} Flower Seed Paper

In the land of crafts, there are some classic materials that are usually part of everyone’s learning curve, such as ribbons. I myself, had some flirt sessions with the ethereal and soft quality of ribbons when I first started making and selling jewelry! See? (OMG how awful are those 3-out-of-4-homemade pictures! haha! Thank goodness I’ve improved on that over the years…)

Often times tho, they are put aside with time, as I did. It might be a real shame actually, especially for a texture lover like myself!

I recently stumbled upon Flower Seed Paper‘s shop, and got excited to see hand-dyed silk ribbons! I like how, by being handmade, they have way more of a richness of tints and hues and subtleties compared to their commercially tinted counterparts. Plus, it makes a one-of-a-kind for every piece of ribbon cut! And that’s always awesome in itself. :)

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} New Nea Stuff!

I went to NYC last month, with my best friend Sandra who was back home a little via Australia. I had never gone to NYC before, and obviously, you can’t see/do EVERYTHING in 4 days (especially in winter (we got 2 gorgeous days and 2 freezing/super windy days, not so bad!)), but a couple of things were non-negociables, including a little bit of supplies shopping. You get to bring back a whopping $800 of stuff without taxes if you cross the border for more than 2 days, it was to take advantage of, without going crazy of course! ;)

And so on the last day, before taking my bus that same night, I sent my lovely friend away to walk around and shop the fashion district, while I took some Nea time: a 2 hour shopping frenzy in a secret-heaven-on-earth place, digging thru PILES AND PILES of boxes of vintage stock…

I ended up coming out of there with 20 pounds (the stuff was sold per pound, I’m not exaggerating here!) of metal pieces. Imagine me at US/Canada customs, half asleep at 3:30am, getting out of the bus and dragging my heavy supplies groceries bag (plus my handbag, plus my other gym bag luggage), one non-steady step at the time… It was totally ridiculous looking, but oh well. lol! (Yes, I need to buy a rolling luggage, I know.)

I since started using those, as you can see from some of these 5 new items I added to my Etsy shop recently.

And, so much more is to be used soon, they all get my blood up and pumping with inspiration, so stay tuned! :D

} Inkkit

Inkkit is a little shop, full of little items, but that makes you wanna buy a lot.

Most of the shop is filled with packaging supplies, from sequin ribbon to envelopes and stickers. And also cutesy items, like gold tip twig pencils (How CUTE.) and tiny painted rocks. Plus, pictures are gorgeous, I can’t even stop looking around!

Plan on restraining yourself, or be prepared to splurge! lol :)

} Tape It

I recently bought this tape from Petty Tape, and fell in love with it! It was hard to keep myself from buying a dozen, so I’m sharing! :)

Also loving these little chevron paper bags! How cool!

Plötulopi Yarn

TheIcelandicWool‘s Plötulopi yarn is so tempting!

It is a fragile unspun yarn made with Islandic wool, which is created from coarse and fine fibers. Comes in many yummy colors too, of course!

Gift Guide 2008 { DIY Lover }

As part of my Holiday Gift Guide 2008,
here are some suggestions for the crafty gals and guys who wanna do it all themselves!

Also, go see last year’s DIY Lover selection!

Take the Handmade Pledge this Holiday season!

** Please note that the sellers suggested are NOT sponsors!
These are MY suggestions! **

———-

Handprinted Needle Case, by Plainjanetextiles.

Briar Buttons, by UrbanTurn.

Recycled T-Shirt Yarns, by Mklawrie.

Handmade Ring Blank, by PointyPaws.

Handcrafted Knitting Needles, by Baahurrah.

Handmade Urchin Pincushion, by Nadelwerk.

Handmade Polymer Clay Stamps, by Charityelise.

Handmade Clasp, by Angrybunny.

Natural Alpaca Roving, by Vampy.

Large Oxidized Copper Circles, by Metamorph.

