An Artist at Work

I love the independent spirit that comes through Paulette Insall's paintings. Although each is unique, they all share a quiet happiness, with an underlayer of spunk, and hints of spirituality. I'm going to stop writing now and let the art speak for itself.





Visit this artist at:
http://pauletteinsall.etsy.com
http://www.pauletteinsall.com
http://www.pauletteinsall.com/blog

Never Needs Watering

I love flowers, especially the sort that I can wear. Kalicat Designs has the sweetest flower rings I've seen in a long time. Her Sunshine Flower Ring makes me smile: it's bright and sunny, needs no watering, and won't make me sneeze.




Kalicat's artisan-crafted Belle Blum Ring is so stunning it was featured on Etsy's front page recently. With a choice of matching earrings, this is the perfect set to feed my flower habit.


















Kalicat handcrafts her jewelry (or jewellery in U.K. spelling) in London. Can't afford the airfare? Visit her at:

http://kalicat.etsy.com

http://honeyandsweets.blogspot.com/

Sweet Bracelets for Your Sweeties

I hate buying gifts at the last minute: I feel pressured to get something "good," which makes me feel bad; I feel guilty because I must not have cared enough about the recipient to take care of the gift earlier; nothing I find is ever good enough, probably because I'm trying to compensate for my own guilt. This year I've started shopping early, in fact I already have several Christmas gifts tucked away. (No, they're not wrapped yet!)

I've been doing some shopping for Valentine's Day, too, and stumbled on to some sweet gifts for your female sweeties at Ulixis.

This sweet Cotton Candy Bracelet would make a delightful gift for any little princess on your Valentine gift list.



The Midnight Plums Bracelet should be a hit with slightly older princesses.



And for your grown-up princess, try this gorgeous Tip-Toe Through the Tulips Bracelet.




Amanda, the creative genius behind Ulixis, is a student at McMaster University who is working on her thesis. Visit her and cross some of those gifts off your to-buy list.

http://Ulixis.etsy.com

http://ulixis.blogspot.com

Creative Business Tools

I'm constantly on the look out for tools that make the business side of living a creative life more fun and, well, creative. I found a couple of the most awesome things at Darjeeling Paper Ltd this week. The first is a business card holder constructed from paint samples. You can choose your own color, and at only $3 each you can afford to have a rainbow's worth.




I am a master list maker, and tend to use notebooks to keep my lists handy and organized. These 4x4 Softcover Journals practically force you to pick up a pen and write in them. They're the perfect size to carry with you throughout the day, and at $6 you can pick up a few to stash in your car, your bag, or wherever you find yourself when the need to jot strikes.



Michael Gresh, the man behind Darjeeling Paper Ltd is a self-proclaimed paper nut. Visit, and be prepared to develop a paper addiction of your own.

http://darjeelingpaper.etsy.com
http://darjeelingpaper.com/blog