Paisley Print Shoes

Tag Archive: jewelry

tiny texas

Filed Under: accessories, for the girl by Katie — 7 Comments

July 23, 2012

Hey All!
We hope you had a good weekend. Ours was good…we each had some ups and downs but overall, it was a good weekend. On Saturday Jen babysit all THREE of my kids so Aaron and I could go out to celebrate our 11th anniversary. Annoying moment of the weekend: we didn’t take a picture of ourselves!! Ugh. Oh well.

Its been a while since we have featured an Etsy product on our blog, so we’re excited to show you this sweet find. It comes from the Etsy store Stefano Art. It is no secret that we are fond of Minnesota and love things that have to do with maps. We also love jewelry…so…these are right up our alley!

Source: etsy.com via Katie on Pinterest

I think it would be fun to get a Texas one since that is where Elias was born. It would be super fun to get a Minnesota one for Jen’s friend who is moving to our beloved state from Georgia! Are you with us that these are SUPER cute? They are $38 – and we found out that Stefano Art will do custom pieces of basically anything (state, continent, contry, lake….) Maybe I should get a Minnesota, Ethiopia, and Texas one all on one chain! Jen could get pendants of her favorite countries that she has visited. The options are endless.

What would you get if you were to get a custom piece?

We are in no way compensated for this post. Stefano Art has no idea who we are – we just found this store on Etsy, loved the products, and wanted to share them with you!

Tags: accessories, etsy, jewelry

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Making A Difference: The Sparrow Fund

Filed Under: M.A.D series, making a difference by Katie — 3 Comments

May 9, 2012

One of our most favorite things to do on our blog is to feature people, products, or companies that are making a difference in our world. We stumbled upon The Sparrow Fund when Aimee from Red Letter Ink posted a link to their Etsy store on her facebook page. Boy were we in for a pleasant surprise!

The Sparrow Fund is a non-profit organization who exists to support families who are adopting internationally. From their website:

Thousands of U.S. families adopt internationally each year. The Sparrow Fund is an organization committed to encouraging and supporting these families as they prepare for the adventure of adoption. We do this by providing regular training opportunities as well as grants to families in financial need to enroll in programs specifically designed to provide counsel and comprehensive medical reviews of their referred child.

The Sparrow Fund has lots more information about who they are and how they help adoptive families on their website. What we are excited about is that we can help support The Sparrow Fund by purchasing cool jewelry from their Etsy store! Here is a sampling of what they have for sale!

A beautiful necklace made in Ethiopia with coffee beans! (Did you know Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee?)

This piece was created by a woman in Ethiopia (Beza) who works with women and children affected by HIV. Through her organization, children are taught, families have medical care, and women learn to make jewelry like what you see above! You can find out more at the listing for this piece.

There is this beautiful wrap bracelet made by refugee women in Kenya which is $15….

The beads are made from paper and each one takes 15 minutes to roll and varnish!! You can find out more at the listing for this piece! There is also this style of bracelet ($20) from Kenya….

and these earrings ($6).

If jewelry isn’t your thing there are a few cute stuffed animals for sale like this lion ($7) – again, check out the full story about how who makes the lion at the listing:

Hopefully this has whet your appetite enough to go check out The Sparrow Fund’s Etsy shop! Jen and I also wanted to share some other fun news…The Sparrow Fund currently has 58 shops committed to donating 10% of their sales for the ENTIRE month of May to The Sparrow Fund!! You can click on the image below to take a look at all the shops participating (yes, Aimee from Red Letter Ink is one of them, thanks Aimee!)

We will also have the link over on our sidebar for the rest of the month – if you were ever interested in checking out some new shops, or had your eye on something but were waiting to buy, now is the time! Thanks, The Sparrow Fund, for Making A Difference!

All images used with permission from The Sparrow Fund.

Tags: etsy, jewelry

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jewelry galore

Filed Under: for the girl by Katie — 12 Comments

March 1, 2012

I first want to say, THANKS for all the wonderful comments yesterday!! It was encouraging and fun to read them. You guys are the greatest!

Second, THANKS to everyone who sent in pictures of their jewelry display/storage! If you don’t remember, last week I posted this post about everyone’s comments about how they store their jewelry. We got the idea after this post where we talked about how we housed our jewelry (with photos!). It was so fun to get some emails from you all over the last week. It is fun to see how everyone has different tastes and styles in their jewelry AND how we keep it at our homes! So, without further adieu, here we go!

First up is Aimee’s from Gracefully Gifted – the braiding on the outside of the dish is so beautiful!