Handmade Cherry Niddy Noddy, by TheSpinnersEmporium.

Egg Stoneware Beads, by NKPbeads.

Porcelain Brush Rest, by Sumiko.

Screenprinted Fabrics, Mate

“Handprinted Linen Fabric” by maramiki (Chicago), $40 a yard.

I’ve been looking around on Etsy for fresh screenprinted fabrics, just cause they are always so pretty and inspiring to look at!

Turns out A LOT of the designers I found are from Australia! (What’s up with that? Will anyone pleaseee provide me with a link to their screenprinting pimp?? lol)

Hawt stuff, right mate? :)

“Bird in Paradise” by umbrellaprints (Australia), $12 for 4 pieces of 15cm X 10cm.

“Handprinted Linen/Cotton Fabric” by maramiki (Chicago), $40 a yard.

“meadow” by summersville (UK), $6.50 for 9.5in x 14in.

“Warm Grey Concentric Arrow” by moyou (Australia), $15 half a meter.

“Nesting Tomato on Birch” by AuntyCookie (Australia), $22 half a meter.

“fabric remnants (doll faces) pack” by mikodesign (Netherlands), $15.

“Woodland” by ofpaperandthread (Australia), $13 half a meter.

“Big Pack no.2” by hollabee (Australia), $13.50 for 2 pieces of 50cm x 65cm.

New Stuff at Nea!

I’ve been working a lot since I started doing crafts full-time! I’ve had consignment requests and a craft fair coming up in October and just preparing for a hopefully very busy Holiday season! :)

I launched some new Wall Wear pieces in my Neawear shop a few weeks ago and just realized they were not shown yet on my own blog! Here they are!

I also worked on some new necklaces the past few days and weeks! I keep making necklaces these past weeks, like there is almost no place for earrings in my head right now!

Actually, it used to be the opposite! lol! I’ll get back to earrings soon, I promise :)

And for the crafters out there, I listed new supplies in my NeaBlossoms shop, mostly czech glass beads, but other great ones too! Need some? :)

Knitastic

This trim is just too HOT!

New Etsy seller AmandaSainsbury (4 days old shop!) spends hours in front of her machine, in the UK, to match up colors to create wonderful knitted pieces. It all results into wonderful super-textured items, and what about those gorgeous pictures, right?! Hard to resist!!

Gift Guide 2007 { DIY Lover }

As part of my Holiday Gift Guide 2007,
here are some suggestions for DIY related items!

Take the Handmade Pledge this Holiday season!

* Please note that none of the sellers featured are sponsors! These a MY favorites!

———-

If your recipient is someone who likes to take control and loves DIY (Do It Yourself), handmade supplies are just the thing to make them as happy as fish in water! You can’t give gifts more in sync with the Handmade Pledge with these!

———-

Handforged chasing tools for jewelers and metalsmiths by Knitsteel.

Aquarelle porcelain palette by VanessaMarie.

Hand spun merino/alpaca yarn by HandSpunandDyedToo.

Hand screen printed linen/cotton fabric by hollabee.

Handmade ball headpins sampler by metamorph.

Handmade needle felted beads by LucysPostcardQuilts.

Handmade lacy ceramic button by veronicabuttons.

Handmade wooden knitting needles by sheepishxlion.

Handmade ceramic beads by panopoly.

Cotton/linen fabric printed with eco-friendly solvent free inks by Kirinco.

Handmade rosey copper hammered rings by E2SSupplies.

Handmade bamboo, alpaca, silk, and corriedale drum carded batts by loop.

Metallic silver bottom whorl spindle by froggyfibers.

Handmade lampwork glass beads by rufusandroxy.

Hand Formed Copper Ring Stitch Markers by spindlecatstudio.

Hand dyed merino wool yarn by yarnchef.

Ozark pine wood crafters caddie by baboxes.

Artist brush or knitting needle case by chickenpox.

Pointy handmade recycled plastic beads by TMBMT.