Etsy Find: Nest Pretty Things

I was poking around on Etsy the other day and found Nest Pretty Things - and instantly fell in love with a few of the necklaces and the earrings weren't far behind.



 

Double Chunky Beaded Necklace Pink

Pastel and Gold Beaded Hoops

 

Colorful Chunky Necklace

Colorful Beaded Earring

 

 I love the faceted beads and the colors and the gold!  I could go on and on.  The shope has items ranging from $10 to $160 (only a few at that higher price point though). The single strand necklaces are only $28.  I like getting pieces with lots of colors as they work with more outfits and most of these fit the bill.  I can't wait to snatch one up!

Go for the Gold!

 

With the Olympics starting on Friday our thoughts all turn to our childhood dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal.  I never pinned down what I would win a medal in but it didn't stop me from wishing.  With the hopes of that dream shattered at this point (unless they added arguing and drafting snarky letters as categories this year) I will choose to surround myself with some other gold accessories in honor of the games. 

 

 

 

I think the skull bracelet and the scary pointy bracelet actually look really nice together and I found that I can actually type with the skull bracelet on (which is usually not the case). 

 

 

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Cocktail Ring Rainbow

 

I've been searching for a cocktail ring that I think I would like and ended up finding one in every color! My favorites are the purple Kate Spade and the yellow Kendra Scott! As soon as one of those is on sale they will be making their way to my ring finger.

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Royal T

Last weekend I met a friend at Royal T for brunch and some shopping.  It is a cafe, art gallery and gift shop.  They also have events on a regular basis and pop up shops.

Through the end of summer the show is "The Art of Cooking" curated by Hanne Mugass.  The works included span different media, from drawing and painting to digital prints and clothing.  Including large pinata fruit from Confetti System.

The current pop up shop is Onch Movement.  Onch is a Young Fun Edgy jewelry designer from LA. The goal for Onch Movement, is to create an Art Movement collaborating with different artists, forming an influential niche that produces amazing art pieces/jewelry.  The items include pretzel necklaces, crazy wigs, meat necklaces (think Lady Gaga) and crocheted cupcake hats. 

My favorite though had to be the sparkly "BANG" sign - I might have to try and recreate that but on a smaller scale (I just need to find a place for it). 

Neon Rhinestone Jewelry

A few months ago I became obsessed with a necklace that I saw Kelly Ripa wearing. After some research I figured out that it was Tom Binns necklace and a little outside of my price range. Then I took to Etsy to see if there was anything similar and boy was I surprised to find a pretty extensive collection of shops in a few different price ranges.  I found one that was very similar to original necklace and in my price range.  Most of the jewelry is vintage rhinestone pieces that have been hand painted and are little works of art. I ended up wearing the orange and yellow choker with a turquoise dress to a tea and got lots of compliments.

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Bobbi Pins

My grandmother uses bobbi pins to put her hair up in pin curls, which she then brushes out and teases a little to get her signature 'do.  I am unsure if anyone left alive besides her still knows how to make a pin curl. (She has also worn bright fuchsia lipstick as long as I've known her.)  Personally I use bobbi pins to put my hair up in a messy bun - it takes all of five seconds and looks fine for the office or a party (and I can skip blow drying my hair). 

So imagine my delight when one of my favorite accessory sources came up with some fancy bobbi pins!  I was tickled pink to find that ban.do had a host of bobbi pins to add to my collection of sad little black bobbi pins. 

My favorites are the jumbo party bobbi (in gold), the sunburst bobbi set and the crystal crush bobbi. They are all $20 or under so pretty reasonably priced especially for the amount of glitter they provide.  I already own two of the three (still coveting the crystal crush bobbi) and they come in lovely packaging with a smart little note about how adorable and special they are but that you can feel free to wear them to the grocery store (so I figure the office is just as good since I could hardly wait to show them off).


jumbo party bobbi via ban.do



sunburst bobbi set via ban.do



crystal crush bobbi via ban.do


If your budget is a little bigger or you need a bobbi pin for that special occasion (and let's face it what occasion is complete without a bobbi pin) then might I suggest the crystal swirl brooch bobbi.  It's shiny and fabulous and probably not for the grocery store (since it come in at $130).  It reminds me of old Hollywood and black and white movies. 


crystal swirl brooch bobbi vian ban.do

 I am sure I will be adding more of these bobbi pins to my collection.  In the meantime I picked up this and one of these from ban.do's new spring/summer collection (in addition to the bobbi pins). 

Busy Week

I have been working on multiple projects all week in my "free" time and have so many goodies to share today.

Earlier in the week I sent out Easter "cards" that I spent all last Sunday making.  These cards were not, in fact, cards but rather jumbo sized plastic Easter eggs that I filled with some treats and confetti (lots of confetti) and a birthday candle (only because I needed something else to put in there really).  I really wanted to paint some tiny animals gold and put them in but all I could fine were tiny plastic army men, which by the way look awesome painted gold with another layer of gold glitter paint but I didn't think were appropriate for an Easter egg - they will have to find their way into other packages.  I then wrapped a ridiculous amount of packing tape around them and sent them on their merry way (there was also a covert trip to the post office to drop them in the mailbox as I was pretty sure if the staff saw the eggs they would have given me dirty looks).  I don't have a picture of the making of the eggs - let's say that keeping the dog away from the chocolate and his hair out of the confetti kept me busy enough.  But one of my best friend received hers and shared a picture of it.

This egg made it from LA to Boston!

On Monday I decided to take my hand at making my own version of the Kate Spade Rosewood Dot necklace.  I had just bought three Kate Spade bangles so I thought I would see if I could make my own version of the necklace before forking over more cash.  The only problem is that I have never made jewelry before so there was some trial and error with the tools and what not but the end result wasn't so bad. (Excuse the lousy picture of it on me - I can't get Instagram to work on my phone.)

