Yep, another Etsy Treasury! This one is called "POW! WHAM! BANG!" and features some amazing items that loosely follow a Red, Yellow, Blue color scheme. This treasury expires at 1:49 pm on Thursday, July 3rd. Check it out (and click around) while you can!!
Featured Sellers:
The Sea Within
Jump If Not Equal
Handmade Heaven
ZsB Creations
ckuhwald
alyoisiusspyker
The Big Black Cloud
SueLieu
thomlawbritten
Leah Pellegrini
Holli
One last reminder to enter my giveaway if you haven't already. I will choose three lucky winners in less than six hours!
To enter, head on over to my Etsy shop and add me as a favorite! It's as simple as that.
I'll announce winners tomorrow!
Good luck!
PSST: Tell your friends, tell your family, tell your enemies!
Just ran across the sweet creations of Caitlin Kuhwald.
Check out her awesome paintings/illustrations - I'm especially fond of the "Suspend" and "Angel" images. You can't help but love the Ira Glass one.
Suspend
Angel
Ira Glass
Amacord - just for Brady! :)
Check out Caitlin's website here and her Etsy shop here.
Brady and I are headed to Chicago next week and we need your help!
Do you know of any great restaurants? Cool places to see? Fun things to do in the summer?
We're seeing two Cubs' games while we're there and are planning on visiting the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute, the Museum of Contemporary Art, Dusty Groove, and the Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio. Any other ideas??
We definitely need ideas/suggestions for places to eat.. I mean, isn't that the most important part of any adventure?? Really.
Please let me know of any great places you can think of!
PS - Chicago has the coolest flag ever!
My favorite cookie in all the world is the Snickerdoodle.
Funny name, serious cookie.
I love these so much, our wedding cake was a Snickerdoodle cake (and yes, it was amazing). I haven't made Snickerdoodles in a long time, but yesterday I thought it would be nice to try a new recipe I had seen forever ago. Be warned: this recipe will create a Snickerdoodle so good, that once eaten, your body and mind will never be the same, and all cookies thereafter will pale in comparison. Think you can handle it? Good.
This recipe is called "Mrs. Sigg's Snickerdoodles" and can be found at AllRecipes (which is a site I highly recommend for all your food/recipe needs):
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Cream together butter, shortening, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the eggs and the vanilla. Blend in the flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Shape dough by rounded spoonfuls into balls.
3. Mix the 2 tablespoons sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls of dough in mixture. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.
4. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until set but not too hard. Remove immediately from baking sheets.
This recipe makes 48 cookies, but can be easily halved.. but why would you want to do that?
Tips: To make coating the dough less messy (and faster), put the cinnamon/sugar mixture in a ziploc bag and shake, one or two at a time. You may wish to use 3 Tablespoons sugar and 3-3.5 teaspoons cinnamon. Also, bake for 8 minutes exactly and remove the cookies from the baking sheet immediately. For creaming, make sure your ingredients are all about room temperature. If your butter is cold/hard, do not microwave it to soften it. Instead, grate the butter into the mixing bowl and let it sit for a minute or two before adding the shortening etc. If your ingredients are too warm or too cold, it won't cream right, meaning you won't get the proper amount of air bubbles needed in order to make it light and fluffy.
Also, be careful when removing the cookies from the baking sheet, as they're still young and impressionable. Like this one. It had so much promise. Don't let your cookie become another statistic.
Reminder!
Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a chance to win a free print!
TO ENTER: Please go to my Etsy shop and add me as a favorite - I will use Randomizer to pick 3 lucky people from those who have "Hearted" me! Giveaway ends midnight, June 30th. I will notify winners July 1st and mail your prizes by July 4th.
Here are a few more images from our camping trip a few weeks ago..
I love this drawing Kayla did after we set up camp:
Her drawings rock my world! Check out more of Kayla's awesome sketches on her flickr page.
Nyuk, Nyuk
Got my hairs chopped off yesterday by the marvelously talented Hillary Gillespie! (Check her out at the Haven Salon in Provo.) I'm bringing back my old school 'do. Enough of that "bob" thing I had before - this is the return of Lil Sprite! It's been a long time since I've had the faux, and I'd like to think I'm rockin' it hardcore this time around.
Brady came home yesterday with one of these:
A Red + Black Nintendo DS Lite
The kid's never been happier.
Over the weekend, Brady and I headed down to Cedar City to visit my parents. While we were there, we had an early birthday celebration for Brady. He got a little grill amongst other outdoorsy stuff. Yesterday, I thought it would be fun to grill some steaks and veggies for dinner with our new little guy. Everything started out well.. but after 90 minutes, we decided to bust out ol' Georgie. Call us lazy or impatient, but that's just way too long to wait. (Pretty sure our coals weren't ready when we put everything on the grill, though.. so there you go.) Here are some photos from the evening:
Excuse the horrid pun.
