I just love when I decide to talk about pure sweet goodness! What’s a better way to start the weekend than featuring some baked goods and candies from The Sweet Spot? Look at that double vanilla cupcake! All of their cakes and cupcakes come in a plastic container so you don’t have to worry about them getting crumbled en route from the post office to your belly. I really want to try those Chocolate Truffles because seriously, what looks more tasty than those? Okay and here’s a confession of mine, but I honestly have no idea what Red Velvet cake is. I have heard of it, but never tried it, so the curiousity of what it tastes like it just overwhelming. Anyone who ever talks about it just love love loves it. I do know that much! Look around at the Sweet Spot because there’s so many options available and they are sure to send them out to you priority mail to guarantee they are at their absolute freshest. Oh and if you want to wear something that looks just as tasty, check out their scented polymer clay jewelry! Check out the cupcake charms!

Red Dots Dinnerware ROSANNA	Rainbow Messenger Bag GERBERA DESIGNS	Polky Dots Pin Set SWEETIE PIE BUTTONS
Presents on Polka Dots Barrettes LILIPUTIANS NYC	Nesting Necklace SKIPPING STONES	The Turning Print JELLYBEANS

Are you planning some weekends of craftivities coming up? (I just made up that word!) If you need fabric for your creativity, I am digging the Clara Fabric from Mod Green Pod. It is available in Chocolate, Basil (shown) and Cream color palettes. This pattern was hand silk-screened using water-based, non-toxic inks on 100% organic cotton fabric. You can learn more about the process of how these fabrics come to life (here | here) and find a location to purchase Mod Green Pod’s fabrics near you (online also available through Near Sea Naturals). They even have wallpaper in their Grand Jubilee and Butterfly Jubilee patterns. Neato! So tell me, what are you going to make?

Method is going to be in NYC from May 13th through June 7th to help you rid your homes of dirt, harsh chemicals and nasty toxins. There will be a pop-up shop at 550 Broadway (between Prince and Spring) between 10am and 7pm featuring a ton of their products. It gets better, they will be trading you one free Method product for all of your old toxic cleaning products, so be sure to bring them with you. For more info on the event, please visit their blog and to learn more about their products, please visit their website. If you are not familiar with their line, you can get anything from all surface cleaners to foaming handwash to hardwood floor cleaners to kid’s shampoo. Oh and they smell good too! Now, someone just let me know if they’re going to be in Chicago please.

I love this cute Myriad pouch from Cipolla. What a great way to help organize your stuff with its 8 inch by 6 inch storage capacity! What sort of stuff could I put in there? Money, an MP3 player, ponytail holders, barrettes, lip balm, pens, you get the idea, stuff. We all have stuff we just like to have on hand with us. I love the pattern and texture of the pouch too! Each of items at Cipolla are handmade, most made in small runs of one to a dozen in quantity. With the summer just around the corner, I know scarves are probably not high on your priority, but you may want to rethink that after seeing the selection they have available. You could always purchase one now and put it aside for next winter.

Looking for more artwork to fill those lonely walls in your place? Vol25 will surely be able to fill those needs. Jessica features all her beautiful drawings in print form to make this possible. Vol25 is providing one lucky winner an 8×10 print of their choice valued at $20. Although, if you are looking to purchase a larger sized print, each one is also available in size 11×14 inches. Each print is signed by the artist and printed on archival white canvas paper. She has chosen this paper because it ships safely since it is bendable, it is stronger than other papers and the finished product looks so crisp in color!

Some of my personal favorites are shown in the banner above: My Love, Seeds of Freedom, ZoOo Giraffe and Bailey and Bobs. To be sure to check out the vintage charm surrounding the TTV prints such as this Fatal Attraction one. What a curious kitty! There’s also a nice selection of postcards to drop your friend a quick note and buttons too. I got a kick out of how she photograhed those buttons! Too cute! Also, if you’re interested in another chance to win one of Vol25’s prints, they are having a Love My Customers giveaway for the month of May where for each print purchased, you are entered into the drawing. Speaking of more giveaways, we’re having a double giveaway this week, so don’t forget to enter the other giveaway on this blog from Envirosax.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
• Post a comment here indicating which print from Vol25 you like the most. Otherwise, your entry will be removed.
• Make sure you enter your e-mail address correctly in case you win.
• Duplicate entries will be removed. One entry per person please.
• Giveaway ends on Saturday, May 17th at midnight CST.
• Winners will be announced the following day and a new giveaway will begin. Good Luck!
• To find out about our giveaways, sign up for our monthly newsletter.

