weekly giveaway - polarity:

this week's giveaway comes from a very well known etsy shop: polarity! i'm sure you've seen cat's 2 shops around, her lovely items just can't be missed. she runs polarity: a shop with the most amazing lockets that are recycled from an auto part and uncorked: a shop with very unique cork necklaces and jewelry. this week you have a chance to win a locket set in collaboration with f2images. it is emiko's photo (from f2images) featured on the necklace - very cool ;)

check out cat at these places too!

blog | uncorked shop | twitter

WIN: f2images AMUSE Recycled Magnetic
LOCKET SET valued at $18!

Please share a little about you and your shop: My name is Cat Ivins and I live at the Jersey Shore. I make jewelry and houseware products. I have 2 Etsy shops; Uncorked and Polarity. I am committed with both shops to doing more with less and leaving the lightest possible footprint with my work through the use of sustainable, recycled and industrial products AND making things that are cool and beautiful!

How did you get started selling and making your lovely products: Uncorked started as a way to get teen girls interested in math and science; it has evolved into more of a fun eco product. The sustainability of cork (cork is harvested every few years in a way that does not damage the forests) makes it a material I love working with. Polarity came about through my love of lockets and then stumbling upon these little steel parts in a garage - I took a welding class and learn to solder (which turned out to be the most focusing thing I do all day and I have grown to love it). Steel has an endless lifespan and can be recycled again and again.

What inspires you: I am inspired by flea markets, crowds, loud music and equally inspired by time alone and time at the ocean.

Favorite place to travel: NYC and the Pacific Northwest - love 'em both!

Favorite inspiration links, blogs, or shops: For inspiration I love so many blogs! Some shops I love to browse include Anthropologie, Inhabitat, ReFound Objects, Looolo, MaFurniture, West Elm, Pieces, StretchandCover, Relish, Velocity.

Visit Polarity and leave a comment with your favorite item! be sure to leave your email address in your entry! feel free to spread the love around your blogs, twitter, etc! it is greatly appreciated :)

giveaway ends on monday, july 6 at 8am, pst.

giveaway winner:

congrats to Danielle, #84!
who won the nice giveaway deer plaque.

thank you caitlin of nice for donating such a lovely item.

be sure to check out this week's giveaway from polarity!

( resource ) printable notecards:

hello friends!

well, to go along with the birthday theme this week, i've created some simple birthday cards and gift tags for you to download. so if you have any birthdays coming up, you can make your own cards!

( click here to download )

last week i think there were some issues downloading the file and i apologize for that. but i tested it this week so it should work fine ;) when you click the link, just click "save file" and it will download right into your computer. if not, i uploaded a the high quality .jpg file here so you can just save that to your computer and print it that way. enjoy!

( ps: i'm having a birthday sale tomorrow in the shop! check back for details )

( lovely goods )

lovely goods.
aka: my birthday wishlist ;)

so it's after my birthday. but some of these are things i can
still treat myself to, right? others are just things i can hope for..

Chocolate Gingersnaps from whimsyandspice, $8.50
yum! i love sweet things. and all the baked goods from
whimsyandspice look so delightful.

tall drapers cabinet from sundance, $1,895
this cabinet is simply fabulous.

Something Old Something New by bmjnyc, $1,250
i love this ring. i hope nick gets me something like this
to go along with a certain question very soon. ;) hehe.

L a r g e . S c a l l o p . P o u c h by patncake, $15
everything by patncake is so lovely.

pearl # 11 press.
i would love to own my very own press someday.

purse from made by hank.
doesn't everyone want to own a purse from the amazing katie henry?
yesterday her shop was stocked, today everything is sold out.

24 today:

image source.

today i turn 24.

nicholas took the day off work, how sweet is he?!

we're heading to disneyland and then we'll get lost
and have a lovely adventure!

just kidding. we'll probably just come home
and watch battlestar galactica,
yes: i'm a bit of a nerd. what can i say?