My new friend recently told me about Kate Gibb and her mad printmaking skills. I'm really digging her portfolio, especially the more abstract pieces. Glorious!
Kate Gibb studied Printed Textiles at Middlesex University before her studio gradually expanded during time completing her MA at St Martin's in London. Music has presented itself as a major outlet for Kate Gibb's work, providing sleeve artwork for The Chemical Brothers, Simian, Bob Marley, Suede, My Computer and recently The Magic Numbers, amongst many more.
Her client list is impressive and includes involvement with many Japanese magazines such as ‘Relax’, ‘IDEA’ and most recently ‘Atmosphere’. In the UK she produced seventeen covers for the re-issue of the H G Wells’ back catlogue commissioned by Penguin Books. Her background in textiles and love of printed ephemera combined with her acute sense of colour has led her to working with fashion brands including Dries Van Noten, Levis, Lee and Adidas.
Check out more of her work here.
Brady's bathroom is starting to come together (a year later)! Here's what we have so far:
Shower Curtain from CB2
Towels from CB2
Islands Rug in Moonstone from Angela Adams
"Nocturne NYC" etching by Dino Tasovaz - purchased outside the Met from Dino's street booth.. check out the New York Society of Etchers
I'd like to complete the bathroom with a vanity similar to this one from Modern Bathroom:
and maybe some black slate tile like this:
and maybe the Lunuganga branch shelf/rack from WOKmedia (which you could totally do yourself):
What do you think?
Really, today rates pretty high on the list of most enjoyable days had by a human. Despite the fact that Brady acquired my summer cold and never made it into work, I'd say today was kind of perfect. Slept in, had a bowl of off-brand fruity pebbles, put on my swimsuit and headed to the pool. (Brady left for work during this time, but came home while I was lounging poolside.) Spent about 2 1/2 hours at the pool relaxing, reading the most recent issue of Dwell, and fighting off the bitter stares of women who tried to cover as much of their walrus-like bodies as possible with synthetic materials and still have it count as 'swimwear'. This last activity was rather amusing, as most women don't hide their thoughts or feelings very well. If they only knew I didn't care, they could have used their 'bad vibe' energy for a more suitable target. Came home from the pool to find that the mailman/FedEx had participated in some sort of Christmas in June conspiracy. Waiting for me was our new rug, $200 in rebates from Lexar, and a "thank you" print from Caitlin Shearer. A truly glorious delivery day! Mostly we just get junk mail and pre-approved credit card applications.. and netflix. After opening all these little treats, I made smoothies for The Sick One and myself, took a post-swim/late afternoon shower, applied aloe vera to that giant spot on my back I couldn't reach and thus failed to put sunscreen on, and put on some light, cottony, summery clothes.
SIGH
Possibly the most relaxing day this entire year.
I think Etsy is amazing.. there has never been an easier way to have access to so many pieces of art and other handcrafted treasures! I'm excited that I now have over 200 "Hearts"! 
I know in the grand scheme of Etsy favorites, this isn't really amazing, but I feel really warm and fuzzy when I think that there are people out there who like and appreciate what I do. In honor of such a great thing, I'd like to give away a few 4x6 prints!
PRINT 1
PRINT 2
PRINT 3
TO ENTER (UPDATE): Please go to my Etsy shop and add me as a favorite - I will use Randomizer to pick 3 lucky people from those who have "Hearted" me! Giveaway ends midnight, June 30th. I will notify winners July 1st and mail your prizes by July 4th. Also, please leave a comment on this post with a few thoughts on why you love Etsy!
Remember to check out my Etsy shop (and "heart" me!) and tell others about this giveaway!
My awesomely talented father, Don Budd, just got his website up - check out his paintings and spread the word!
All images © Don Budd.
From the Artist:
The environment has been most influential on my work. Having lived most of my life in Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona the Sonoran Desert was a powerful influence - a brutal area. I spent a couple of years in Iowa and was struck by the endless, repetitive, horizontal bands of corn and soy beans, amazing storms and the flooding rivers. After leaving Iowa I moved to Southern Utah where the horizontal striations, unique forms and intense color of the red rock further solidified my attraction to our earth as my main influence. The works on paper have many layers of acrylic washes built one upon the other and then are scrubbed, wiped, sanded and more layers added. Part of the process often leads to penetration of the paint and exposing the surface of the paper or in some cases rubbing a hole through the paper. This is all part of the process and many of my works will have holes in them, in the literal sense.
To see more, visit his website: www.dobu-creative.com
I saw this little guy on a local rescue's website:
Look at that mug! What a beaut!
I called about him and he sounds like the perfect dog for us! We have a lunch date with him tomorrow to see if he'll be a good fit. Stay tuned for any possible 'announcements'!
