favorite piece from CojoCreations - the Abalone Mother of Pearl Pendant Necklace

Stop by CojoCreations on Etsy for wonderful pieces of jewelry for yourself and gorgeous gifts for all occasions. Give someone a little piece of Hawaii - Mother's Day is just around the corner. Happy shopping and thanks April for a great interview.