( and happy birthday caitlin from nice! we have the same birthday! )

inspire: lovely.

for today's inspire lovely, the photos may be a little different.

today they're themed by the things i love.
my passions. things that make me smile.
hope you enjoy them,

click the + for the source.

i love vintage cameras. by manda. +


i want to find a bench like this and just be. +


i want to be free, like a bird. +


my heart is africa. +


i love umbrellas. and i love cute umbrellas even more! from i.anton. +


capernwray hall, england +


so i spent some time in england a few years ago, and it was one of the most lovely times in my life. it was so peaceful. i had an amazing room in the hall pictured above. this is the exact view from the room i had in capernwray hall. +


i love inspiration. from anna beckman. +


i love found objects.
and i really always enjoy photos from perfect bound. +


oh i absolutely love pretty packages. from simple moth. +


i want to live in a little village on top of a shelf. by jessica jane. +


i love traveling foreign places.
and i love the rain. and this is both. +


i love all the life captured by alicia bock. +

weekend:

i'm back this week! thanks for all your kind get well wishes and tips from last week! it really made my day. nicholas got me some medicine (even though i'm stubborn and insisted that i didn't need medicine) but it really helped.

so i haven't done a weekend update in a while, and i thought my last weekend was definitely blog-worthy. whew, this is a long post but i hope you enjoy ;)

---

so friday night was the bf's birthday: he had to work all day but we went to disneyland afterward. since we have passes, he got a free $60 gift card - sweet! we took the train to new orleans square, got a funnel cake, and left. we're such an old couple, he just wanted to get home and relax ;) plus when you have a pass, you can go whenever you want!

then on saturday, nick and i drove into the sunset to san diego for my little brother's girlfriend's dance show called body rock. it was a hip hop competition: and it was so incredible! even nick liked it, which i didn't think he'd be into it at all. anyway, it was her last show and we thought it'd be good to support. her team is called tm (team millennia) for any of you who are familiar with teams. they did awesome! i knew samantha was on a team but when i met steppie, she told me all about it since she was on a team in college as well.

i am amazed at how close the dance community is: everyone seems so supportive and amazing. and dancing in itself is such a neat expression of creativity. steppie had so many dance friends stop by and support her when we did the uc irvine show.. one of steppie's friend's even knew my little brother's girlfriend.

anyway, nick's favorite dance was by Poreotics, their performance was super creative and entertaining :) my favorite dance was by common ground, it seriously made me teary! if you have a chance, you have to watch it and tell me what you think! the quality on youtube is good. lots of cheering and madness, haha.

so sunday was a back to back day. nick and i headed to la in the morning to go to universal studios. i'm a big fan of universal, it's not usually too crowded (like disneyland) and it's fun. there's fun backdrops, like the one in the first picture: the book shop from notting hill! i like that my dress matched the entire thing.. and the 2nd picture is the famous shark backdrop... i'm sure we wouldn't be smiling if that were alive. ;)

ok, one of my favorite things to do at universal is go on the studio tram tour. they take you through sets and you get to see all the leftover props from movies and stuff. so if you have already recognized: that is susan mayer's house from desperate housewives! we got to see all the houses, i'm a fan of the show so it was lots of fun.

then they have the bates hotel stage from psycho. and they have a real person pretending to be norman bates! haha. he came out from the room with a body and put it in the trunk of the car. could you imagine if that were your job? all you have to do all day is walk around and pretend to be really creepy. he was legit.

after universal, we headed to glendale for a so cal blogger's lunch! i was invited by the most sweetest lady ever: dionne from city of dionne! i hadn't met anyone before, so i made nick come with me for support. it turns out i had nothing to worry about - everyone was so cool! dionne had put together lots of amazing goody bags for everyone, we talked a lot of nerd talk about twitter, blogs, and facebook. had lunch, some akward jumping pics (which are not included below, hehe) -- it was so much fun.

friends from left to right: Dionne, Maggi, Bethany, Sabrina, Lindsey,

the girls holding eric.
and then all the boys..some of them have blogs!
( Eric, Andrew, Jon )

the first picture is maggi, i brought something for the grand prize but since i won it, i couldn't win my own prize! so we drew another name and she won! so she's modeling all her winnings and i think she is quite adorable.

the 2nd pic is of lindsey and jon! it was their anniversary but they still came out all the way from san diego! after the lunch, jon started his own blog, which i thought was pretty cool since some of the boys were bashing blogs ;)

then there is bethany, who is enjoying some desert that dionne got for us!

and the last pic is nicholas, going over his paper. we played this super fun game that eric taught us. eric was so cool, he is a structural enginner by day and he is an extra in tv shows! he mentioned he was in the season finale of desperate so i just had to watch. and he sure was, right behind eva longoria in the church scene at the end. so cool, haha.

