I skipped Etsy Take Five Tuesday this week intentionally — I want to share the decor8 gift guide instead that I created from the heart, filled with handmade finds on Etsy to fill your shopping cart with… Today we will enjoy several shops with many lovely things that I’ve carefully selected. Some of these sellers are ones that I’ve featured before, others not, but regardless you are sure to find some pretty things. I hope that you enjoy my selection, this took hours to pull together so if you like this round up please let me know so I can feel motivated to invest the time in pulling together more shopping round ups in 2010. :)

1. Be Still Shop mosaic linen cushion cover $56, 2. Sandra Suy Flora print $35, 3. Segment earrings by Lila Ruby King $18, 4. Pretty Little Thieves Not Quite Sure print $15, 5. My Wire Empire Houndstooth Chair print $12, 6. Ice Cream original pen drawing by The State of Things $120 and 7. Maramiki kitchen towels set of 3 $45.

1. Lizzy Stewart Russian card $3, 2. Shelly Klein pug pillow $98, 3. Stockton veggie print $12, 4. Septembear Together print $15, 5. Me Plus Molly petite purse $27, 6. Crafty Folk Beatrix brooch $35, 7. Wooden deer brooch by Enna $15 and 8. Irena Sophia Girl with a Fan print $20.

1. Sycamore Street Press La vie en rose letterpress print $30, 2. Amy Blackwell Portrait of a Badger print $18, 3. Slightly Grumpy original watercolor painting by Poppo Portraits $50 and 4. Little Love Blue mushroom $15.

1. Love Petit Zakka Japan stripes tape $15, 2. mud puppy vase $26, 3. Bec Winnel Statue of Eve print $25, 4. Oh Hello Friend hair pins $5, 5. Sooooound Motherhood print $30, 6. The Paper Apartment We Grew Together print $36, 7. Wren Handmade crochet necklace $65, 8. White Square teacup brooch $10, 9. wiyomu doily necklace $42 and 10. Naomi Murrell love necklace $40.

1. Paper Zoo Designs Doe print $28, 2. Vintage Jane green/blue stool $22, 3. Vlas Store my dreams journal $18, 4. Gemma Bear cat mart print $12, 5. Joanna Rutter little vixen fox necklace $80, 6. Under The Stairs Studio 3-D folding card $4, 7. Charmaine Olivia carnival print $20, 8. Tuesday Morning Love Is Spoke Here print $20, 9. Wren Handmade fabric flower hair clips $10 and 10. Pepperminte Bobby print $20.

1. Sarah Lucretia print $13, 2. Dozi 2010 pocket planners $11.50, 3. Miss Natalie apple box with lid $30, 4. Little Black Rabbit clutch $65, 5. Spoons I print by Amy Karol $18 and 6. The Vamoose pompom necklace $62.

Bonus item not shown: Vintage truck toy box from Ethanollie $49. Darling!

What are your favorites?

(images linked to their sources above)

It’s Etsy Take Five Tuesday time! Are you ready to see what’s on the radar this week? Lots of crafty gorgeousness, that’s what. I’ve even thrown in some fancy leggings and some chubby birds. :) Enjoy!

Pulsatilla has a fine selection of gorgeous prints inspired by some of her favorite animals set against modern patterns.

I’ve shared Miss Dottie Angel with you before but it’s been awhile, and you may not have been a decor8 reader when I last talked about her handmade wares so here you go… meet Dottie Angel and her retrofabulousness.

I have this real obsession with tights and leggings lately… especially patterned ones with pretty shoes and so when I was looking for some over on Etsy I was surprised to find Norwegian Wood — such lovely leggings + things! And by the way, aren’t her black heels fierce?

Oh my darling, oh my darling, oh my Darling Clementine! You’re not lost or gone forever, such pretty papers, Clementine!

Step right up folks! Pick a bird, any bird, and Ashley Anna Brown will custom make it for you! I love this idea… she invites you to look at her Flickr stream to get an idea of the bird colors and details that she has created in the past… Tweet!

