Etsy Finds : Cart Before the Horse

Happy October! It’s time to get in the Fall and Halloween spirit for sure now. The other day I came across the shop Cart Before the Horse on Etsy and just fell in love with their exquisite work. The shop is run by Dylan and Jo out of Portland Oregon (You should check out their cute profile picture on Etsy—it’s priceless!)

They make incredible contemporary folk art pieces. Though they stock everything from paper dolls to fairies, cute animals (and some truly fun “taxidermy” for your wall), today in the spirit of October I want to share some of their Halloween and Day of the Dead pieces which happen remind me a bit of 1930s style.

Prices range anywhere from $12 – $220 so you can find something to fit your budget, or a truly unique heirloom.

Halloween Black Cat Banner Garland

Tiny Day of the Dead Skeleton Ornament (It’s all hand painted!)

Halloween Pumpkin Jack O Lantern Girl Portrait (Look how it’s multi-dimensional!)

Black Cat Ornament

Organize your Etsy favorites

I happily stumbled across a fabulous application this morning.  It’s called The Favoritizer, and it allows you to organize all your Etsy favorites!  I’ve long time wondered why Etsy themselves hasn’t offered this on their site, as it can make creating shopping lists for specific people, groups of items for treasury making, and creating specific wish lists so much easier! You simply log into your Etsy account, then refresh the favoritizer any time you want to load item you have hearted and the favoritizer allows you to put them in any categories you choose and save them to those categories.  Genius! Visit https://favoritizer.checklet.com to start organizing yours!

 

The Woodland In Autumn : Etsy Finds

‘The Woodland in Autumn’ by ValerieTyler

Crown of Love VI – Blac… Minxshop $45.00	Woodland Art Block Set … redtilestudio $115.00	leather clutch, black &… driftwoodandfo… $35.00	Birch Trees Necklace si… bstudio $45.00
Woven spring leaves ski… decomp $26.00	Fox Head Pendant – Wood… MySelvagedLife $19.00	Crochet Pattern Ladies … LazyTcrochet $5.00	Natural wheat and flowe… HomewardHandma… $43.00
Set of TWO, Mini Triang… PerrodinSupply… $10.00	antler no.6986 kariherer $30.00	Wood Grain Place Cards … craftypagan $61.90	Rustic Pinecone Cufflin… Cabin $20.00
Flower Crown Millinery … deLoop $50.00	Rustic, woodland urchin… Behindtheshed $15.00	Squirrel and Acorn Set,… SnapdragonFort… $18.00	L Wood Grain Faux Bois … blockpartypres… $30.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Halloween Hiatus

Four years running we have thrown a mega halloween party (and by mega, I mean of epic proportions)  I usually picked a theme in January, planned for months and even started decorating in August.  Each year had a coordinated theme.

Year 1: Gothic Gathering

Year 2: Roaring Twenties Murder Mystery Party (I even put bullet hole stickers on the wall, and cement blocks on the front porch!)

Year 3:  Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) We actually held this on the correct date after Halloween.  So of course it snowed, making the bonfire a little difficult. We decorated sugar skulls and created an actual ofrenda for the event and I spent hours cutting those detailed flags.  (why I didn’t just buy some, I’ll never know)

Year 4:  Haunted Mansion (Yep, a lot like the ride.  Talking statues, damask wallpaper, lots of purple and black, candles everywhere!)

I think I’ve always loved throwing the parties because they offer such an opportunity to be artistic.  I created sculptures, paintings, even handmade “wall paper”.  The parties were a chance to get creative with food, artistic with decor and tablescapes.  Below is an example of the candy table I made for the Haunted Mansion party.  Keeping the black and purple color theme made it very elegant and victorian.

Sad to say though, I’m taking a break from the major party planning this year.  I put out a few of the small decorations and am debating bugging my husband to get a few of my favorite animated statues out of the attic. I’m just pretty burnt out.  I’ve gotten to be super creative with my jewelry business though and think I’m focusing my efforts on that.  I will say, I think the party planning this year will be focused on throwing one heck of a holiday party instead before all the art shows kick in.

Etsy Finds : Fall Tea Party

With the weather getting cooler it’s the perfect time to sit outside with a cup of tea to enjoy the crisp air, and the smell of autumn leaves. So today I share some Etsy finds perfect for a Fall tea party.

‘Fall Tea Party’ by valeriemiscellanea

Chocolate Earl Grey San… whimsyandspice $9.50	baby blue midcentury me… compostthis $14.00	Cosmetic pouch – Coffee… octopurse $56.00	Try them All, Sample Pa… TheCozyLeaf $20.99
Flower Ring Bridesmaid … laurenblythede… $54.00	Illustration – ‘Lo… hollyoverthemo… $30.00	Feather Earrings, Silve… SharonClancyDe… $48.00	Vintage electric tea ke… ilivevintage $50.00
Mini Wall Hanging Clock… decoylab $18.00	Golden Picasso Czech Gl… etco $17.00	Aqua Triangle // decor PerrodinSupply… $10.00	Tea Cups Wall Art Print… AldariArt $18.00
Pair of Vintage Orange … TwoGeeksAntiqu… $12.00	Orange and Chocolate A… sarahmaloney $30.00	Orange Spice Tea Cookie… ButterBlossoms $11.50	Old Crow Tea Party Hall… AmericasFrontP… $22.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Olive and Rust Etsy Finds

‘Rust and Evergreen’ by valerieoutlet

Vintage Flocked Suede M… fifthseason $21.00	One supersized cappucci… LittleWrenPott… $12.50	Baby Rose – Handcrafted… MrKittysSoapSh… $5.00	Fancy Jasper Earrings W… OohLookItsARab… $18.00
Gone Fishin’ – Vint… birdneststudio $36.00	Dragon blood jasper ste… littlebugjewel… $51.00	Girl linen dress, easy … arch190 $34.00	Ainsley – Butterfly Clu… JuliaSherryDes… $60.00
Fashion Shawl/ Scarf BagsbyMellysse $62.00	Brown Leather Journal Nicopapergoods $47.00	Bright Orange Vintage P… lillyandlulu $26.00	Olive Green and Rust Sw… Brendaabdullah $385.00
glam necklace – brown g… piehat $25.00	Russel Wright Stacking … ItchforKitsch $178.00	circa 1940 Art Deco Str… helendesign $72.00	spring fashion fox Neck… iamabird $35.00

Treasury tool supported by the dog house

Cleveland Handmade Market – September 15, 2012

This weekend Cleveland Handmade is having one of their markets at Tower Press as part of the Sparx gallery hop. Over twenty artists will be set up outside the building as well as inside with their handmade art and crafts.  The market will run 11-6 on Saturday September 15, 2012.

While you are in the neighborhood be sure to grab a treat from the Artefino cafe, and wander up the street to the Art Craft building for artist open studios as well.  Then take the FREE trolley to other Cleveland neighborhoods including Tremont and Ohio City for other great art events.