TheDesignFile

Another faux animal trophy option...from Etsy

The Design File readers get a 20 percent discount!

I’ve written a few times in the past year about the trend of faux animal trophies and you may remember that I purchased one for my own home.

So I was so excited to see the cool, papered deer heads at Rubys Lounge on Etsy.

“Because we’re all hunting for something,” says Jennifer Khoshbin, the artist who makes these amazing sculptures.

“We're all collecting our own modern trophies. What are yours?”

Jennifer describes herself as “a compulsive creator, always in search of the authentic.”

This series of deer heads is entitled “Handmade Wilderness – The Paper Deer Head Project.” She calls it an “exploration into the beauty and authenticity of nature” and said it’s her artful take on traditional hunting.

I think they’re great. They generally cost about $335 and take six to eight weeks for Jennifer to create.

Check out these beauties:

Aren't these cool? If you like them, head on over to Rubys Lounge on Etsy. Message Jennifer on Etsy, tell her you saw her work at The Design File, and you'll receive a 20 percent discount! Thanks Jennifer.

The Design File's top Etsy picks of 2010

Regular readers know that almost every Wednesday, I feature an Etsy shop that has something to do with art or home decor.

Today, I’m going to look back at the five most-viewed Etsy posts from the past year – and then at the end of the post I’ll link to my personal favorites.

1. BIG decals to spice up your walls

Etsy is full of decal options but the ones at the shop NouWall jumped right out at me because of their size and flexibility. They are so fun and cool.

This one measures 145" x 94" and is $175. It’s like an entire wall mural.

 

2. Pretty monogrammed pillow

I'm kind of a sucker for monograms -- always have been. I try to pick and choose, though. A little bit goes a long way when you're talking about personalization.

But I did love the Etsy shop called Letter Perfect Designs, where artisan Peggy sells pillows with gorgeous monograms made from buttons.

It was the second most-viewed Etsy pick in 2010.

 

3. Chic baby bedding to dress up a nursery

The Holly Chic shop on Etsy sells handmade modern baby bedding and accessories that are so beautiful. The patterns are just gorgeous and the pieces pretty affordable.

It was the third most-viewed Etsy pick of the year.

 

4. Easy furniture plans for a modern home

All you need is a hammer, screw drivers, a drill and maybe a jig saw or circular saw to create some amazing modern furniture if you use the detailed directions you can purchase from the Plan Canvas shop on Etsy.

These affordable plans are great for creating your own furniture and doing so without great expense or great woodworking experience. At right is the Modern Coffee Table. You can get the plan for $6.99.

 

5. Sleek modern pillows

I’ve featured a lot of pillows and they’ve all been beautiful. But I have to admit, I’m just crazy about the ones I found at Mi Casa Bella.

You must be too because it was the fifth-most viewed Etsy pick.

 

My favorites

So those were the most-viewed Etsy picks of the year and I really like all of them. But here are some that are my favorites:

Zen Threads: Fun, eco-friendly pillows & more (see the Poe pillow at right)

Mint Home: Vibrant colors make furniture fun

Fabulous Mess: Fabulous vintage furnishings

Red Hot Pottery: Potter creates precious, pretty pieces

Cordial Kitten: Cat-erpillar pillows, kitty prints and more

Etsy pick: Great calendars to usher in 2011

On most Wednesdays, I write about an individual Etsy shop but this month, I’ve been featuring collections of products available at the online, handmade marketplace.

Because it’s too late to order for Christmas, I thought I’d focus today on the new year by seeing what types of calendars the crafty folks at Etsy are offering. I was not disappointed!

I love the little illustrated desk calendar at right from the Aliette shop.

It’s $20 and includes 12 illustrations printed on premium cardstock with a glossy finish. Each page is 8.27 inches by 3.74 inches. So cute!

I found so many more great options! Check these out:

Top row: 2011 Black and White Desktop Calendar, $15, AnCar Photography; 2011 Mod and Retro Desk Calendar, $13, Posh Girl Boutique; and Creative Inspiration - 2011 Printable Calendar, $10, Empaper.

Bottom row: 2011 Weekly Calendar--Original Bird Art, $18, Birdartist; Chalkboard Wall Calendar with Memo, Vinyl Wall Decal, $64, Simple Shapes; and 2011 Paris Poster Calendar, $22, Little Brown Pen.

Etsy pick: Great items for last-minute holiday decor

Once again, I just couldn’t pick one Etsy shop to feature so close to the holidays. So I thought I’d show you some wonderful handmade and vintage creations that you can still order for Christmas.

Check out the cute and personalized Cookies for Santa plate at right. It’s just $30 from Odd Frog Creations.

