Etsy Holiday Boot Camp Shop Feature: castleco

What better way to start your week than to share an amazing Etsy shop -- Castle Company Soaps, run by the former Ohioan Beth! It was great to connect with Beth because I adore handmade natural soaps...especially goat's milk soaps, more than just about anything. Her combinations of scents are amazing...from vanilla to lemongrass, I love every, single option!

When asked what she loves most about being part of the Etsy community, Beth says perfectly...

"People from all walks of life and from all corners of the world come together because of one common interest --- we love handmade items. We’re all crafty artisans using different mediums. There is a sense of kinship and we’re more than just friendly towards each other. We want others to succeed as much as we want to succeed ourselves. We celebrate everyone’s first sale, 100th sale, every treasury…any bit of success that we have. We’re a family with some dysfunctional members. But when it matters most, we’re there for each other. We’re global and next-door neighbors at the same time. Although I have seen some complaining, I’ve never seen competition. It’s a safe place to express one’s talents.

"Luckily, my mother passed her craft gene down to me. During one visit, she gave me a handmade goat milk soap bar that she made. Once I tried it, I was hooked and I will always use handmade soap. It’s so gentle and soothing and kind to my skin.

I enjoy making soap and am currently creating other recipes. Curing time is between 4-8 weeks and scents/appearance change during that time. It's interesting to see the end result since there were some batches I didn't think started off very well, but surprised me as time went by."

Are there scents you'd love to see? Let Beth know, as she's always open to new ideas ☺

Don't forget to hurry over to her shop and get those orders in...her holiday-wrapped bars would certainly make for a perfect hostess or stocking stuffer gift!

Etsy Holiday Boot Camp Shop Feature: raori

The Etsy Holiday Boot Camp shop love continues this week with the darling shop raori, run by the fantastically creative seamstress Hanna. Based in Brussels, Belgium, Hanna creates the most amazing clothing and accessories for folks big and small.

In dear Hanna's words...

"Hi there, I’m raori. No actually, my REAL name is Hanna, but when I’m making something, I go under raori. Most of the time I’m very sweet, but sometimes I can get really angry, like a lion. An old friend told me I sounded like a lion when I was angry, so he started to call me raori. As in the roar of a lion, you know.

I live in a sunny apartment in Brussels with my little creating family of four. My husband is a musician and songwriter, so we create together whenever we can; otherwise it’s just the kids and me. My daughter models, gives me pins or paints on t-shirts, while my son studies us from the floor and learns how to crawl.

I started to make clothes when I was sixteen- since then there has been nothing else for me! I studied fashion in Sweden and London during four years and worked later in the design department for Gant and Bondelid in Stockholm before I decided to live in Tokyo for a while. The love of my life was there waiting for me and now we live in his hometown- Brussels.

I would love to chat and to know who you are - my dear visitor- and to make new friends, so don't hesitate to convo me if you want, for any reason- even just to say hi :) You can contact me in English, Swedish, Français ou 日本語 だけどカタカナとひらがなは大丈夫でも感じはちょっと。。。"

Now, feel free, dear reader, to stop on over to raori + say hello :)

Etsy Holiday Boot Camp Shop Feature: mybedlinen

Can you believe it's already time to begin holiday shopping? I can certainly say that, thanks to Etsy's Holiday Boot Camp, my Etsy shop ohhellomagpie is in full swing. October was my busiest to date, not to mention the most creative + productive...check out my new Farmhouse Garland Advent Calendar Kit if you don't believe me :)

But enough about me. Let's talk about Etsy Holiday Boot Camp for a moment, shall we? Last week was a big week, as we were each asked to reach out to the blogging community with the goal of having our shop featured this holiday season. Following in the footsteps of other super Etsian+bloggers just like me, I asked that, if any shops were interested, that I'd welcome them with open arms here at OMW! One such darling Etsian, Daphna from mybedlinen, contacted me and, after seeing her shop, I was overjoyed to share her shop with you all.

So, please give a warm welcome to Daphna, pop over to her shop, and start adding to your shopping list!

A bit about Daphna:

Daphna was a fashion designer in Spain for 18 years. After she stopped working in fashion, she began designing bedding for toddlers and kids as a hobby. As people started ordering her bedding sets, she turned her passion into a profession and hasn't stopped since.