i won the giveaway prize! i couldn't believe it, i never win anything! it included some amazing soaps from spa delights and vintage pyrex tea cups from the kitchen shoppe and some very cute hair clips from ready go!

and then there i am with the beautiful dionne. she is quite amazing for putting this whole thing together: from all the food to the gift bags for everyone, and not only that, but she was so incredibly sweet! and she is just like me - she burns toast! the last image is her sad face with the completely burnt garlic bread in the trash, haha. thank you for letting me be a part of the lunch dionne!

have you ever met bloggers in real life? there is a whole list of blogger's i'd love to meet for reals. i feel super fortunate in all the connections and friends i've made through this little blog.

well that is it for my weekend update. that was a long one ;)

weekly giveaway - nice:

so this week i am SUPER excited to share the giveaway we have for you! many of you may know of this lovely person: caitlin of nice! i think this giveaway is perfect for this week because caitlin and i share the same birthday: june 23! and seeing as how tomorrow is our birthday, what better week to have the mini deer plaque as our giveaway prize!

some of you may know her for her deer plaques or lovely vintage shop, her banners and lamp shades have been seen all over! others may recognize her because she was chosen in 2007 for fred flare's "next big thing" (scroll to the bottom, you'll see her!)

oh, and unfortunately the deer plaques are not available in her shop right now. they will be restocked, but the date is tba! so consider this a rare item that you can win, right here at oh, hello friend! ;)

ps: be sure to check out caitlin's debut of her vintage clothing collection: which will be available in her shop tomorrow, june 23!

can't get enough? check out caitlin at these places too!
blog | shop | flickr | facebook

WIN: mini deer plaque valued at $25!

Please share a little about you and your shop: Nice is a shop that is all about mixing unique and fun pieces into your home decor, similar to how a feminine and delicate blouse goes perfectly with a pair of jeans, I like to think I supply the elements to juxtapose and compliment modern design elements. I find great joy in providing these handmade and vintage pieces in my shop and love to to see what my buyers have done with their pieces. I'm also excited to share that Nice has just introduced a carefully selected and limited collection of vintage clothing. I think you'll find it to be a spot on addition to the aesthetic of Nice!

How did you get started selling and making your lovely products: I've always made things, but never had an outlet for selling. I remember when I first heard about Etsy in 2005, I signed up right away. It was like a light shining down on me, haha. I had just shopped the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair for the first time and was feeling inspired. So inspired in fact, that my first product photos were taken right when the feeling hit at whatever o'clock at night! Naturally the photos were quite horrible. Really, feel free to browse back to the beginning of my sold items on Etsy. I don't know what I was thinking! Anyway, I slowly got the hang of things and the next year I got up the guts to apply to the Renegade fair and after that there was no going back! So yes, Etsy and Renegade were pretty much life changing for me!

Favorite place to travel: Michigan to spend time at (in?) Lake Michigan. :) I Especially love the fact that on our way back home, because we live in Illinois, we get the feeling of extending our vacation by taking a slow drive home and stopping at towns along the coast. I'm happy traveling most anywhere really. I love the feeling of getting out of town and when you first set your things down in your hotel room.

Favorite inspiration links, blogs, or shops: I love Frankie Magazine ( frankie.com.au ). Lula ( lulamag.com ) as well. I love many, many blogs, but I still look forward to having a magazine to relax and sit down with.

Anabela ( fieldguided.blogspot.com ) is an inspiring girl. Besides the fact that she and her boy are talented and have great taste, she seems clearheaded and focused. I guess because I so often do not feel that way, haha, I admire that greatly. She is just an all around neat girl, though really.

I absolutly love old films. TCM ( tcm.com/index.jsp ) has been in my life for years. I love how much care they give to that basic cable channel.



Visit Caitlin's shop and leave a comment with your favorite item! be sure to leave your email address so i can contact you if you win. feel free to spread the love around your blogs, twitter, etc! it is greatly appreciated :)

giveaway ends on sunday, june 28 at midnight, pst.

giveaway winner:

last week we featured the most lovely shop: bliss in a tea cup who was giving away an embroidery hoop chalkboard! the winner is #41 - catherine! congrats!!
( please email me with your mailing information )

check out this week's giveaway - nice, mini deer plaque!

out with the flu:

hello dears. apologies for not posting yesterday. i woke up with a slight sore throat that just got worse as the day went on. by the end of the day, it burned to swallow and talk! anyway, i just dread sore throats. does anyone have any good remedies? i am hoping to get into the doctor today and i am hoping even more it is not strep! how ironic because i was just talking to someone about getting sick and in my opinion, the worst thing to get is sore throats!

