Your daily dose of pretty: Have a Ball earrings

I've been knitting since I was about eight years old. Although it took a bit of a back seat when I started my family 17 years ago I've recently found myself with renewed passion for woolcraft, so much so that a few months ago I also taught myself to crochet. From right handed instructions. I'm left handed, you know. Smug much? Hell yes!

Anyway, these earrings are a cute and subtle way to express your love for knitting:

The Have a Ball earrings are available from MimiJewels on Etsy for NZ$8.58 / US$7.00.

Your daily dose of pretty: Le Petite Fleur Earrings from Whimsy Fix

Whimsy Fix is another retailer we spotted at the Very Vintage Day Out yesterday. Well, in truth we didn't just spot them, we bought from them. Which obviously comes as no surprise.

These are not earrings we bought from them. But they are very cute and I want them:

According to the listing these are "10x14mm Pearlised Vintage Bead decorated with a Vintage BlueRose & nestled inside an Antique Bronze Lace setting - fixed with a dangle earring". They're also pretty.

The Le Petite Fleur Vintage Earrings are NZ$17.00 from Whimsy Fix.

Your daily dose of pretty: Giant Rosie Hair Bone Clip by Rosie Squish

16 Year Old Daughter and I went to the Very Vintage Day Out today. We even dressed the part, in fishnet tights and high heels and pencil skirts. On an unrelated note my feet hurt. But that's beside the point - it was a fabulous day of watching burlesque dancers and rockabilly singers, and browsing clothes and jewellery and trying very hard not to Buy All the Stuff. At which it has to be said we failed.

16 Year Old Daughter came home with one of these in purple:

Seriously, how awesome are those hair bones? I'm tempted to order a couple of the mini ones for myself!

The Giant Hair Bones are NZ$20 and the Mini Hair Bones are NZ$8 for two from Rosie Squish.

There were so many tempting pretties at the Very Vintage Day Out that there are several more blog posts' worth to share with you over the next few days!

Your daily dose of pretty: Shadow Circus Burlesque Fairy tote from HautTotes

I absolutely love the artwork on this tote bag:

Isn't that just gorgeous? The artwork is by Amy Brown, and the fabric is printed exclusively for HautTotes with images licenced fromt the artist. So you know you're not going to see this fabric used for anything other than HautTotes bags.

The Shadow Circus Burlesque Fairy tote is US$49.75 from HautTotes.

Your daily dose of pretty: Corset Belts by Red Curry Designs

Corset belts are brilliant. They look pretty and they do lovely things for your figure. What more could a girl want?

Red Curry Designs have some really pretty corset belts, like this one:

And it's reversible:

The corset belts by Red Curry Designs are US$54.99 each, plus they have a few on sale including this cutie for US$39.99.

Your daily dose of pretty: Crayon Rings by OhMyLuckyStar on Etsy

You know what's even better than pretty jewellery? Pretty jewellery that you can draw pictures with!

Yes folks, that really is jewellery made from crayons. How awesome is that?

Crayon rings from OhMyLuckyStar on Etsy come in sizes from kids to adults and would make perfect Christmas gifts if you're after something a little different. The 8 pack pictured above is US$40.00.

Your daily dose of pretty: Black & White Roses Earrings from Rubi's Art N'More on Etsy

I love the monochromatic drama of these handmade rose earrings:

Measuring approximately 3/4", the Black & White Rose Earrings are US$10.00 from Rubi's Art N'More on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: Victorian Framed Rose Hips Necklace from Fable and Fury

When I was little I thought rosehips and roses were two different plants. Mind you I also thought toadstools were actual toads' stools, so my gardening knowledge was hardly to be relied upon.

Now that I'm older and slightly more knowledgeable about gardening (only slightly, my dead plants outnumber the ones that have managed to stay alive), I appreciate rosehips because they're pretty. As is this necklace:

The Victorian Frame Rose Hips and Leaves silhouette necklace is made from silver satin stainless steel and is US$26.00 from FableAndFury on Etsy. It's also available in black or red stainless steel.

