Things I Love

If you visit my actual blog, not just read it in a blog reader or on facebook or whatever, you may have noticed the little widget (I love that widget is an official word) on my sidebar.  I have one that shows stuff in my own Etsy shop up in the tabs across the top, but I really love the one on the side because it shows off the things I have noticed in my travels through Etsy-land and marked as favorites.

The reason this is so cool is that when my birthday or some other gift-giving holiday rolls around, my sweet husband scrolls through this magic assortment and buys me presents!  Which is why I am really careful about what I mark as a favorite;  some people just "Heart" things willy-nilly, but my favorites are almost more curated than my own shop.   

At the top of my list is this necklace that Robb bought for me for Christmas.  It's pretty obvious why I would be drawn to china. And up-cycling (that's when you use something old to make something new but better...it's not up-cycling if you are just making more junk to say that you used junk...that's why regretsy.com is in business).   Broken china jewelry isn't rare, but I think that The Broken Plate has a great take on this kind of jewelry.  It has a modern feel that isn't too granny.  It's all about the china and how great it is;  it's not, "Oh, I'm so cool...I used a plate in my jewelry."  It's a subtle difference, but a good one. I'm sure there are lots of copy-cats wrapping up broken shards into jewelry, but this artist has a consistently beautiful product.

The other plus about this seller is that she is wildly successful.  I love seeing sellers that are really making their craft work for them and setting a great example for the rest of us how to do it.  Juliet Ames is doing just fine without my plug for her.  I love the fact that the same person that made my necklace made one that Rachel Ray is wearing.   Find out more about her here:  http://ibreakplates.com.