so all that said, i probably won't be finishing this week's posts :( i have to work 8 hours on friday (apple iphone 3gs launch - are you getting one?) so i really need to get better. i'll miss you all and see you next week. don't forget to enter the bliss in a tea cup giveaway! :)

weekly giveaway - bliss in a tea cup:

and the weekly giveaways continue! so i fell in love with this shop the minute i discovered it on etsy's pounce feature! their publicity has grown tremendously since then - i'm sure you've seen their charming little chalkboards just about everywhere! and if you haven't, then you simply must get over to the store immediately because there is just so much loveliness there :) becka of bliss in a tea cup has been so kind to donate a hoop chalkboard!

be sure to also stop by bliss in a tea cup's blog (which i frequent quite often!) and follow becka on twitter!

WIN: Embroidery hoop chalkboard valued at $35!

Please share a little about you and your shop: Our shop is the work of my husband Richard and I, based out of our little apartment in Vancouver's Chinatown. We both have a love for thrifting, re-using objects and being able to fuse beauty and function. Both of us have rather eclectic tastes, so along with our range of chalkboards, writing slates and inspiration hoops, you're likely to find a bit of a rotating mixture of treats depending on what we've found on our most recent thrifting expedition!

How did you get started selling and making your lovely products: Both of us have always loved making things, in fact Richard is a trained cabinet maker! Most of our furniture is from thrift stores or alleyway finds that we've refinished or repurposed, so working together on craft projects is something we really enjoy. Before opening our etsy store, I was selling my knitted items at a local boutique and was preparing for my first craft show, only it was Spring heading into Summer so I was experimenting with other ideas. This ended up in the two of us working on the range that is now in our store. As I mentioned earlier, we both really love being able to work together, and are lucky enough that our strengths compliment each other (thank goodness, I'm not sure that I would have the patience to cut out the perfect circles that Richard can!), we're crafty partners in crime!

What inspires you: thrift stores, alleyway furniture finds, school stationary, outsider art, Modern design, old family photos, miss-matching, vintage upholstery fabrics, mixing weirdness and traditional beauty, cottages, lace...I could go on and on!

Favorite place to travel: Everywhere! We both really love to travel, but some highlights have been Paris, Bergen and Barcelona. Getting out into the country, to the beach or just out of the city in general is a real treat for us so we try to do it as often as possible.

Favorite inspiration links, blogs, or shops: Oh, this is such a tricky one! Richard is at work, so I got to pick these all out myself!

http://www.clevernettle.com/blog (I love both her blog, and her two shops. She always inspires and makes me laugh!)

http://fieldguided.blogspot.com (not only do these two make the sweetest ties, needlebooks and mugs but Anabela also seems like the loveliest girl ever!)

http://www.camillaengman.com (Camillla's art never ceases to blow me away, I love it!)

http://meetmeatmikes.blogspot.com (I absolutely love Pip! She makes me laugh, consistently finds fantastic links to check out and is always offering the best advice for us crafty types!)

bliss in a tea cup has extended an exclusive offer for oh, hello friend readers:
FREE SHIPPING on any purchase, this week only! just mention 'ohhellofriend' in the message to seller and wait for a revised invoice before paying. that's like, a $10-$12 savings! how cool is that!?

Visit Becka + Robert's shop and leave a comment with your favorite item! be sure to leave your email address so i can contact you if you win.

giveaway ends on sunday, june 21 at midnight, pst.

giveaway winner:

last week we featured an awesome giveaway and interview of the lovely tiffany of muntedkowhai! the winner of the beautiful 'admiral returns' necklace is #44 - elyse! congrats!!

( please email me with your mailing information )

check out this week's giveaway - bliss in a tea cup!

weekend deals:

for all you weekend readers: etsy has a 'yart sale' going on, and it ends tomorrow! participating shops offer discounts, free shipping, free gifts, etc! i've gathered some of my favorite sales and wanted to share them with you! happy shopping!

1. Vintage Olive Green Floral Coffee Mug from capow, $7 - 25% + free shipping!

++ top deal: capow's shop is offering 25% off everything in addition to free shipping! she has prints, handsewn bags, and lots of lovely vintage items. be sure to check out her shop!

