1. I’m loving this version of ‘going up the country‘ (originally by the ’70’s blues band Canned Heat) by Kitty, Daisy and Lewis – 3 young siblings from England. It totally gets me jivin’, check it out…

2. This sweet little vintage tin from etsy shop monkeys always look…

3. And you. You inspire me, but not just this week, all the time.

It is a beautiful day here in Amsterdam. The air is lovely, I went for a nice ride this morning and I feel so much more rejevunated than I did yesterday. So much so, that in between my work I have decided to blog my little heart out today, as there is much I want to share with you. So! today there will be a few posts coming your way, thanks in advance for stoppin’ by to say hi.

xx

PS Last weekend I went on a fabulous boat ride around Amsterdam with some friends! My dear (blog)house guest was one of those friends. Zoë took loads of great pics and wrote a wonderful post about it this week, it’s in the guest quarters right now, please click here to read Zoë’s post. (yes that is me in the cowboy hat. I love that hat!)

We all loved the idea of hanging out in one of the above tree-hugging abodes, so I thought it would be fun to theme this week’s etsy favourites with this in mind! So come with me, let’s spend a lazy afternoon picnicking at our dreamy location…

The first thing that comes to my mind when I think of being miles away from civilisation is food. I thought we could bring our tasty provisions in these beautifully woven baskets from The Bent Tree Gallery. Let’s fill them with afternoon treats like an assortment of our favourite French & Dutch cheeses, a couple of baguettes, freshly picked grapes, figs, dates, strawberries, pears and some fresh herbs from the vegetable garden.

……………………………………………………….

The Bent Tree Gallery has lots of great things for our picnic in the trees, including this handy wine bar. oh I adore this creation! We can have one for a lovely bottle of chilled rosé, and another for le champagne.

……………………………………………………….

Now we’ve arrived at our dreamy destination! That didn’t take too long did it? But before we get too comfortable, lets go for an afternoon walk – we can take one of these hiking sticks carved from maple, handcrafted from featured etsy seller bearpaw rustics. oh and let’s just have a peak inside this charming birdhouse nestled on a nearby trunk, perhaps there is someone home.

……………………………………………………….

When we get back we can play a few rounds of my all-time favourite card game – crib! And what do you know, I found a beautifully handcrafted one at bearpaw rustics…

……………………………………………………….

Well after all this glorious tree dwelling, I’m feeling so relaxed and rather sleepy, are you? Shall we stay for the night? Lets…

…because I just so happened to bring a couple of these soft, organic wool travelling mattresses made by Monikaw, just in case we decided upon a spontaneous treetop sleepover. And of course, I brought enough food for a delicious breakfast in the branches.

……………………………………………………….

Oh that was such fun! We might have to do it again sometime. Thanks for joining me for this specially themed installment of…

… helpful cards for the tongue tied, created by Vancouver-based Field and Sea. There are 20 cards in each pack and among the messages are “You’re right, I’m wrong” (ooh how I’d like to receive that one), “Let’s go puddle jumping”, (perfect for this rainy day in Amsterdam), “I‘ve lost my way” (totally), and “I have lost the right words. Will these do?” (you read my mind!). The idea is to slip these little thoughts into pockets, between the pages of books, or beneath your sweetheart’s pillow.

I often find myself tongue-tied, so these would be perfect. But I also have times where my tongue won’t stop unraveling… any solutions for this predicament?

I am super excited to have just discovered that Joetta from Little Yellow Bird has opened an etsy store! I can’t believe I didn’t discover this piece of juicy news until now. The above photograph is one of the first images I ever saw on her gorgeous blog a year ago. It was love at first sight. Then I saw her embroidery work and my heart skipped several beats.. not in a row, more like… doo – doo — doodoodoo – doo – doo — doodoodoo — doo – doo…

Joetta describes her shop as “my life’s expression through thread, yarn, and the act of looking.” All her embroidery work are on vintage linen and are one of a kind. She also does custom work of embroidered portraits or text. oh wouldn’t one of Joetta’s pieces make the most beautiful gift for someone special? Or like, me?

Check out her store called Bird and Bear right here. Congrats Joetta!!

xx

It’s been too long since I browsed through etsy. Check out what I found this morning…

I’ve mentioned etsy store Japanese Treasures before – I love to browse the collection as I always find a number of pieces that I instantly adore. And the above fabric is no exception. I can see this fabric working for all sorts of projects, can you?

I may be slightly obsessed with Resurrection Fern’s lace stones. Photographs of her work are here.

I’ve had my eye on Sydney-based tabi designs for a while now. I love the concept of her ACEO’s which stand for “Art Cards, Editions & Originals” and is explained as follows: “Miniature works of art the size of a trading or playing card (2.5″ x 3.5″) – an inexpensive way to collect beautiful prints.” Above are two of my favourites titled like tea, and type bird. Beautiful work Tabitha Emma!

wow, did I just do my first etsy favourites for 2009? I might even get to another blog favourites this afternoon too, watch this space! And as always I like to say thank you for stopping by for…

PS I love the vintage fabric collection of Lily Devine too, the orange pattern above is from her extensive selection – she is having a massive sale right now so be sure to check out her stock for some seriously cool vintage bargains.