Your daily dose of pretty: Dark Jade Asian Style Floral Earrings by theshagbag on Etsy

I love the gorgeous embossed floral design on these earrings:

US$9.95 from theshagbag (oh how I would love to know the origins of that shop name!) on Etsy, where you can find a range of earrings and cuffs in different colours with Asian and floral inspired designs. I'll have one of each please!

Buy pretty, help Queensland

The relationship between New Zealand and Australia is a bit like the relationship between siblings: we call each other names, make jokes at each other's expense, and steal each other's toys (it's ok Australia, you can keep Russell Crowe); but when one of us is in trouble the other is immediately there to help. And goodness knows after the flooding in Queensland the Aussies could do with all the help we can spare.

One way you can do your bit is by heading over to Etsy and purchasing an item from AusDisasterRelief, a collective of Etsy sellers who have donated items from their own shops for sale. The proceeds from the sales will be donated to The Queensland Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal.

I've got my eye on these earrings:

this bracelet:

and these earrings:

Note: while the majority of sellers donating to AusDisasterRelief ship internationally not all do, so it pays to check before making your purchase.

Your daily dose of pretty: Spider Ceramic Necklace on Etsy

With Halloween coming up in a couple of days creepy spider jewellery seems appropriate. This particular piece of spider jewellery, however, is not in the slightest bit creepy:

Look at the little cutie, with his big googly eyes. Not even the most spider-phobic of you could possibly find that little guy creepy now, could you?

The totally non-creepy Spider Ceramic Necklace is US$10.00 from artisansagogo on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: Armwarmers from Zen and Coffee Designs on Etsy

15 Year Old Daughter has a wonderful individual sense of style that I really admire. She takes elements from subcultures like goth, punk, retro, gothic lolita and whatever else she fancies on the day, mixes them up and creates a look that is distinctively her. I wish I'd been that brave about my style when I was her age. Although, in hindsight one could argue that it takes a certain amount of bravery to wear neon socks, tightly permed hair and frosted blue eyeshadow. Cringe.

One of 15 Year Old Daughter's favourite items to add character to an outfit is a pair of fingerless gloves. So I'm pretty sure she's going to faint when I show her Zen and Coffee Designs on Etsy. And then once she's regained consciousness she's going to be hogging the computer and exclaiming "OMG Mum I want these ones. And those ones. And Mum LOOK! Can I have those? And those are so pretty! And I NEED those ones Mum!".

Actually, on second thoughts maybe I won't tell her.

I'm quite partial to these ones:

Deadly Nightshade Long Spat Style Armwarmers US$34.00

While I think these will be right up 15 Year Old Daughter's alley:

Marilyn My Bitterness Gothic Lolita Corset Laced Up Armwarmers US$28.00

Your daily dose of pretty: Caribbean Blue Cloisonne Earrings on Etsy

According to Wikipedia, cloisonne is "an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects, in recent centuries using vitreous enamel, and in older periods also inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials".

I love cloisonne, despite the fact that I have no idea how to pronounce it. I used to have a couple of pieces of cloisonne jewellery, and when people would ask about them I'd reply: "yes it's c... it's cl... it's clwah... it's pretty isn't it?".

The bright colours in these cloisonne earrings are beautiful:

The Caribbean Blue Cloisonne Earrings are US$16.00 from Mindielee on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: Dangle Ghost Porcelain Earrings on Etsy

Halloween is only a couple of weeks away, which means that Halloween themed items are showing up all over the place, and children are planning their scariest possible outfit.

The least scary outfit ever - especially when worn by a small child - has to be the white-sheet-with-eyeholes ghost. It's just too gosh-darned cute to be scary. And the more they wave their little arms around and make "woooooooooooooooooo" noises the cuter they are.

These earrings are a perfect example of the cuteness of this look:

See? No amount of arm waving and "wooooooo"-ing is going to stop me from wanting to tickle these wee dudes' tummies!

