I was running errands yesterday, hurrying, filling my cart, when all of a sudden I smelled the familiar scent of cinnamon. Cinnamon-scented pine cones. I love those things and I grab a bag every year. They make my whole home smell like the holidays.
You can make them yourself. Purchase or collect about 2 pounds of pine cones. The cones are part of a visual display, so pick pretty ones. The cones that are open give you more area to cover with scent, so keep that in mind, as well.
Cinnamon Scented Pine Cones
2 lbs pine cones
4 ounces cinnamon scented essential oil
1 …read more

I received some samples of yummy-sounding natural sugar scrubs from a company called Simple Sugars.  The multiple flavors like Pomegranate and Coconut came in a beautiful package with great graphics and containers.  I started to flip through the background information about the company to find out how these products were made and I did a complete double take at the first paragraph…the founder is how old?  Lani Lazzari, the creator of Simple Sugars’ all-natural handmade facial, body, and foot scrubs started the company when she was eleven years old!  Incredible!

I love supporting small local companies that provide handmade products with …read more

What do you think of this unique “babushka” style hat by Tokyo designer Valeur?  Again, I am super excited about discovering transformer styles that offer multiple uses for one piece.  This ultra soft handmade lacy knit triangular piece wraps beautifully around the head or can be worn around the neck as a short knit stole.  The “babushka” style is very unique and offers a new idea about modern cold weather hats.
Valeur Lunachi Babushka in Grey $129 at La Garconne
Valeur is a designer from Tokyo who creates soft and beautiful handmade hats with unique designs that incorporate ideas of warmth, personal …read more

Piper and Paisley’s owner, Jen, designs and handcrafts each adorable hat at her store herself!  She started this special hat line to fill her desire for feminine and comfortable hats that she could envision but not find in stores.  If you can’t find it, make it!  Now she designs patterns and picks fabrics to create exactly what she wants.  Her designs are on sale at Etsy online or at the local Saturday Market in Missoula.
I love the short-brimmed styles that fit close and low and look like a cross between a cloche and a newsboy.  Shes uses vintage-looking wood buttons …read more

Jennifer Behr is one of the genius hair accessories designers who is responsible for the gorgeous pieces that Blair Waldorf wears on Gossip Girl.  She has really re-invented the headband by creating unique pieces that look sophisticated and stylish.
I would love to post about Jennifer Behr’s absolutely beautiful handmade headbands everyday, but at around $200 per piece I realize that unless you have the wealth of a character on Gossip Girl, you probably won’t be stocking up on these.  These hair accessories are definitely designed to be paired with elegant outfits for special occasions.
Solid Jet Black Padded Headband $220
My favorite …read more

I found these whimsical statement hair pieces that are handmade in Florence.  Hair accessories are an extremely popular statement piece right now because they are affordable and expressive.  These round pieces are wrapped in grosgrain ribbon and adorned with smooth buttons.  They remind me of Japanese fans!
There are a variety of different pieces to choose from at L’ape zoppa’s store on Etsy.  You can choose between different sizes and colors.  Here are some of my favorites:

o11 Hair Comb $24
This is probably one of the smallest pieces, although it still makes a statement with a unique design and bright turqoise, purple, …read more

Sometimes you just need the cutest hairpin to get a strand of bangs out of your eyes or just to add a little character when you’re wearing your hair down.  I love tiny decorated bobby pins for sweeping just a bit of hair to the side.
I found these woodland themed handmade hairpins at The Sparrow’s Nest on Etsy.
Bronzed Robin’s Bird Nest Hair Pins $19.50
How beautiful is this pair of a bronzed bird and nest with lovely turquoise eggs?  You have to read the description from the artist about handcrafting each piece…it truly adds beauty to the piece.
Antiqued Ivory Acorn Pins …read more

I just found the most beautiful headbands from BeSomethingNew on Etsy.  All of the headbands are handmade with a delicate, antique, and feminine feel.  Most of the headbands use materials like lace, silk flowers, beads, and pearls and some have unique pieces like vintage cameos, netting, glass beads, and metal charms.
There are so many headband designers out there, but these pieces truly stand out as unique and beautiful to me.  They have a muted color palette and sophisticated style.  I think these headbands would be the perfect accessory to wear to a summer wedding.  You could wear one of these …read more

Wedding invitations are one of those things that everyone you know has an opinion on, from what color the envelope is to how they are worded and whether there is tissue in between. There are a lot of inexpensive print shops out there who will get you pounds of invites overnight, but there aren’t that many places still making invitations by hand. Here are a few places you can find beautiful handcrafted invitations that won’t break the bank.
These beautiful decoupage invitations are by Vicky Riley Weddings, and they are pretty ornate as invitations go. The decoupage flowers give them a …read more

Handmade bath and skin care wonder company, Melt, has rebranded and relaunched with a new look…and best of all no more parabens. Since 2001, the company has been proudly made in Colorado with natural ingredients and lots of love.
So what’s inside each bottle?
The daily moisturizer contains:
Ingredients: water, prunus amygdalus dulcis (sweet almond) oil, santalum album (sandalwood) wood extract, phellodendron amurense bark extract, hordeum distichon (barley) extract, sorbitan oleate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, caffeine extract, tocopheryl acetate, retinyl palmitate, squalane, beeswax, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, carbomer, disodium
I’m also excited to see all the new bath & body goodies they will be …read more