My handmade necklace.

On Tuesday I did some painting on tiny canvases.  I have been obsessing over confetti and wanted to see if I could "paint" some.  I used a pencil eraser to get them all a uniform size and then went over some of the "confetti" with a glitter paint in the same color to get a different texture.  I did three in gold but I think I may try another color next time or bigger confetti on a bigger canvas (I am thinking a cork would work for bigger confetti).

My tiny canvas



On Wednesday my bar cart arrived and I spent the evening unwrapping it and getting it set up. 

Then last night I finally wrapped my sister's Birthday present (a few weeks late) and went a little overboard with decorating the box. Hopefully it will make her forget how late it is and make a postal worker smile (and forgive me for mailing the eggs).

Some neon tape, neon paint and neon scrap paper to brighten my sister's day!

  

 

In addition to my lack of photography skills I have a apparent inability to actually tape a box properly (but the message might make up for it).

There's also been some exciting online shopping and soon this and this will be arriving and I'm sure more fun projects will ensue.

Have a lovely Easter/Passover weekend!

Rare Indeed

Who remembers shrinky dinks?  I remember coloring in My Little Ponies on the plastic and then baking them.  My mom let us turn the light on the stove so we could see them shrink.  But I don't remember them having a purpose - half the fund was shrinking them.   A few years ago I came across the shrinking baking plastic that made up shrinky dinks and wondered what you could do with it - well Tiff of Rare Indeed has found many wonderful uses.

Rare Indeed offers up a large selection of jewelry made from "durable shrink plastic" that is hand drawn on by the artist.  It is awesome for so many reasons that I can't begin to explain.

The earrings are darling and so many options from cupcakes to a pair inspired by Belgian surreal artist Rene Magritte.  And at only $8.00 a pair they would make great presents for your friends (or yourself).

Perfect for an art history buff (image via Rare Indeed)

 My absolute favorite however has to be the banner brooches that exclaim you are either "Marvellous" (note the Australian spelling) or "Not Bad."  I'd love to have an arsenal of them to bestow upon friends and co-workers but it would be hard to explain the choice of who got which one.

My personal favorite (image via Rare Indeed)



The shop is definitely worth a visit.

A Very Merry Unbirthday!

Yesterday was my birthday and not a big one in terms of numbers or anything and just having got back from vacation I was keen on keeping it low key this year.   A friend took me to a painting class with wine and cheese last night in Santa Monica at the Paint Lab which was fun.   There are plans to go to brunch this weekend at the Parker in Palm Springs with some friends so I'm a happy camper.

I also decided that I needed to get myself a little present so I headed over to Bauble Bar in between reviewing client files and got myself a little pink neon pick-me-up.  It doesn't ship until May but I am okay with extending my birthday celebration indefinitely (at least a little).

Image via Bauble Bar

Now I have at least a month to figure out the best outfit to wear with it!

Middle School Fad Gone Glam

One of my favorite new accessories is the bfrend bracelets by Monika Hibbs of the Doctor's Closet.  I have a few and am hoping to get more!  I fondly remember days of making friendship bracelets back in elementary school.  My sister was always much better at it than me - mine were crooked and fairly unattractive.  Now I can buy fancy ones for myself with gold accents and not have to worry about how many knots I made or what not.



The pink cobra bfrend - my favorite.

 You can get the cobra in pink, turquoise, white, black and glittery gold to name a few.  There are also ones made with pearls, one with tiny tassels and one with fancy crystals (a bit more pricey).  I have a few and will stack them with some cheap bangles and my favorite Kate Spade bangles. 

Wear them stacked!

I also love the photos and the branding that this shop have done over the last few months.  Obviously Monika has great style (her home was featured on Glitter Guide not too long ago) which is evident in the branding and attention to detail on her site and her etsy shop.  I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

Something Sparkly

I love sparkly little accessories as much as the next girl - to put on me, to put on the dog, to put on the wall or in a vase - I am non-discriminatory when it comes to sparkly and glittery goodness.  So I was thrilled to discover ban.do and there wonderful little sequin hearts.  I recently ordered some for myself and some for presents (that way I don't feel guilty about splurging).  The mini ban.do hearts make great presents and I've used my gold one numerous times since ordering.  The best part is that it has a clip for your hair or a pin for your clothes - two accessories in one.



I love wearing the gold mini heart with pink!

 In addition to their signature hearts they have headbands, shoe clips and other assorted accessories.  I didn't even know my shoes needed clips but now that I do I may need to get them some - the pom poms are just so darn fluffy (note to self to keep away from the dog) that I can't imagine feeling blue if you have those on your shoes! 



On my wishlist - a neon pink and gold headwrap.



A few of their shoe clips.

 Beyond the fact that I love their products they also have great styling and a little gem of a blog.  Even their offices are shiny and sparkly.  



All images via ban.do.

Design Darling

Lifestyle blogger Mackenzie Horan just launched a new online boutique Design Darling on March 1.  Design Darling has a carefully curated collection of art, accessories, and decorative items.  The best part is that there is a fairly nice selection of items for $20 and under.

Some of my favorite under $20 items are the desk accessories.  I love the What We Love pencils.  There are also a number of pretty matches that are classier than the ones you picked up on your last trip to Vegas. 
  

What We Love Pencils



Bee Matches for $7.00 per box


If your budget is a little bigger go for some of the baubles or a cute pillow.  I like the Coral Turquoise studs ($32) and the pink Greek Key pillow cover in pink ($52).

 I am currently deciding what Design Darling goodies are going to be coming home to stay with me (it's a toss up between the gold lacquer tray and the monogrammed business card holder right now).   The shop is definitely worth checking out the next time you need a present or a pick me up for yourself.