These beautiful wooden tiles are a great way to add an artful touch to any area of your home or office.  They will display beautifully singly, or in groupings of whatever number rocks your boat.  You can create something totally unique through your choice of tiles and arrangement:  Three tiles arranged in a single vertical row, or four tiles in two rows of two or one row of four, or something totally abstract.  Whatever works for you and the space you have available is the right way to display these tiles.  They're made by Amber and Darleen, a...

Isn't this just the sweetest nostalgic display?  It's a vintage cameo brooch artistically framed by Lisa Carpenter and for sale at her Nouveau-Tique Etsy Shop.  Its small size and unobtrusive coloring make it suitable for pretty much any setting or style of decor.  It will add a bit of elegance to an uninspired office cubicle, or provide a touch of charm on an end table or empty space over a light switch.  I can also see it added to a wall display of family photos to provide an artistic counterpoint.  And, at just 3-1/2" x 4-1/4",...

Yuh Okano is an award-winning Japanese textile artist who I featured in my recent handbags collection.  Okano works the shibori style of fabric dying.  Shibori is an elegant Asian form of what we in the west call tye-dying.  Fabrics are skillfully twisted, folded, compressed, and otherwise contorted to allow patterns to emerge in the dyed cloth.  Okano says her handmade textiles are inspired by a deep fascination with nature and, as a fan of her work, I find that entirely believable.  Her color combinations and surface textures give her designs an organic quality with a sense...

This sweet couple is an example of the handmade caricature sculpture you can have customized with your own pictures at 3D Mini Me.  It's a lot of work on their part, but they make it simple for you.  The easiest way to go is to start with a preformed body or couple.  There's something for everyone:  Occupations, such as construction worker or doctor, sports enthusiasts, such as basketball player or cheerleader, couples-oriented figures from the romancing stage to toppers for the wedding cake, and a bunch of

Isn't this boat styled bookcase fun?  It was handmade by Dennis, at Poppa's Boats, who makes boat shelving, wine racks, toy and storage boxes, and garden planters and decor.  And, since his creations are custom made, I expect you can add a slant of your own to the creative mix.  Dennis says his favorite woods are red oak, knotty pine, and cedar.  He builds his pieces with screws and glue, no nails, before painting them your choice of color.   The shelves and front edges are hand stained.  When he's done, paste wax is hand applied for a deep...

Chinese New Year, the Year of the Dragon, is January 23rd.  Our last Dragon year was 2000, when the talk leading up to it was about the new millenium and Y2K and glitches that were going to wipe out computers and wreak havoc all over the world.  Wasn't that a whole lot of nothing?  Now this Dragon year is all about 2012 and Mayan prophesies and all kinds of other interesting stuff.  Ummmmmm.   Maybe dragon years always come in blowing fire and smoke to draw attention to themselves.  Or whatever.  Anyway, I've put up a collection of...

I love this classy leather and fresh water pearls bracelet. It has unconventional pizzaz, a sneakers-with-sequins non- conformist elegance that can go anywhere with anything on anyone--with artsy style to spare.  It was made by Jodi, at By Jodi Jewelry, where you'll find an eclectic collection of equally fetching necklaces, earrings, and more bracelets (some beaded). Jodi artfully blends stones, silver, leather, and gold into designs with an earthy bohemian flare. So click on over now and check out the whole collection at By Jodi Jewelry. This bracelet...

I first wrote about etco back in January, when I featured the elegant papier-mache bowls to be found there.  Well I'm happy to report that Yamarilet Pacheco, the etco artist, is still making those gorgeous bowls.  But I was drawn this time to her elegantly simple jewelry.  There's a natural quality in Pacheco's jewelry, and her pieces project a sense of serenity.  I love crystals with a raw quality, so these citrine nugget earrings spoke directly to me.  The gold-filled hoops are just over an inch in diameter, and the citrine stones were hammer faceted...

Alice Suszynski is an award-winning cabinetmaker who sells exquisite heirloom quality jewelry boxes and silverware chests.  These elegant handcrafted works of functional art are available through her Dream Mountain Studio website.  And now Alice has combined her fine craftsmanship with her experience as a teacher to develop a line of jewelry box kits that can be assembled with ordinary tools.  These kits are in a class by themselves and offer a unique opportunity for people with limited wordworking skills to create top-notch, high-quality jewelry boxes.  I'll let Alice tell you all about it in this video: These kits make...

These lightening bolt cufflinks are a sure-fire way to make a big statement in a fun and (kinda) subtle way.  They were made by Jennifer at Nostalgic Links, where you'll find an impressive array of unusual handmade cufflinks. This shop is worth a visit with the holidays coming up, because just browsing its extensive selection of links gives you a burst of creative-gifts-for-guys ideas. Whether he's into sports, travel, nature, card games, or just plain fun, you'll find something unique and perfectly on-spot at Nostalgic Links. Jennifer's handmade cufflinks are original, they're...