The Dangle Ghost Porcelain Earrings are US$12.00 from HolidayDesigns on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: Pre Columbian Figure Earrings on Etsy

I love the wee figures on these earrings:

Typically for me (because seriously if there was a gold medal for over-active imaginations I'd win it) I'm convinced these are totally Mystical Pre Columbian Figures who would exact some sort of Mystical Pre Columbian Hoodoo on anybody who wears these earrings.

I don't know exactly what Mystical Pre Columbian Hoodoo is, but I'm pretty sure it's painful and / or messy.

If you don't have as overactive an imagination as I, or you're brave (or stupid) enough to incur the wrath of Mystical Pre Columbian Hoodoo Exacting Figures, these are available from PutumayoDesign on Etsy.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Your daily dose of pretty: Teal Plume clutch bag on Etsy

Yep, I'm looking at bags again:

But this is a clutch bag, rather than a handbag. So that's different, right? Because I'd be able to fit even less of the Mountain of Stuff I Carry Around in it.

Dammit, as a justification that totally didn't work. Still, I love the art nouveau style of the fabric, maybe I can justify it based simply on its prettiness?

The Teal Plume silklined clutch bag is US$75.00 from redrubyrose on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: Keiko Secret Compartment ring on Etsy

Two words people: Secret. Compartment!

Wearing this I could pretend I was a femme fatale from a Poirot mystery. But shorter. And, umm, wobblier. With a Kiwi accent.

I'm pretty sure none of the Poirot femme fatales were short and wobbly with Kiwi accents...

Did I mention the secret compartment?

The Keiko Secret Compartment ring is US$16.00 from FleurAvenue on Etsy.

Your daily dose of pretty: Hen and Chicks Lasercut ring stack from LicketyCut jewellery

Hello my pretties, and apologies for being so frequently absent lately. My motivation has been rather low lately as my mind has been pondering the Really Big Questions, like "What is life all about really?", "What do I want to do with my life?" and "How many pairs of black shoes are too many?". The answers to those questions are (in order): "Shoes, d'uh!", "Buy shoes" and "Is this a trick question, there is no such thing as too many shoes".

So, with steely determination to be disciplined, dammit, I am back with a pretty for you. Which isn't actually shoes. Because I like to keep you on your toes.

LicketyCut (on Etsy) make gorgeous lasercut stackable ring sets like this Hen and Chicks one shown (which is US$12.00). There are several other sets available, including a ramen noodle set, a Star Wars set and a spouting whale set. I want to buy the spouting whale and hen and chicks sets, put them on together and let them have at it. It'll totally be like Jaws. But with a whale. And chickens. Cool.

Hey I've just realised, if you remade Jaws with a krill-eating whale you'd have to call it Baleen! Which is so not scary. Unless you're krill. In which case you're totally quaking in your boots.

Not that krill wear boots. Or watch movies.

Yeah.

Your daily dose of pretty: Emily shoulder bag from Etsy

You know, I'm pretty sure that at some time over the last few months I'd made mention of the fact that I wasn't a handbag person. That in spite of my obsession with pretty things (shoes, nail polish, shoes, dresses, shoes, makeup, shoes, lingerie, shoes, jewellery, did I mention shoes?) I'd never found myself cooing over a handbag.

And then I did a few posts about pretty handbags.

And guess what happened? Yeah. Turns out I now have a handbag obsession. I've even somehow managed to buy myself several. Which I've not yet used.

So here's a pretty handbag:

The Emily navy cord shoulder bag is US$75.00 by EmmaGordonLondon on Etsy. I want it. I'd never use it. It's rough being me some days, I tells ya!

Your daily dose of pretty: Roxy Tutu (I wanna be a fairy!)

Look at this gorgeous confection of frouffiness:

I'm such a sucker for tutus, as is 14 Year Old Daughter - who can get away with wearing them more than I can! Tutus are the reason I look forward to Halloween - I can dress up like a fairy to take a gaggle of neighbourhood kids trick-or-treating and not feel silly. Well ... maybe a little silly, but Halloween's all about the silly. And the sugar, lots of sugar.

The Roxy Tutu is US$40.00 from EverydayFairytale on Etsy, and they make them in children's, adults' and pets' sizes.