 "I share my life now between Spain and Israel. My bed linens' style is European with a clean and modern design, using traditional handmade technics like embroidery and applique. Each set is made individually, no mass production. The designs are either colorful and whimsical or delicate and subtle, to match the different mood in your child's bedroom. My goal is to create that special bedding set for toddlers to twins that will embellish and brighten up their room.The bedding sets are also a great gift for baby showers, birthdays and any other occasion, and they arrive beautifully wrapped up."

"Being part of the Etsy community is the most rewarding thing that has happened to me since I stop working as a fashion designer (many light years ago). I never thought I would be so involved again in creating and selling my designs, but Etsy is such a great place and the people with whom I have interacted so far are so friendly and appreciative that it gave me the desire to work all over again, and that is what I have been doing since."

Red Balloons+Green Shoes+Holey Jeans=Bliss

5 red balloons, my favie holey jeans and my lucky green shoes. They make for fun photos, don't you agree? These shots are part of a collection taken by our friend as the super-top-secret half of the wedding gift for my groom. The entire shoot was a blast and Bubs loved the complete boxed set of photographs taken that day. (P.S. The other half were ah-maze-ing black vintage typewriter key cufflinks with an 'E' and a 'D' by etsy seller HauteKeys. The perfect gift for my graphic-designing-computer-loving husband!)

After the shoot, I gave the balloons to a little girl waiting for a bus on High Street, just so the happiness could continue. Trust me, if you want to brighten someone's day, give them a balloon. Her mother nearly cried. Powerful moment disguised as a random act of kindness.


P.S. Those green shoes make an appearance in our engagement photos, too. Which, coincidentally, turned into the silhouette for the cover of our wedding programs. Go go green shoes! Yay!

Woot! First Wedding Gift!

I don't know how polite it is for me to announce to all of blogdome and beyond about our wedding gifts, but I am so flipping excited about it I am foregoing etiquette to give a big YAHOO! for our first, official wedding present....

What could it be...? That's a big box...

Oh gleeful joy! It's the KitchenAid stand mixer I've been dreaming of for a decade. Let the happy dance commence! Honestly, this has been the one thing I've been crossing my fingers for...I can't wait to use it. Oh what should I make?! Cinnamon rolls? Meatloaf? Definitely my birthday cupcakes..!

What was your most memorable wedding gift and from whom? Was it something you'd secretly dreamed of (like my mixer) or was it four complete silver tea service sets? A jackalope? A cashmere throw? Do tell :)

Fun Mail

Oh the joy of coming home to not one...not two...but THREE boxes of goodies that arrived over the weekend! I'm so excited!

Though it was a little bit silly of me to buy things for myself, I couldn't not buy this fantastic tote when my mom showed it to me. It has horseshoes, for goodness sakes! It is now the official Bride-to-be Wedding Carry-all. Get it? I'm getting married on Friday the 13th..? Horseshoes? Good luck? Ah yes, a bit droll, but when droll comes in a handy zippered, embroidered tote from Ballard Designs, I'm all over it. Besides...it was on sale :)

{Ballard Designs}

Other goodies that arrived include these cheerful yellow stripy baking cups from Bake it Pretty:
...and a new pastry bag and big ol' fatty pastry tip to make what I fondly refer to as 'dog poopy icing' cupcakes -- I know, I know... it's completely gross, but look at this pic! If the icing were brown, that's so what it would look like...you know I'm right!

{Bake it Pretty}

I hate being a tease, but since the 3rd box of fun mail contains super top secret wedding stuff, I can't yet reveal it's contents...Oh I really can't wait to share all of the fun wedding details with you all! November can't come soon enough!

MUST HAVE: Tastefully Simple Goodies

I love the mail. Especially when it comes in the form of two large boxes chock full o' Tastefully Simple stuffs!

The other week, my BFF/Matron of Honor hosted one of these parties and I jumped at the chance to go. Mom had great things to say about TS and I had to give them a try myself. Suffice it to say, I went a little crazier than I had meant to (it's a little pricey), but I'm so excited about making everything, I've decided to not feel guilty and reward myself with tasty morsels :)

In total, I bought 4 bread mixes (3 Bountiful Beer Bread and 1 Savory Wheat Beer Bread), a couple of those drink-in-a-tub mixes where you just add the alcohol and ice (Pomegranate Blueberry Margarita, oh yeah), a jar of strawberry rhubarb jam and a couple of boxes of Granola Goodness Jam Bar Mix. Oh, by the way...if you've never tasted the Bountiful Beer Bread, you are SO missing out! It's ambrosia-like, even.