“The idea for this plate came to me while having dinner with a friend,” said Becky, the artist behind Odd Frog Creations.

“We were reminiscing about holiday traditions growing up,” she said. “It was then, I remembered leaving cookies for Santa along with a glass of milk. Mom would just pull any old kitchen plate out of the cupboard. How boring I thought and the idea of a personalized cookies for Santa plate was born!”

Here are some other nice Etsy items for Christmas:

Top row: Beet Red River Stone Gemstone Beads, set of 6 napkin rings, $27, Designs by Tracy Brigham; Santa's Sleigh Place Cards, set of 5, $7.50, Cuddle Creature; and Hip Holidays Quilted Table Runner, $34, Lil Tulip.

Bottom row: Vintage Christmas Holiday Coasters, $16, Cheltenham Road; Peace on Earth garland, $18, ArmyMOMOfTwins; and Hand Printed Linen Napkins (set of 4), $20, Handmade by Sima.

Etsy picks: Special ornaments for your tree

I love my Christmas ornaments. Most of them came from friends, a vacation or have some story that makes them special.

I purchased others because they were beautiful or sparkly and I knew they’d look great on the tree.

Do you need some ornaments that are a little more special? Look no further than Etsy!

Rather than focusing today on one particular Etsy shop, I thought I’d show you some fantastic ornaments I found in a variety of stores.

My favorite find is this set of of six faux mercury ornaments from the Vintage Merriment shop on Etsy. The set is $18.

“These paper macheʼ ornaments are painted with a mercury look and accented with burlap,” Vintage Merriment says. The set includes two stars, two crosses and two orbs.

I think they look fantastic and are so affordable. Plus, because they’re paper mache’, they’d be light and perfect for the branches of a real tree!

Here are some other great ornaments I found on Etsy:

Top row: Pair of Snowman Ornaments, $16, Handmade by Tammy; Dog Bone (Red) Christmas Ornament, $10, Brush Stroke Ornaments; and White house ornament, $32, Addicted to Mermaids.

Bottom row: Porcelain Acorn Ornament, $16, Shoshana Snow Ceramics; Mokume Gane Ornament, $15, Designs by Wesley; and Set of four Handcrafted Stained Glass Ornaments, $36, Shady Grove Studios.

I couldn’t stop with those. I had to show you even more. There are countless options! Check out these:

Etsy pick: Flea market finds turned fine treasures

Do you love the idea of hitting garage sales every weekend and then fixing up your favorite finds – but you lack the time or maybe the creativity?

That’s no problem because Mary Beth at Retro Pops on Etsy will take care of all that for you.

“I love going to thrift stores, flea markets, swap meets, tag sales, yard sales and garage sales,” Mary Beth says at her site. “I'm always finding cool stuff but I only have so much room in my house!”

So she paints up her cool purchases, tries them out in different vignettes and makes her pieces available to you for some pretty low prices!

The little turquoise mannequin at right is a great example. It’s just adorable and only $12!

“My style is unique and I hope I inspire people to look at things a little differently,” Mary Beth said.

I love her colors and the vignettes she puts together.

In some cases, you can buy the pieces separately. In in other cases, she sells you a set ready to plop right down on a shelf. Check out the grouping in the top middle photo in the collage below.

You get a green, pink and white frames along with this precious deer and the white tree. “Here is a beautiful collection that I've put together that I think would be perfect for a baby's room or a little girl's room!” Mary Beth says. The set is $30.

Also in the collage, top from left: Pink ceramic bunny, $8; Modern turquoise pedestal dish, $15.

Bottom row: Magenta butterflies, set of 3, $8; Turquoise and green candle holder set, $25; Red frame collection with black, white and aqua paper, $25

In all, Retro Pops has 74 items for sale and they’re all worth checking out.

And lest you think the Retro Pops’ entire color palette is show above, I thought I’d throw in this yellow framed black and white striped bird. It’s so sweet and I love the idea of setting on a bedside table or making it part of a larger collection of accessories.

Etsy pick: Napkin rings for your Thanksgiving table

I mentioned earlier this week that I’ve started thinking about my Thanksgiving table and so this week – rather than feature a specific Etsy store – I thought I’d feature some great napkin rings I found at various shops on the site.

This is just the kind of thing that is perfect to buy on Etsy.

Etsy artisans are incredibly creative and you can find something to match almost any table decor and color scheme. Formal, informal, whatever. Etsy has it!

Of course, I only saw a sampling of the Etsy offerings, but the retro napkin rings at right were my favorites.

These come from the Arzu Musa shop and are made of polymer clay with great colors for Thanksgiving. They’re $22 for four and are so cool!

