Whimsy.

I wore a hat to work on Friday.

While it drew confusion ("What is that?") and tons of ribbing from my all-male office-mates (nothing new, really), it actually means I must be in a good mood. And I stayed that way, even after they drew this comparison:

I'm prone to flights of whimsy, and I might be in the midst of one of those. There's something about hats.

(cue nostalgia, switch to italics.)

I feel like watching The Wizard of Oz with my sister in footed onesie-pajamas and fast-forwarding (y'know, 'cause we're watching it on VHS) to all of the singing parts. LIONS AND TIGERS AND BEARS!

I want to play with My Little Ponies and Puffalumps. Eat Kraft Dinner with cut-up hot dogs (veggie, of course). Make greeting cards with glitter-glue. Giggle incessantly.

I want to collect Jem & The Holograms stickers and trade them for Jelly Bellys and Lip Smackers.

But I'll just rely on my imagination. I suspect that such behaviour would be very unbecoming in a girl of 30-ish, yeah? In some ways, I never managed to grow up. Playing adult, though, can get exhausting (I've never considered myself a full-fledged grown up. When do you know? Is there an initiation? A sign?).

So, while I'm stuck (mostly) abiding by societal guidelines for my almost-adult age bracket, I'll never stop secretly playing make-believe. Like my never-shed baby-fat, I think I just haven't yet shaken that last little bit of my childhood sense of wonder. Sure I'm cynical and crotchety like 90% of the time, but there's still some frolic left in this girl.

In an homage to my fits-of-giggles mood this week, I've plucked a little whimsy from my favourites on Etsy.

Great finds inspired by: dollhouses, dress-up, fairy tales, birthday wishes, sing-a-long, innocence + lime popsicles.

  

What IS this magical little place? (Terrarium, Sea & Asters $25)

 

  Big, bigger, biggest! (Jye big hair bow $35)


Trade'ya for your skipping rope. (Lemon Citrus lip balm set $22)

I need this. I have NO place to put it. No place at all. But I need this. (oversized 'W' by Hinsvik $125)

Oh, hello yourself. (necklace by Piano Bench Designs $47)

Dapper. P.S. These lovely folks also make pillows that look like cherry pies! And PB&J sammies! (Diffration Fiber $26)

All-time favorite scent: grapefruit. Do they still make scratch n' sniff stickers? Confession: I really clicked on this listing for the miniature dog. Lovely attention-to-detail on the product styling! (Prunella Soap  $6.75)

Wee pony! Of my very, very own! Oh, my sister would have DIED for this. I would have made her sooo jealous. (Royal Mint $75)

Washi tape forever and ever. (Pretty Tape $4.50)

Mom had a tin just like this, but maybe without the knob. Often it held cookies. (The Magic Attic
$20)

Matcha marshmallows. Mmmmmmmmm! (Fusion Sweets $10)

Wha? Rings made from SKATEBOARDS? Man I could have snagged a real stud in middle school with this baby. (Seven Ply $22)

Well, OK, off to do big girl things. Like making dinner for my husband and paying bills. Not quite as fun, I'm sure.

etsy-love!

[ photos via Le Animalé, Happiknits & Shutterography on Etsy ]

I sold 5 items on Etsy this week - it's a good week that way! My only issue with Etsy, as Regretsy has amply demonstrated, no curation means that the floodgates are wide open to bad, bad art. So, finding great things on Etsy tends to require a little digging.

Listen: it's worth it.

Not only am I a seller on Etsy, but I also do a fair bit of shopping on it too. Ususally my shop earnings just get rolled back into Etsy in some way, whether I'm buying fabric yardage and supplies, an amazing vintage necklace, or a cute illustrated print. I love supporting fellow small biz owners.

Yesterday, I was perusing my "Favorites" on Etsy - just a collection of things that I've hearted over the past couple of months, and page no. 1 looked almost intentionally curated. It could almost be a treasury of it's own... mmm, making Etsy treasuries - one of my favourite time-wasters.

Themes were definitely emerging: I'm obviously loving mustard this season. Anything in that rich earthy yellow has been catching my eye these days. Also, season-appropriate chunky knits, of course. Cozy-times.

OK, these hearts are too good not to share:

 natural wool hand-crocheted leg warmers ($30) by donkey & lemon

 

 royal tenenbaums poster by adam juresko

 fine art photo print ($20) by karin A photography

 le animale fox earrings $30

OMG pennants by rank & file $18.50

 pom-pom flowers ($12.50) by steph loves ben

 

 kelsey genna 'beatrice' dress $190

umbu sewing pattern chandelier $200

chunky cowl scarf ($80) by happiknits

 french bulldog print by shutterography $18

 

dandyrions fox sweater $55