UPDATE: We were never able to coordinate a meeting with the rescue, despite repeated attempts. Ultimately, we decided not to pursue this darling and nearly perfect dachshund, for reasons that can only be explained as "intuition".
Or, "Things I Like"
and maybe, "Etsy Is The Coolest Thing To Happen To The Internet"
but definitely, "Feast Your Eyes on THIS"
1. Howard by This Is All I Know
2. Voyage by The Lola Collection
3. Claire Necklace by Handmade Heaven
4. Hello June by AshleyG
5. Raincloud Half Full Necklace by Piano Bench Designs
6. Budgie Screenprint by Kate Banazi
7. Turquoise Vase by Bridgeman Studios
8. Dad, this is the friend I told you about by Hide N Seek
9. Little Bird by Abigail Brown
We just ordered this great Angela Adams rug for Brady's bathroom:
'Islands' rug in 'Moonstone' - this pattern was inspired by Maine Island life - 100% cotton hand tufted in India - all Angela Adams rugs are Rugmark certified; no child labor was used in their manufacture.
I'm so excited! It's silly to be this excited about a rug.. but I think Angela Adams' designs are so beautiful. I wouldn't mind having any of the following things either:
'Mammy' Rug - Love it!
'Love Stool VL' - in 'Betsy' Architex fabric (Angela Adams for Architex)
Correspondence Cards - 4 designs, 5 each
'Bodine' - from the State Of Mind collection
Angela Adams also designs amazing tile for Ann Saks... check it out.. it'll blow your mind.
Okay.. Sometimes I can understand spending a lot for unique, one-of-a-kind, or designer furniture, etc. But $7,255 for a tablecloth??? Come on people. That's just stupid.
droog - tablecloth with bowl by saar oosterhof, 1998.
Here an object which is normally seen on the table becomes one with the table. The bowl literally fuses with the tablecloth, reinventing the traditional table setting.
Offered in transparent or gold.
Made of soft silicone.
Wow.. with all that silicone (and that price), you could just get yourself a boob job or two.
Dumb.
Who buys this crap?
Some of my work was featured in this Etsy treasury:
Check it out and click around! There's a lot of beautiful stuff!
This treasury expires Wednesday, June 11 at 11:03pm.
Thanks to Sarah of modflo for the feature!! Sarah makes beautiful jewelry, including this ring, which I love! 
Wow. So children's photography usually isn't something I find particularly inspirational, but Dani Brubaker's work just blew my mind. Seriously. Absolutely gorgeous! Check out her mad skills:
We recently bought some big terracotta pots from Ikea and I finally got around to painting them yesterday and today. I think they look pretty sick. I'll take some photos of them tomorrow, so you can see just how rad they really are. What I'm most excited about, though, are the succulents I got to go in these pots. I picked up a bunch today so I can plant them tomorrow once the pots are dry. As usual, I couldn't resist taking a few photos of these gorgeous little plants. Here they are:
There are 19 plants in all!
Echeveria Subsessillis + Aeonium Garnet
"Mosaic Aloe"/Aloe harlana + Echeveria Agavoides
"Split Rock", "Living Rock"/Pleiospilos nelii + Echeveria Agavoides + Echeveria 'Tippy'
Echeveria 'Tippy' + "Mini Jade"/Crassula argentea compacta
Echeveria 'Tippy' + Echeveria Agavoides
"Flippin' Flapjacks"/Kalanchoe thyrsiflora + "Windowpane"/Howarthia cuspidata
Echeveria 'Topsy Turvy' + Echeveria 'Perle von Nurnberg'
"Finger Jade"/Crassula orata + Rhipsali cereuscula
"Split Rock", "Living Rock"/Pleiospilos nelii
Anacampseros rufescens + "Sunrise Plant"/Anacampseros telephiastrum variegata
Peperomia graveolens + Sedum 'Burrito'
Sedum 'Burrito'
Just in case you thought I was smoking it crazy when I said I saw a mountain lion behind my house, one was caught in West Jordan this morning. 
I want to make a cool frame collage/salon style gallery in our living room and would love to have prints from these awesomely talented Etsians!
Sort of in a particular order:
Kate Banazi aka alyoisiusspyker
yellena
Betsy Walton
Leigh of jkldesign
Jenn Ski
Mary Ann Wakeley
AshleyG
Caitlin Shearer
seasprayblue
Jikits
Holli
art.and.ghosts
elsita
LaMaga
Kill Taupe
Fantastic stuff! Huge fan of Kate Banazi and Yellena.
One O'Clock on a Sunday night/Monday morning.. nice.
Here are a few of my most recent Etsy favorites! 
Allusion Print by yellena
Mungo Wanderlust Leaf Bag by Little Odd Forest
Packs a Punch Earrings by SuLu
Paper Airplanes by Betsy Walton
Etsy is so inspiring!