Here is our mom’s! She got everything for her jewelry storage from IKEA – everything is easy to see AND we like that she thought outside the box by placing the jewelry underneath a shelf where most people would put a photo or print!

Next up is Michelle from Decor and the Dog – all the silver is right up my alley! This is a very creative idea that we both really like:

Our lovely friend Laura sent us these pictures of her necklaces (we love the funky colored hooks she used!)……and earrings. (this is the friend that gives Jen fashion advice via the phone before work in the morning. you can see that here.)

Here is Faith’s (from The Stirring Place) jewelry – we love that she sent us what she does even though she doesn’t wear much jewelry at all! Here is her ring and necklace storage…

…and her earring storage!

And here is our girl Marissa’s pretty box of “mostly earrings!”

Karley sent us this picture of her necklaces – she used a wine glass rack from IKEA and screwed it in under a shelf in her room! Lovely:

And last but certainly not least, Erin from His & Hers. I can TOTALLY see Jen wearing a few of those necklaces on the right!

So what do you guys think? Any great ideas? I LOVE looking at all the pictures of the bright colored jewelry, but really, I know I would never wear it if I owned it! Jen and I are definitely going to start thinking outside the box (no pun intended!) when it comes to jewelry storage…it seems like a great way to add function as well as a bit of style to a space.

Thanks again for participating, you all! This was so fun!

Tags: accessories, jewelry

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pickle dog with a black friday SALE!

Filed Under: for the girl by Katie — 3 Comments

November 22, 2011

Today I am thankful for my health. It is funny that when you are healthy you don’t really even think about how wonderful it is – until you get sick. I haven’t been sick in a while (knock on wood!) and I am super thankful for that. Today I can breathe easily through my nose, I don’t have to carry around a Kleenex box, and I have no plans to visit a doctor anytime soon. I am thankful.

***

Last week Jen and I got an email from Aimee at Red Letter Ink. Aimee told us about a friend of hers who had recently opened up an Etsy store and she thought Jen and I might like her stuff. Naturally we headed on over to Pickle Dog Design and were thrilled at the unique, fantastic store that Amy, the store owner, is starting! We think you guys will like this stuff to, so, obviously we’re sharing it on our blog, because if we both love it you will too. At least, so the theory goes….

Pickle Dog Design is yet another one of those stores that we had a hard time narrowing down which fun items to show you. There is a HUGE variety of items in this shop – everything from gift tags, vintage looking calendars, earrings, paperclips, pushpins, rings…and it all has a vintage yet modern feel. Here are a few of our favorite things…

First up, this one of a kind wall organizer!

You could change out what you put in the jar depending upon the season! I just saw some cute battery operated lights that would be AWESOME in something like this during Christmas! And of COURSE fresh flowers from your garden during the spring and summer.

Next up – RECIPE CARDS!! These are super cute, and there are a bunch of different styles. These would be so much fun to give to a friend who is a baker, some newlyweds, or write your own favorite recipes and stick one in each of the gifts you give during Christmas! These are just FUN.

And yet another really fun item that Amy sells in her shop are “love rocks.” Amy makes fun items (rings, pendants, frames, etc) from rocks that she finds that are naturally in the shape of hearts! We LOVE this because the rocks she chooses are found on the north shore of LAKE SUPERIOR!! YEAH FOR DULUTH!!! This frame is GREAT. I will get this for Jen when she gets married:

I also couldn’t resist showing you these cute pushpins and paperclips that we think you’ll just LOVE:

{all images in this post used with permission from Pickle Dog Design}

So did we whet your appetite enough to go check out Pickle Dog Design? I sure hope so, because Amy is running a SALE on FRIDAY!! You can use the promo code PICKLEDOGFRIDAY20 to get 20% her entire shop on FRIDAY ONLY. In addition to the 20% off, on Friday Amy will be giving a free item with any order $25 or more! Amy will be announcing what that item is on Thursday or Friday – feel free to “like” Pickle Dog Design on facebook to stay up to date!

I don’t know about you guys, but I love online sales – I am NOT one to get up at 4am to hit up the shops! I will be spending a good part of Wednesday and Thursday scanning the internet to see what people are offering online. If you guys know of any places that are having good sales leave a comment letting us know!

Tags: etsy, home, jewelry

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Katie’s Friday Favorites: Watches

Filed Under: accessories, for the girl by Katie — 8 Comments

October 7, 2011

I hate watches.

I used to wear one. I think in high school. Or maybe it was middle school. Then I got this weird reaction on my wrist from whatever kind of watch I was wearing and when I took off my watch the weird itchy rashy thing went away and that was the end of my watch wearing. Until I had children. Then I felt like I was constantly wondering what time it was (how long had it been since she ate? slept? cried?) so I bought a new watch, and wore it for, oh, a week, and then decided the clock on the wall and microwave worked just fine. Now the watch sits in my jewelry box. The battery is probably dead, I should really just throw the thing away.

