Thursday Things: St. Patrick's Day Inspiration

I have always been proud to be Irish. My maiden name is McGuire. You can't get much more Irish than that folks! I don't know why but I have always downplayed my French, English, and Polish background. Being Irish seems more fun somehow doesn't it? I think on St. Patty's day everyone likes to pretend they are a wee bit Irish, just so they can talk with a fake Irish accent and drink green beer. I don't think I will be doing the latter this year, but I will be celebrating with my little lucky charm ;-)

I put together a little collection of Thursday Things in celebration of this St. Patty's day.

Enjoy!

This enchanting photo print by smacshop takes me to another place, another land. I love it!

These pillows by ChloeandOliveDotCom are bold, modern, and very affordable. These graphic patterns are very "in" right now.

Antique brass owl + Jade = winning combo! Find this necklace from offbeet's shop on Etsy.

Although the weather is getting warmer we still need to keep those little baby feet warm! These springy booties can be found in handmadebabylove's shop.

Quilts are a necessity to create a warm and welcoming home. I am drawn to this star pattern. It looks like it would take a lot of hours to put together this intricate design by MurphysHouse.

And lastly, a Claddagh ring from nellyvansee's shop. It is an Irish symbol of love faith and loyalty. I thought you might appreciate a little education on the Claddaugh from Wikipedia:

The Claddagh ring (Irish: fáinne Chladaigh) is a traditional Irish ring given as a token of love or worn as a wedding ring. The design and customs associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of Claddagh, located just outside the city of Galway. The ring was first produced in the 17th century during the reign of Queen Mary II, though elements of the design date to the late Roman period.

Now I leave you with an Irish Blessing:

May the road rise to meet you,

May the wind be always at your back,

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields and,

Until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

On buying handmade and new items in my shop

purchase this banner here

Greetings!

Do you believe in buying handmade? I do. I was on etsy today and came across etsy's featured seller, Cathy McMurray and I was struck by her quote:

"Choosing handmade is choosing a slower way of life, one rooted in tradition and creative expression."

And I thought to myself, yes. This is true and this way of life is important to me. There is a huge movement to buy handmade. When you buy handmade you are getting something that was made with thoughtfulness, creativity, and heart. You are giving less money to the middle man and more to the person who actually put the time into making the creation. It is a good thing. Not to mention, you are getting something unique that you can't just go out to Target (no offense, I love going to Target) and get.

When you give your hard earned money to someone with a small business, you are helping them to fuel their passion! How neat is that? You get something fun and creative, and in turn you help someone to stay inspired and to keep creating beautiful things.

These are my thoughts on handmade :)

Also new in the shop are some decorative paper banners. I recently made this one for a friend's sister's baby shower.

purchase this banner here

I think it turned out really nice and I think it will add that extra something special to the party. Her sister can also use it to decorate her baby's room with it when they are done using it at the party. If you are interested in having a banner made for your next celebration, whether it's a birthday, shower, or just something beautiful to have hanging up on your walls ( everyday can be a celebration in your home)! Please let me know. I would love to work with you!

Hope your Wednesday is full of creativity and enjoyment!

Kelly

Thursday Things: Pastels

I am so happy to bring back "Thursday Things" to my blog. It is a compilation of "things" I have noticed on the internet throughout the week that I would like to share with you! Enjoy!

Milk glass is one of my secret obsessions. I wish I had a whole collection of vases and creamy mugs to drink from. These are some I found on Etsy that I am pining for.

1. JaditeKate

2. MissMossy

3.Retropop

4. BarkingSandsVintage

Next up is Creative Thursday's adorable prints. I plan to purchase some when I have a little girl someday. Whenever I lack inspiration I always visit her blog. I think she has magical powers or something! You can visit her blog here

Next is this awesome painted silverware. And for the life of me I can't find the link for the blog that I first saw this on! You know how you are reading a blog you like and then you see another blog in the sidebar that catches your eye so you click on it? That's what I did and I saved this picture but I forgot to save the link. So I apologize. I like these retro colors though. They are really snazzy!