Here are some other great napkin rings I found on Etsy:

Top row, from left: Oak Leaf Napkin Rings, $1.20 each, Timeless Paper, and Autumn Berry Napkin Rings With Napkins Set of 4, $10.50, Welcome’s by PJ.

Bottom row: Set of 6 wooden embellished napkin rings, $15, RiriCreations' shop, and OOAK Limited Edition Napkin Rings, $60 for six, Noni Bam

What do you use for napkin rings at Thanksgiving? And is it the same every year or do you try to mix it up?

Etsy shop: Fun towels, pillows & mustaches!

The Cyanide Stitches shop on Etsy has a thing about mustaches. You read that right – mustaches.

They are the signature element of the wonderful towels, pillows and other linens created by artist Amber. The mustaches aren’t on every piece but you can find them all throughout Amber’s wonderful store.

The hand towel at right is part of the My Mustached Friends collection and it’s – that’s right – an octopus with a mustache. So cute and only $10.

There are other friends with mustaches too – including a dinosaur, a deer and a bear.

How does Amber come up with these things?

”There is just something about the creative process that is like a drug to me,” she says in her Etsy profile. “And I'm addicted.”

As I said, not everything is about the mustache. Check out these other fun items:

Top row, from left: Anytown drawn city pillow, $26; Dino pals set of two towels, $20; Rediscovering electricity pillow, $26.

Bottom row, from left: Friendly reminder towels, $10; Antique typewriter tea towel, $8; Mighty Mustache embroidered tea towel, $10.

OK…so I did include a mustache above!

In all, there are 211 items for sale at Cyanide Stitches and all are cool.

But I had to end with this funny handlebar mustache embroidered bandana, which sells for $15 and is available in several colors.

“Just tie it on and go!” Amber says. “Makes a great Halloween costume, keeps your face warm in cold weather, blocks your flu germs from getting out, and it will even impress your grandma!”

Etsy pick: Fun pillows to spice up any sofa

I love interesting pillows, although you’d never know it by looking at the boring selection in my living room. I think it’s why I’m always looking for new options.

I found some cool ones at Pillow Happy at Etsy.

The pillows at right are among my favorites.

The tall grass pillow is $75. The so-succulent round pillow is $50. Don’t they look great together?

These great creations are made by Shellie, who said she went “pillow-happy” after making some slipcovers for her home.

“I hope you do too,” Shellie says on the site. She gives you lots of reasons to do so and I’ve picked some of the ones I like best to show you. I’m convinced you can find something perfect for your home!

I really like some of Shellie’s unusually shaped pillows, including the rose pillow above right. It’s $50.

I also love the hydrangea flower pillow for $50 and the pair of pear green pillows for $22, which are actually listed as bookends. The latter come unfilled.

“There is a convenient Velcro bottom for filling these with whatever you'd like: Popcorn, beans, rice, pebbles...even sand,” Shellie says.

But if you want them filled, Pillow Happy will do it for you – with popcorn – for $3 plus another $3 for shipping.

You can also get eggplants!

At the top left in the collage are buds and branches colorful pillows covers. The square one is $22.

Middle right is the modern fern pillow for $40 and below right is the fall tree pillow for $80. Don’t you love the detail on that fall tree design? I think it’s really beautiful.

Shellie is so creative!

Last I checked, Shellie had 37 items for sale, including the 16-inch diameter butterfly pillow at right, which is made from a vintage napkin! It’s $25.

Make sure you check out all the options at Pillow Happy and let me know which you pick!

Etsy pick: Shabby chic letters, hooks and more

I’ve always been a sucker for typography and so when I saw this cool @ sign made of distressed wood, I knew I had to feature the shop where I found it – Old New Again – as an Etsy pick.

The shop is operated by a husband-wife team in Green Bay.

“We love the vintage look, but with a pop of new,“ Rick & Liz say on their Etsy site. “Sort of ‘fresh vintage’ – the best of both worlds. Very cottage chic. We just love making great stuff.”

Like most of the products at Old New Again, the @ sign is handmade by Rick & Liz “from start to finish, no laser cuts.”

“We do it all the old-fashioned way,” the site says. But Old New Again has more than just typography:

Top row from left:Table organizer, $30; mail organizer with key hooks, $42; “cook” wood sign, $56

Bottom row: 36-inch wood shelf with silver hooks, $62; key hanger with vase, $24; Texas key hook, $36. Other states are available as well.

“Every piece we sell is sturdy, with much attention to detail,” the site says. “The design and finish are what sets our pieces apart. Rick's carpentry skills and Liz's art background work together so you get the most beautiful, well-made home goods around. Our motto is detail, detail, detail.”

I had to show you one more piece of typography. The “geek” sign above is $54. I think it would be perfect for my office!

Check out Old New Again and let me know which item is your favorite!