This is such a great giveaway this week from Envirosax. We get such great use out of our reusable shopping bags and I know that the winners of this giveaway will too. These bags will hold so many groceries and you do not have to even worry about the bags giving out. We have two reusable shopping bags up for grabs, so we’ll have two winners! As shown above in the banner, we are giving away two of their bags in the Retro Graphic series. Each of the bags are 19.5 inches by 16.5 inches, compact down into a smaller sized pouch and are valued at $8.50 each. Envirosax bags are lightweight, portable, waterproof and each one holds the equivalent of two supermarket plastic bags thanks to their reinforced seams.

The philosophy of Envirosax is to help create a better future for our planet by spreading the environmental message that plastic bags pollute rivers and streams, cause flooding, kill animals and destroy our plants. Envirosax is proud to help protect the environment for tomorrow’s offspring by providing an eco-friendly alternative to plastic shopping bags that threaten a healthy eco-system. Take a moment to learn more about Envirosax and how they are doing their part in educating others about sustainability. I am going to make you work just a little bit harder for this giveaway, so make sure you carefully answer both questions below. Be sure to check out our other giveaway from Vol25 going on this week as well.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
• Post a comment here indicating which reusable bag design from Envirosax you prefer AND list at least one way your household is going green. Otherwise, your entry will be removed.
• Make sure you enter your e-mail address correctly in case you win.
• Duplicate entries will be removed. One entry per person please.
• Giveaway ends on Saturday, May 17th at midnight CST.
• Winners will be announced the following day and a new giveaway will begin. Good Luck!
• To find out about our giveaways, sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Please join me in congratulating Marilyn in winning our giveaway featuring a set of letterpress coasters in Branches design from The Pear Project! #66 was picked using a random number generator.

Marilyn Tuley May 5th, 2008 at 3:17 pm (66)
I love the GreenLea Bag in Pink & Green (handbag). It’s adorable!!

Thanks so much to Brooke for sponsoring this giveaway for our readers! The fact that The Pear Project features so many handmade, unique items seemed to please everyone and the Chiyogami Salt & Pepper Set were a big hit. We’re having a special DOUBLE giveaway starting later this morning, so check back shortly!

I don’t think i’ve posted photos of my kitties in awhile! This is Haley, she’s a Maine Coon cat and about 7 years old. She’s the kind of kitty who will basically be anyone’s best friend who comes into our home. Our friends are nice about it, but I know after awhile she can be a little too much (annoying?), it’s part of her charm. This is her lazy way of scratching the post - laying down. Also, I swear she’s not as large as she appears in this photo!

Then, there’s Michi who is about 2.5 years old. She’s a little more timid than Haley is, but she has quite the personality on her. She loves to play fetch and chase us around. This is her looking at up at me after just getting home because she wanted some loving. This look is usually accompanied with a bunch of blinks.

A little update on our Swheat experiment: I am increasing the amount of this litter being used on a weekly basis. For the first week, they definitely noticed a different smell in the litterbox. Michi sat outside of it for quite a bit of time just staring at us. What’s going on in there? Haley went near the litterbox and came into the kitchen meowing at us to let us know that something was up. However, they both used the litterbox and it’s been fine all week. I will be increasing the amount in there this weekend. Right now, there’s about 20%, I’ll probably increase that to around 1/3 Swheat and 2/3 regular litter. Overall, so far, so good!

Sometimes you read product descriptions and think to yourself “YES! This would be perfect for that”. That’s what happened when I came across this Trees Storage Box from Bookhou. It suggests the storage box would be perfect for knitting and I couldn’t agree more. I can envision a wide array of colorful yarn piled high! What could be better than soft things placed inside of other soft things? This storage box features beautiful hand printed images of trees in red ink on natural linen with a study canvas lining. Bookhou also has some lovely tea towels in the same pattern. One thing that I really love about shops is when you are given the opportunity to learn a little bit about the artists. Outside of bio pages, it’s nice when websites feature blogs with peeks into their daily lives and the chance to find ways to identify with the lives of others.