ANYWAY, since we’re doing this post about watches (so weird…nail polish last week and watches this week, gross!) I figured I’d just go on google images and find a watch that I would theoretically buy if I were to buy one solely based on looks. I think I’d go for something like this:

This images comes from dealcloset.com and apparently this is a Citizen eco-drive quartz leather strap watch. I don’t know though…I googled that and couldn’t find this watch anywhere…maybe its an old model? I don’t know. I like it though. I figure Jen would hate it because if you wear a slap watch you probably wouldn’t wear one of these.

So there you have it.

In other news…I came across this video that Jones Design Company posted on her blog and wanted to share it. Have you seen it? THIS IS SO COOL and worth the time to watch! Especially if you love scarves! I love not only all the scarf options, but what all the other people are doing while the “scarf look” is being demonstrated. Check it out:

Other links I’m loving…
Sarah describes fall perfectly.
I love this post – 9 things to know about decorating your first home. I am on my 3rd and still needed to hear these!
I want this hat really bad (but maybe a little less expensive version).

We’re in Duluth visiting a couple friends and getting family pictures taken…but…we are coming back early to head to the bachelorette party (Jen mentioned earlier) for our future sister in law! Then, hopefully we’ll tackle another house project or two – we’ll see! Have a great weekend!

Tags: accessories, jewelry, katie

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Jen’s Friday Favorites: Watches

Filed Under: accessories, for the girl by Jen — 6 Comments

October 7, 2011

Katie and I are really not big fans of watches. That is one fashion trend that we agree on (and by agree I mean we both have a strong dislike for watches most of the time). Neither one of us ever wear a watch (which annoyed the heck out of our mom when our entire cruise we’re asking her “Mom, what time is it?” since our cell phones didn’t work). On our trip we spent most of the last day shopping since our poor Minnesota skin was screaming from too much sun. On a side note, my right arm is peeling like crazy which never happens to me and we have our brother’s wedding in 2 weekends and we’re wearing strapless dresses. Does anyone know a fix for this?? I’m using lotion like crazy but nothing helps!! Ok, back to shopping…we went in and out tons of stores especially in the beginning. One of our very first stops I saw a watch. A white watch. A Slap Watch. “A Slap Watch??” you may ask. Yes, a Slap Watch. Remember those old school slap bracelets from the early 90′s? Well think that, but with a watch in the middle. A-ma-zing. And the best part of all is it is glowing white (which is going to look fantastic on my snow-white skin after this tan fades…or peels…). Here it is.

{mediocre photos taken by katie before the big chop}

One funny thing is that Katie’s 3 year old is afraid of slap bracelets. When we got home she was all intrigued with my watch until I showed her it was a Slap Watch. Immediately her arm went behind her back and she took one giant step back. It’s funny what kids are afraid of isn’t it?

Here are some blogs I loved this week:

-She’s our fave…and she’s back!

-Some really cute postcards I would love to get in the mail

-Can’t get enough of this foundation

My weekend is full of wedding activities…a bachelorette party for our soon-to-be sister-in-law and a bridal shower for a friend from high school. Add an all morning event at church on Saturday and it’s going to be a busy weekend! Do you have anything fun planned?

On a final side note, Katie always takes our original pictures for our posts and a lot of time ends up putting them in my blog posts for me (isn’t she a good sister??). I just realized what she wrote underneath today…”mediocre pictures…”. Ummm news flash Katie, those are NOT mediocre. Everyone yell at Katie for being so hard on herself. I think they’re fantastic. Can I get a “what, what”!?*

(*”what, what” is how Katie and I express our agreement…try it, it’s fun)

Tags: accessories, jen, jewelry

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rockin’ jewelry

Filed Under: for the girl by Katie — 1 Comment

September 27, 2011

Ok, I know this title is a little cheesy, but when you see this necklace you’ll totally get it:

How beautiful is this?! This necklace is made by Etsy seller JennyHoople and Jen and I think it is fantastic. This necklace is made from river rock stones from Idaho. (Any Idaho readers out there? You have pretty rocks in your state!) One of the things we LOVE about this piece is that it is one of a kind – you will never find another necklace that looks exactly like it. Another fantastic thing about this piece of jewelry is that you can get the length of chain made to a custom length! Jen would FOR SURE wear this as a long necklace and I’d wear it shorter. Oh, and did I mention that shipping is FREE to the US and Canada?

