catching up with the inbox

{ vintage wood mailbox from vintagevertigo }

hello all -- here are some highlights to get us caught up from my hiatus:

new+clever:

• digby & iona's stump ring, with custom initials carved inside a heart. bonus reason for posting: the elaborate stop-motion video. strange.
  
  
• evapaul invitations offers a new mini-rsvp as an eco- and budget-friendly option.
  
  
• check out bittersweets NY's unusual wedding and bridal party jewelry. the twig line is more delicate/traditional... and then there's earthworms and vampire bites, and they're all still pretty.
  
  
• quirky yet compelling bridesmaid dresses at quail. site is fresh, skirts are teeny, but you can have them custom-made. go michelle.
  
  
• redrubyrose.etsy.com has a line of leather and suede clutches, great for winter weddings.
  

discounts:

• socal's peach press letterpress is offering 10% off purchases now through feb. 3 to celebrate their new online store.
  
  
• alyssa ettinger: 25% discount to brides-to-be for her porcelain bottles and glowy lanterns -- love them: alyssaettinger.etsy.com
  
  

contests:

• kelly at capture photography in portland OR is offering a free wedding photo contest, more info at her blog camerasandlight.com (PDF download)
  
  
• i'm sorry i missed it on your behalf, but i just came across a contest jauntsetter.com wrote me about back in december, turns out it was won by a friend and colleague -- it is a small world. see the slideshow, it's a truly lovely wedding, and please check out the site for future travel plans.
  
  
• and of course, the microsoft office contest here goes through next tuesday. huge thanks to all who have entered so far!
  

more as i get through the backlog -- thank you all for your patience!
jen

wedding DIY contest, updates, et cetera

{ vanessa's pick: jacky earrings by loellamedina }

yesterday's etsy finds email, "my american gothic wedding", expands on vanessa + mickey's wedding posted last week, with vanessa delving into all the etsy details -- it is seriously wonderful. great ideas, and lots of etsy sellers to check out!

also, may be old news since i've been away but just in case, etsy and marthastewartweddings.com are running a great DIY wedding photo contest where you can submit photos of your wedding crafts. see the site to enter through september 1, 2009, or get more info and rules -- MSW is featuring the best photos online, and your craft might just get featured on martha's show.

also, check out the slideshow with marthastewartwedding.com's favorite etsy crafters. so much etsy love! here are links to a few also featured on etsy wedding: 5eizen, blanca monros gomez, the english dept. and enjibeck.

i just so happened across this great-sounding contest at hiphostess -- win four beautiful kiwi green pashmina shawls, enter by july 31.

finally, my disclaimer du jour: the day job is once again trying to swallow me, so please be patient with posting this week and next.

just for fun, here are some of the etsy crafters picked by marthastewartweddings.com:



{each photo links to its shop}

quick news, friends, and links

ok! it has been a while. forgive my lackluster blogging, have been beset this week by the economic doldrums. that and watchmen. took me a while to shake that off. we must move forward with our lives!

herewith, a quick few things that have come across the etsywedding transom:

first, i now twitter! or tweet. or something. am tweetarded.
to watch me fumble with social technology etiquette in real time, you can follow at twitter.com/etsywedding.

second, i'm not usually a wedding event-goer, since i'm, er... not planning a wedding, i just do this... for... fun? anyway! here's an event that might interest you NY brides, and i mention because i *heart* New York magazine (and all magazines. in this economy, in my line of work, i'm rooting for everyone.)

enough with the self-interrupting. the magazine is hosting an NYC bridal event april 1, to dovetail with their summer 2009 weddings issue (on newsstands march 24). event info is here: nymag.com/weddingsevent/.

am working on a couple of potential features for the great etsy herself (hooray!) and will let you know if i manage to actually finish one and get it posted.

am *also* working on putting together a giveaway or two. giveaways make people happy! if you would like your work or etsy store to be considered, pop me a suggestion at etsywedding (at) gmail.

speaking of giveaway, etsywedding reader tart deco is making one lucky offbeat bride a custom petit veil -- see her non-traditional headgear and info on how to enter at tartdeco.blogspot.com

finally, have been corresponding with other blogs and would like your feedback -- my plan is to have some guest posts from other favorite bloggers with *their* etsy picks (my first victim guest will [hopefully!] be meg of apracticalwedding.com, who is btw just as awesome as you'd expect from her blog). who else would you like to see put together a sampler, and i will see if i can stalk them into submission?

best of the blogs and other love

catching up on press and blog love from my time away...

first, the day my nephew was born (i was distracted!) we were featured in "Best of the Blogs: Editor's Picks" over at the martha stewart show (!!!!) -- selected by darcy miller, their editorial director of weddings. holy moly. that is just *so* so lovely. am tickled that i just now came across this. nice timing on my hiatus... bad blogger!

we also rated a mention (do you like how the blog is now a royal "we"*?) in darcy's the bride's guide blog, also on marthastewart.com, hooray! we're listed among a great group of wedding blogs, check out the list for some perennial favorites and for something new...

here's a quick smattering of other love, randomly selected -- thanks so much to all of you for reading!

aeiou*design's little black wedding book
vintage glam weddings
modern romance
lilly lynn events
intimateweddings.com
prettyprettypaper
doobleh-vay
12kwedding
hip hostess


*regarding the royal we -- i just blog here! the real work is done by all the artists, designers, crafters, photographers, printmakers...

figsandginger: metalsmithed jewelry

sterling bird on a wire necklace

another sentimental post: not only does rhonda of figs and ginger have talent in spades, she also has what sounds like a ridiculously fun marriage to musician elijah -- each has their own etsy store, a shared etsy store, and www.shareanumbrella.com, where they donate 10% of proceeds to charity.

that's the "for better" -- the for worse part is elijah is going in this month for a kidney transplant. was just minding my own business, shopping along, and came across the evidence of a bright young marriage struggling with a tough time, and it really struck me -- so i thought a great gift for a bride-to-be would be rhonda's heirloom-quality bird on a wire necklace. for me, the precarious balance speaks to the immense fragility and immense strength of happiness, the work it takes to find and keep love, and the fleeting moments we share and should hold on to. making myself tear up a little.

the best of wishes and good health to rhonda and elijah! more at figsandginger.etsy.com, eliandra.etsy.com, and elijahwyman.etsy.com