This is it for Thursday things. Have a great day and remember that tomorrow is Friday and that is exciting in and of itself!

Gift idea

To anyone out there who is looking for a gift idea for Valentine's day.....

It's a Bird on a Cup painting by yours truly. I can add any letter to the cup that you wish. I can paint any bird that you like AND it is an original work of art that you will have forever and ever!

Just head over to my shop for purchase.

Thanks and have a great day!

What is it about Owls?

Newly painted and in my shop

Owls are cool. They have been in style for a while now. I like to paint them. I like to see them. Here are some cute owl-y things I've found on the net.

This little orange owl family by Pirdy on etsy. I can picture them sitting on a little shelf along with some cute artwork.

This pretty antique inspired owl ring by beautyspot on etsy.

3. Tis the season to put some owls on your tree. Made by the pinkperch. This shop also has lots of cute mobiles.

I can picture these bookends by graphicspaceswoods in a kids room or home library/office. I also love the books in this photo.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by!

I found the time

Since becoming a momma I haven't found the time or motivation to get out my art supplies until this week! I am proud to say that I have listed some new small originals in my shop! My hope is that I can try to do one painting a day while Sammy takes his long nap. Of course there are about a million other things I should be doing while he naps like laundry, cleaning toilets, taking a shower, etc. but it really has been fun to paint again. I like using watercolors because they are easy to get out, easy to clean up, and they do not take up too much space on my kitchen table.

I am excited because it is Friday and that means my husband gets to be with us all weekend. During the work week it seems that we don't see much of each other because by the time he gets home and we have dinner we are both tired and always go to bed early. The weather is beautiful here so I am sure we will get out and enjoy a walk on one of the trails. Maybe we will do a little decorating for Christmas, although I would like to wait until Thanksgiving has passed. I feel it deserves it's own celebration without Christmas getting in the way :) I hope you have a super weekend too.

xo,

Me

Thursday Things...on a Friday

Sorry I didn't get to posting thursday things yesterday! Friday will have to do.  Here are some more Etsy favorites. 

1. Being a crazy bird lover, i am drawn to this beautiful 50's Birdcage Pillow

by Olive. 

2. This is such a cute idea. A Doily Clock by andfurthermore . This would look much better in my kitchen then my current boring silver clock. 

3. I really believe that We Are All Made of Stars! This is a fabulous gocco print by jessgonacha. I think it would look really cute amongst a grouping of your favorite art prints. 

4. Love these Filigree Earrings by Silverdog. So delicate yet fun! I am noticing a turquoise and red theme with all my favorites this week. Hmmm lets switch it up for number 5.

5. Who would have thought to turn felt into a necklace! I think I love this by Feltik.

6. I am so in love with etsy. It is a daily struggle not to buy something! I just wanted to share this last item with you that I bought from buygollymissmolly's shop.  It is a milk glass pot that I plan to store my pencils in in my office or I could always plant a sweet little plant in it. It was a great deal and I can't wait to get it in the mail. I think next week I will devote thursday things to great vintage finds. 

A Nice Surprise

This morning I woke up, checked my etsy shop and noticed that I had an unusually large amount of views on my items. My Yellow Bird had jumped from 220 views to over 500 overnight. It turns out that it was featured on the front page, which is so exciting. Here is a screen shot with a list of shops that were featured together. The curator of this grouping is Silver Dog Jewelry. Thanks so much for including my little yellow bird! 

http://www.bayanhippo.etsy.com/
http://www.thelittlereddoor.etsy.com/
http://www.kschulz.etsy.com/
http://www.sulablu.etsy.com/
http://www.prudeandprudence.etsy.com/
http://www.carolcanvas.etsy.com/
http://www.needlings.etsy.com/
http://www.paliminomorgan.etsy.com/
http://www.honeytree.etsy.com/
http://www.jayteedoubleyou.esty.com/
http://www.parasites.etsy.com/
http://www.clevergirl.etsy.com/
http://www.dandyapple.etsy.com/
http://www.liliarose.etsy.com/
http://www.cicadastudio.etsy.com/
http://www.emeraldbluestudio.etsy.com/