Special Feature Friday: Marla Faye Creations

Edition 18

Marla Faye Creations  is a lovely Etsy shop selling accessories mostly made from semi precious stones.

I had a good look around in Marla's shop and I found especially that her jewelry is timeless. All the pieces are wonderful and elegant, this really is jewelry that is great for every occasion or has a so called, multi purpose. From weddings to funerals, but of course also for a great party or just everyday live.

I am a big fan of these earrings, what an original design! They look modern but yet with a classic look. The stone used is the beautiful black onyx. It is obvious that Marla has a great eye for detail, and this shows in the products that are sold. 

Marla started to make jewelry as a teenager decades later it is still one of her favorite things to do.  With all these years of experience you can be sure of a high quality piece of jewelry.

What a wonderful combination for this necklace, the pearls and amethyst compliment each other and make this necklace a true eye catcher!

Maya has been very kind to give the readers of this blog a coupon code for her shop, you are able to use it until the 16th of February 2014. It will give you a 10% discount on her items: ISHJEBLOG10

Une journée en Provence ~ A day in the Provence

Today is "Blue Monday" according to many people the gloomiest day of the year. Now, I do not really believe there is such a thing, but nonetheless my day was not exactly sparkling with happiness.
It is the same old story, looking for a job, sending motivational letters. Finding the job perfect for you, but after the sending of the letter you never hear from the company again. But, enough of this right now.

I would like to go back a couple of months, it was in August 2013 we visited the lavender fields in  a region called Luberon. We had been planning for a long time to go, but of course one has to wait until the lavender blooms. We were told this was in August. So when my parents in law where here we went there in their car. Neither of us drive, so it was very nice my parents in law could take us all there. Once we arrived it was hard to find the fields, it turned out we were to late! Luckily we found 2 or 3 fields, that where no longer in full bloom but still very pretty nonetheless.

I am ever so glad to have a panoramic view option on my camera, it is quite a simple small camera, but this is one function I could not go without. The fields may look silent but they are not, they are full of live. There are many butterflies and bees collecting their honey, and a great amount of other different insects and crickets. The fields where buzzing, and it seemed all quite cozy together. And of course the smell was delicious.

After we were all done with the lavender we moved on to a little village, I could not remember the name unfortunately. But it was one of these old Provence villages, with wonderful little streets and fountains. We found a place on a terrace and ordered food, after all this lavender-visiting we were quite hungry. The restaurant was very divers, and everything we ordered was absolutely delicious! Again, if I could remember the name of the restaurant and village I would recommend it. But right now I can't remember. Probably I wake up in the middle of the night knowing the answer though, and then I will be back to tell you!
It softly started raining when we were nearly finished, but we sitting under big umbrella's it did not bother us at all. By the time we were done eating the rain had stopped.On the way back to Marseille we found a lot of sunflower fields, and a little antique market on a town square! Exactly what you would expect on a Sunday day out in the Provence.

Even though the lavender was not in full bloom anymore, and there were only a few small fields to be spotted this was a memorable day. The Provence is beautiful in this time of year, and absolutely worth a visit.
We only drove about an hour and a half from Marseille to get there. So it is doable in a day, even with a rental car. I would suggest that you find out when the fields are in bloom beforehand to be sure. Also, bring a hat and sun protection, it can get really hot in the summer.

Special Feature Friday: Ma'at Silk

Edition 17

Even though December is the darkest month, I always have more problems with January.
When all the Christmas decorations are put away my house seems to need more color and maybe even a hint of decorations that imply that spring is coming.

A few new cushions on the couch can do wonders! Therefore I am introducing Ma'at Silk from Spain as this weeks Special Feature Friday shop. The silk cushions are hand painted by the owner of this shop, Maisie.

With their bright colors these cushion covers give a true sense of spring coming up. They are sure to brighten up a living room in the dark months of winter.

Besides cushions there are also scarves available in the shop, just like notebooks, paintings, gift cards and pins cushion. Even the scarves can be pinned in a list, if one would truly 
appriciate the design as a piece of artwork on the wall. All these items come in the same style with bright colors and repeating swirling patterns. They remind me of a modern take on traditional Spanish and Arabic designs.

All the paintings on the items are unique designs made by Maisie herself.

Special Feature Friday: Barefoot Maiden

Edition 16

A long time ago I discovered the Barefoot Maiden shop. At the time my hair was still very long and I decided I wanted to give myself a pair of her hairsticks for my birthday.

It was a great decision, as it turned out she was very friendly and once the custom made hairsticks arrived I fell in love with them!

Barefoot Maiden makes gemstone hair jewelry, mostly in the shape of hairsticks.
Her hairsticks are strong, durable and most important: beautiful.
It really does feel like jewelry for the hair, instead of a everyday accessory. 

These hairsticks are hand crafted and have a luxurious look. They can keep up the longest hair in a way that will not cause any damage to the hair! 

Barefoot Maiden uses mostly earthly colors and natural materials, like wood and gemstone. It is possible to buy via her Etsy shop,but there is also a website worth visiting. We can not only find hairsticks in the shop, but also earrings and on the website there is a great collection of necklaces. All in the same style!

Especially for the people interested in hairsticks I would recommend you have a look in her shop, Barefoot Maiden has very kindly given a coupon discount code for the readers of this blog:

blogcode15 

This code is valid until a month after this blog was written, and gives you a 15% discount on the items from her Etsy shop and website.

Meanwhile I cant wait until my hair has gained length, so I can use the pair of hairsticks again made by Barefoot Maiden!

2014

The new year has started. We went back to the Netherlands for Christmas and New Year.
We had a wonderful time with family and friends! Of course I had to do some fabric shopping.
I planned to go back to the shops I wrote about in August, the two quilting shops in Amsterdam.
Unfortunately one of the shops was closed, but the second was open and they had some wonderful fabrics for sale. The shop I am talking about has some very special fabrics, made for them specifically. It is always a joy to browse there.

Buying all these new supplies for the shop make it extra fun to unpack my suitcase when I come home. Most fabrics go straight from the suitcase into the laundry machine so I can prepare them for sewing. Right now all the fabrics bought are cleaned and ironed, but this week is so busy, I do not think I will have time to work with them yet.

Still, it is something to look forward to for the weekend!

We also decided I should have a new logo and header for the shop, the idea for the logo came when I ordered a bead I loved, but I could not use because of the way it was made. It is a little owl made from bone. It was handcrafted in Bali.

The owl is now the mascot of the shop, I will keep the bead because it is too cute to sell.
Down you can see the logo and the new header for the shop. With much thanks to Tower of Nod for designing this for me!

Business cards have also been designed, and I hope to receive those shortly!

I am certainly looking forward to everything 2014 has to offer! I wish you all much love, luck and happiness for the upcoming year!