Jenny, the artist, makes rainbow toned jewelry….

Stone earrings….

{images used with permission from JennyHoople}

…along with other kinds of beautiful beaded and wooden jewelry! Jen and I are both partial to the stone pieces. We think they are beautiful. We love the thought of having a piece of jewelry that is unlike anybody elses! No fears of someone wearing the exact same piece as you when you go to work or to a party. All the jewelry pieces in Jenny’s store are made with all natural materials and are packaged beautifully so they’d also make a great gift! What do you think….would you wear stones around your neck? We would!

Tags: accessories, etsy, jewelry

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paisley earrings

Filed Under: accessories, for the girl by Jen — 1 Comment

September 14, 2011

If you’ve been reading our blog for awhile you know that I’m the eccentric, hippie-ish sister while Katie is the classic, conservative sister. So this blog post may seem a little weird to you. See, I’m really not the stud earring kind of person (I actually only have one pair of stud diamond-looking earrings…they were a gift from a boy when I was in high school so they are definitely not real…sad, I know) but I keep seeing people with larger stud earrings so I think I may need to try this trend. And when I saw these earrings from Dothandmade I knew we had to blog about them because their PAISLEY print. Kind of no brainer here.

{image used with permission from dothandmade}

I really like the vintage feel to them and the fact that you can get a handmade pair of earrings for only $20. Neither Katie and I are really stud earring wearers but they would be a great pair to keep in your jewelry box when you need a bit of flare but already have a statement necklace or scarf. We could also wear them on the Today show when we become famous due to our PAISLEY Print Shoes blog. You don’t want to be too wild for morning TV.

On a side note, our artist friend and faithful PPS reader Kendra is now the proud owner of the “Waiting for Mr Darcy” mug from North South Creations! She reports she drinks coffee out of it every morning. Yay! She sent us a few pictures of her with her new mug. Check it out…

{images used with permission from Kendra Baird}

Isn’t she beautiful? We think it’s fantastic that she loves her mug so much! Don’t forget that you can get your own Mr Darcy mug for 10% off with the PPS10 code. And if any of you other lovely readers out there have bought something we’ve highlighted on PPS let us know…you may just be in our next post!

Tags: coffee, etsy, fashion, jewelry

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lovely necklace

Filed Under: accessories, for the girl by Katie — 1 Comment

September 6, 2011

One thing that Jen and I definitely do NOT have in common is our jewelry choices. We often don’t share jewelry as our tastes are just too different. However, when we came across this necklace from monekysalwayslook on Etsy we knew this would be one piece that would be making many trips between our homes! Check it out – its lovely!

{image used with permission from monkeysalwayslook}

Here is why we both like it: It is simple enough for me, but unique enough for Jen! The colors are fantastic and the bead adds such a fun unique twist to the necklace! I love how the rings all intersect each other. Jen would totally wear this with a funky printed shirt and cardigan – I wear a lot of plain long sleeve t-shirts and this would be perfect to dress them up! At $32 this is a super reasonable price for a handmade piece of jewelry, especially since SHIPPING IS FREE!! WOOT!!

Monkeysalwayslook has some other fantastic pieces, included a LOT of personalized jewelry that Jen and I really like. You can visit their blog here and check them out on facebook! Let them know we sent you!

Tags: accessories, etsy, jewelry, necklace

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Jen’s Friday Favorite: mnaDesigns

Filed Under: accessories, for the girl by Jen — 1 Comment

July 22, 2011

posted by Jen

Fridays will be a little fun. You will get to learn a bit more about Katie and me as we highlight our favorite items from a particular store, our unique way of wearing the same thing, or our particular flavor of a staple item such as the little black dress. We’re sure you’ll be able to relate more to one of us and we’d love to hear who you’re more alike. And without further ado….our first Friday Favorite.

This week we stumbled upon an etsy shop, mnaDesigns. I first saw this amazing Mocha Pearl Cluster Necklace while I was on pintrest (where else?). I’m a big fan of fun necklaces and this one is definitely fun. And at $30, it’s within my price range! I recently scored a fabulous teal BCBG dress with silver embellishments on it at a local thrift store that would look even better with this necklace.

So, would you wear this necklace? Or would you choose Katie’s pick?

Tags: jen, jewelry

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Tag Archive: jewelry

tiny texas

Making A Difference: The Sparrow Fund

jewelry galore

pickle dog with a black friday SALE!

Katie’s Friday Favorites: Watches

Jen’s Friday Favorites: Watches

rockin’ jewelry

paisley earrings

lovely necklace

Jen’s Friday Favorite: mnaDesigns

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