Other things I would've liked to get had my will-power and bank account not stepped up and talked some sense into me (besides more of everything I did buy):

Chocolate Bliss Cheese Ball mix -- sounds gross? Yeah, tastes like brownie batter. Good times.

Twisty Grahams - To eat with said Chocolate Bliss Cheese Ball. Sure, it's cheaper to use graham crackers but these are little twisties like prezels and so cuuuuute!

Bacon Bacon - It comes as a shakeable dry mix, but when blended into cream cheese...drool-worthy, smoky, bacon-y spread. How is that not win-win?

Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix - Sure, I could make it from scratch, but this is so easy it's almost not right.

Country Blackberry Preserves - It was so good I turned it into a topping for the pound cake.

So. I know I'm not alone here when I say that a little extra income couldn't hurt? Well...maybe you should look into Tastefully Simple as a solution. It's a consultant-based sales job (like Mary Kay or Tupperware), you work on your schedule and this product is Quality with a capital Q. Seriously, the products almost sell themselves. I don't know the details about initial investment to become a consultant, but if you're interested in such a thing...look into this company.

What else did I learn from my Tastefully Simple adventure? It makes GREAT gifts (Hello! Mother's Day!) The stuff doesn't melt, leak or ooze, so shipping is actually an option and even people who hate to cook (yes, that would be moi) won't run screaming the other direction from this stuff. It's idiot-proof food!

Add water and butter. Stir. Bake.
or
Add cream cheese. Stir. Serve.

They should add "Completely Impress Everyone" as the final step. I would. Seriously.

MUST HAVE: Let Them Eat Cake

I couldn't sit on this gem of a website...I HAD to share! Specializing in a foray of mismatched china transformed into darling cake stands, Let Them Eat Cake is tops. They are taking recycling to an entirely new level. Lucky for us, the folks over at Let Them Eat Cake are stepping up and giving new life, purpose and beauty to some lovely pieces of china. Based in the U.K., all of us on this side of the pond have to watch the dollar-to-pound conversions, but I'm telling ya. One of these babies would make one heck of a unique wedding gift. Whoops! Did I say that outloud? I guess I've never been one for the fine art of subtlety ;)

Neigh.

Crinoline Beauty.

A Many Splendoured Thing.

Mary Mary.

The Candle Lab: Party Spot?

My mom happened upon The Candle Lab in Worthington last year and got for D.'s birthday one of the best-smelling and cleanest-burning candles I've ever seen. We tend to be candle snobs, so you can imagine our excitement! She had a glowing review of the entire operation -- from service to product, selection, price, everything. Their M.O. is all about "gourmet" soy candles, offering over 120 unique smells.

So when the big fire hit Grandview and their Grandview location was destroyed, along with so many other stores, I was really sad for them. It's a young company and I was worried that it would take a long time to bounce back from the fire. Boy, was I wrong! The Candle Lab jumped onto a primo spot adjacent to Grandview Theater, just a few steps away from Stauf's. Woot!

What's more? They offer "pour your own candle" parties at all 3 locations (Worthington, Gahanna and Grandview), giving everyone an opportunity to mix and match any of the 120 scents to create a custom-blended candle AND you can bring your own food & drinks. Shut up! How much fun would that be for a bachelorette party, as opposed to a "suck for a buck" obnoxious drunkfest? I'm digging The Candle Lab idea tres mucho.

Paying the store a visit is on my agenda for the week. Goodness knows the last thing I need is another candle, but who knows? Maybe I'll come across something I can't live without ;)

Gifts for Sassy Gals

There are the kind of bridesmaids who uphold the sanctity of all things truly and gloriously girly. Then you have my sister. She doesn't 'do' girly. No grosgrain ribbon bows, fuzzy pink robes, pearl earrings...nada. She's just not a girly girl, but she's not a tomboy either. She's fiercely feminine, just not in a J. Crew ribbon belt sort of way. More like femme fatale...she's equally as likely to let you buy her a cocktail as start a bar fight. Ok, well, maybe that's going a little far, but you catch my drift.

I know that lots of us brides-to-be love our sassy bridesmaids, but what on earth do you get a gal like that? Seriously. A monogrammed canvas bag full of chocolates and bath fizzies is great, but probably won't properly thank her or celebrate her unique friendship in any way, shape or form. We need something with some punch! Here are a few of my favorite things...

Let's Have a Cocktail Flask
{Courtesy: Anne Taintor}

Classic Tattoo Stamp Set
{Courtesy: Bombshell Stamps}

{Courtesy: LovMely}

{Courtesy: BettyTurbo}