Grande Poupée LITTLE CIRCUS	Bubbles Doll BLABLA KIDS	Robot with Headphones Plush SHUUSEI
Fergie Plush Toy POST DESIGNER	Borsten Thorsten the Pig LITTLE GREEN ANGELS	It’s Me Nature Angel SEASONS NATURAL TOYS

I’m always on the lookout for new soaps to try such as this Black Raspberry Vanilla soap from FlameWorks. The other scents that look equally nice to me: Almond, Milk and Honey, Guavaberry and Coconut Lime Verbana. Their premium, long-lasting soaps are handmade with the highest quality oils and luxury butters. It appears that all their soaps are vegan, so you can feel good knowing they are cruelty free. They have a pomegranate lip balm — oh, I really must try that! They’re also in clear containers which I love because then you don’t have to wonder how much is left in the tube. Definitely consider FlameWorks bookmarked for one of my many future bath product purchases.

Honestly, these are about the prettiest pendant necklaces I have ever seen! These modern necklaces from Amy Bengtson are handmade using carved rosewood, bloodwood or maple. Some feature inlaid mother of pearl and can be found with cute little birds on them as part of a collaboration with Amy Ruppel. I love the sleekness and geometric patterns of these necklaces as well as how others have a nice constrasting dark and light elements to them. There’s also a nice selection of earrings available too.

I think you’ll be smitten with the artwork of Kurt Halsey. What’s better than art itself for a trend setter such as yourself? Wearable art, no, I’m not talking about t-shirts here, but rather this cute messenger bag to rest on those shoulders of yours. These bags are embroidered on canvas, feature antiqued brass hardware, have a ton of storage pockets, an adjustable strap, a magnetic closure, take almost an hour of stitching to make and are priced just right. You’ll also find some postcards and buttons on his site too. Kurt Halsey will have an exhibition at the Art Star Galley in Philadelphia from June 7th through July 13th. He will be making an appearance on opening day, if you would like the chance to meet the man behind this work.

Brooke from The Pear Project is sponsoring our latest giveaway! This giveaway features a beautiful set of eight letterpress coasters in the Branches Design made by Krista Stout of Minneapolis. Each coaster is 3.5 inches, are sturdy enough to stand up to several uses and is valued at $9. I just love these coasters and wish I could enter the giveaway! The Pear Project is an online shop based out of North Carolina that collaborates with several independent designers to bring you some of the best in quality handcrafted goods. You will find a wide range of goods such as the Black Apple Purse, Fork Love Postcards, Tree Vinyl Wall Art, Pair of Hot Dogs Art and the Silkscreened Deco Shirt. So many choices! Take a moment to check out the artisan goods for everyday life at The Pear Project. If you would be interested in having your handmade products become a part of their shop, be certain to check out their consignment terms to answer any questions you might have.

HOW TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY:
• Post a comment here indicating which one item The Pear Project you love the most. Otherwise, your entry will be removed.
• Make sure you enter your e-mail address correctly in case you win.
• Duplicate entries will be removed. One entry per person please.
• Giveaway ends on Saturday, May 10th at midnight CST.
• Winners will be announced the following day and a special DOUBLE giveaway will begin. Good Luck!
• To find out about our giveaways, sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Please join me in congratulating Susan in winning our fun giveaway featuring a print of her choice from Makeshift Modern! #71 was picked using a random number generator.

Susan Chester April 28th, 2008 at 7:19 am (71)
The Punk Rock Ducks is super cute.

Thanks so much to Julie for sponsoring this giveaway for our readers! Susan is not the only one who was a fan of the Punk Rock Ducks and the Pink Fireworks was pretty popular too. Our next giveaway will start later this morning.

If I had my own outdoor space… Key word being IF because we all know I don’t! I would totally get one of these Seasonal Metal Lanterns from notNeutral. I just love the way the light peeks through the intricate pinholes portraying a beautiful pattern. It’s a great way to have a romantic candlelight dinner outdoors or to illuminate your walkway while entertaining. The lanterns are available in three different sizes and come equipped with the candles. I might just have to pick up these Brown Links Vases instead. Even though, I don’t have a garden, I can still try to bring a little outdoors indoors.

Mmm! Look at all these tasty treats! Chocolate covered pretzel rods, handmade smores, chocolate covered fortune cookies, caramel popcorn and chocolate covered graham crackers! Their products from Moi Chocolates range from home style confections to professionally made chocolates. All their goodies are handmade and prepared in small batches using the finest ingredients to ensure the best quality possible. Which one of these from Moi Chocolates are you craving? Maybe it’s the handmade marshamallows? With finals next week, I definitely deserve a sweet treat! How about you? I know my mom would be all into the caramel corn.

Don’t forget to visit our Mother’s Day gift guide! It’s not too late to order online for your mom’s gifts. Click on the banner at the top of this page to see what great indie gifts are featured!

Dr. Give Me The News Handbag BELLA AND LINA	Marlo Handbag QUEEN PUFF PUFF	Soft Blue Cameo Bag BECKY OH
Ginger Cherry Blossom Purse MOXIE AND OLIVER	Olive Wooden Handbag SACACLAQUES	Deep Forest Tote JMACC

WAYS TO SAVE: Nicole at Queen Puff Puff is offering a 20% off discount to our readers. Enter coupon INDIE20 at checkout to redeem! How sweet!

I really want to switch to a more eco-friendly cat litter, so this really is an experiment. Last time that I tried to switch their litter, the cats basically freaked out. No kidding, Haley cried outside the litterbox for about two hours before she would even go in it for the first time. I am going to try to slowly convert them over to Swheat which is a natural wheat litter that is both scoopable and flushable! The plan is to secretly add a little bit of this new litter to their existing litter until it is their only litter. I still have to work out the details of what pace I need to go at, so they won’t notice or won’t mind. The importance of switching is because clay litter isn’t the best thing for kitties because it can get in their paws where they can ingest it while they’re cleaning themselves. This also doesn’t have harmful chemicals, fragrances or create those clay dust clouds. This litter doesn’t have to sit in landfills and you don’t even need to use a plastic bag to dispose of it. It’s biodegradable, compostable and made from wheat grown in the Great Plains. Swheat says that two million tons of cat litter ends up in municipal solid waste landfills! I think if my kitties could comprehend what switching litter can do for their health and the environment, they would be purring with delight!