2. Green Plaid Racerback Tank Top from evilneedles, $28 - 10% off!
lots of lovely handmade clothing, all 10% off. i think this top for only $28 is a steal!

3. White Tea and Ginger . cocoa butter soap from DancingMooney, $4.50 -
a great deal at 20% off everything in the shop!

4. Lines - 5x5 Original Fine Art Photo from bomobob, $15 - free shipping!
free shipping off most items in the shop. item of note: 8 bird prints for only $15!

5. Love is in the Air - 8x10 Fine Art Print from irenesuchock, $22 - down from $30!
our favorite irene suchock has a whole section of prints on sale at only $22! check out all 17 prints!

6. Retro Circle Flowers Vinyl Wall Decal from tweetheartwallart, $9 - 10% off!
tweetheartwallart is also offering free shipping off orders of $25+. i am definitely ordering some wall art ;)

7. Riley's Repose Mighty Tiny Diaper Bag from pongobaby, $22 - down from $27 + free shipping!
++ top deal: this is such a lovely bag, if you are a mom or know any moms, it would make an excellent gift. and for $22 and free shipping, this deal can't be beat for a quality handmade item. she has about 6-7 other bag styles so be sure to check them out.

8. Mom, this is the friend I told you about Print from HidenSeek, $5.90
$5.90 prints + $1.99 postcards - doesn't get any better than that for these lovely illustrations.

lots of jewelry on sale at etsy!

1. Bronzed Tiny Twig Hair Pins from 4TheSparrowsNest, $14.50 + free shipping!
free shipping on all items! aren't these the cutest pins?

2. three leaves NECKLACE in sterling silver from MeadowbelleMarket, $28 - free shipping!
free shipping on selected items in the yart sale section!

3. Come fly with me. Locket Necklace from MiaBeads, $24 on SALE + free shipping!
Mia is an absolute sweetheart and her items are so quality! She is offering free shipping on her items and if you buy any 2 items, you will receive $5 off!

4. Blossom Brooch - Gray and Ivory from LostAndFawned, $9 - down from $12!
many lovely pins on sale!

5. Adrienne - Vintage Plastic and Swarovski Crystal earrings from JillianMackowiak, $15
++ top deal: buy 1 item get 1 50% off in her shop! great deal.

( happy friday )

happy friday friend's! today is nicholas's birthday! ( if you're reading this, happy birthday sweetheart! ) we both are working but then we're going to disneyland since you get free admission on your birthday. it's a super busy weekend actually.. with my little bro's gf's dance concert, sea world, a blog meetup, and a graduation party! fun fun! if you're staying in and relaxing this weekend, here are some links you should check out!

- Some lovely mini scrapbooks at the crafts department.

- a really lovely DIY Flower Kit at purl soho.

- have you checked out the curiosity shoppe? it is quite lovely!

- a beautiful diy invitation & story from jill and matt, at idiy blog.

- A Sweet Cupcake Roundup at creature comforts. i love cupcakes!

- How-To Tuesdays with Jenny Ryan: Pillowcase Laundry Bag.

- make some mini books from Meowstro at heart handmade!

- How-To: Cupcake Cones at craft zine! these look so yummy!

have a lovely weekend!
xo.

( resource ) printable notecards:

free printable notecard PDF, 4 designs! simply print + cut out!

click here to download.

( download should start immediately. if it doesn't, it will take you to the pdf page. simply click 'file' and 'save as' and save to your computer! if the above link doesn't work, click here and try this download instead. )

please email me if there are any issues!

'hello friend' notecard made with free vector typeface 'RPVS' by mmolai. click the link to download it for yourself!

( lovely goods )

Pollen . Yellow Bird . Brooch by juliepollen $26
The Clementine Clutch by carriegirl, $40
Original Fabric - Wing Chair by scarletfig, $8.50
printemps VI wallpaper necklace by sbarao, $10
lavender heart sachets by ladygreydesigns, $5
Coffee pot with apples original on wood by mrseliotbooks, $120

( photograph )

photographs by mariterecr:
shop | blog | flickr

inspire: lovely.

such inspiration.
click the + for the source.

summer nights by organica +

number the tea cups by embem30 +

france by nicolasv +

+

all the luck in the world +
( via loveology )

camera girl by nessakphotography.com +

she will never belong by aprileelcich +

+

good day sunshine by simple moth +
( via oh so beautiful paper )

+

lettere mai spedite by violaklis +