(images linked to their sources above)

I was trying to figure out a theme for this weeks take five column but honestly nothing came to mind. Brick wall. So I just started clicking on images and saving them. Only after I opened the folder later did I see a definite theme surface –  in color choice. Funny how this happens, right? Which further leads me to believe that good things truly do come when not forced. Sometimes you simply can’t allow your mind to take the wheel. Just sit back, explore, expect nothing… and often this leads to the greatest things in life. Of course, planning is good and I’m not encouraging irresponsibility but when it comes to creative things I find that when I don’t try to force ideas, concepts, words, etc. I usually have greater success and see a more authentic vision. Do you find this to? More on that after these Etsy finds so stay with me…. this week I’m featuring 5 sellers + a bonus find!

First up we have the charming illustrations of artist Ana Raimundo of Fric de Mentol in sunny Portugal.

Next, brilliant finger puppets from London-based paper artist Flor Panichelli of Pelpa, which means “paper” in Lunfardo, the slang of Buenos Aires. I adore these and can easily see someone become a collector.

Now let us consider some darling paper garlands, perfect for wrapping around a present or displaying on a wall. These are handmade from found papers by linea in Hartford, CT.

Ready for a 4th? Sure you are. What about these lovely and folksy papier mache decorative objects from North Carolina-based talent Middleburg Folk Art Studio?

And almost last on today’s list is Jenny N. Design from Austin, Texas who creates the most gorgeous handbags and manbags, love these and the man candy model isn’t all that bad either. :) LOL.

And here is the a bonus 6th seller, Amy Blackwell who I’ve featured before but she has some terrific new prints that may make you swoon. Yay to foxes and cats and ships a sailing!

Okay so back to my earlier words about letting go and allowing creativity to flow. I once had a close family member suffer and struggle with alcoholism. I would attend AA meetings to help me to make sense of it all, I didn’t know how to handle someone else’s battle but with alcoholism you have to learn because their disease becomes your battle too. I remember, “Let Go and Let God” very, very clearly because the group leader said this weekly with such conviction and everyone would nod and usually offer up some experience to serve as confirmation of that statement.

Some in the group were agnostic, others atheists, and still others from both eastern and western religions so the idea of what “God” meant was different to each individual. But the point was clear to me… to simply let go of what you cannot control. I don’t think that you can always control artistic expression and creativity, but in many examples I can think of in the workplace where you are constantly asked to do so. And it can be frustrating right? Pretend for a moment that you are a professional photographer hired by a vodka company to shoot a martini ad. You need to shoot the bottle against a graphite background and you must do so perfectly. Of course, your work is flawless since you are a pro, but it may be more vision than your own. Often your personal portfolio is much more dynamic and a true example of who you are as an artist. When clients are involved, you cannot always let go of the wheel, you must drive it until the project is complete and your client is happy. In your spare time you are out shooting weddings because wedding photographer gives you more creative freedom and this fuels your passion further for photography. If you had to shoot martini ads all day, you just may die of boredom. Balance is how a creative mind handles their business. There is an outlet to plug into where creative freedom is allowed, and this keeps the passion for photography fueled.

In some cases when a client is not involved and you are simply producing something for your customers or are given a writing assignment that allows you a lot of freedom, it’s a good idea to do what comes naturally, not forced, as down the road this will lead to work that is your own, enjoyable, and not driven by money or something that won’t motivate you long term.

I hope I’m making sense. I’m making sense in my own head but often trying to convey these thoughts through words is quite a challenge.

So! I was sitting in a cafe recently noticing the massive cafe culture here in Germany – people love to go out and eat + drink. Places are full nearly every night of the week. It’s common in my city. I told the person with whom I was dining that if anyone wanted to make a ton of money in Hannover and become quite successful here, they should open a cafe, a fabulous restaurant, a cupcake bakery, a really hip lounge… this city loves to eat! And so I thought that coming from a family of small business owners (my parents once owned two restaurants), that perhaps I should be the one to open a cupcake bakery or some type of amazingly unusual eatery here. It’s a city with many international guests who come for the large trade shows held monthly, so there is no shortage of businessman with credit cards to pay for good meals. Well this friend knows me so well and said, “Holly… you have to have more passion for the food industry then you currently do to enjoy that type of business — money isn’t going to be motivator enough for you”. And you know what? This couldn’t be more true.

Money itself does not motivate me but often it is what money can give me  — travel and the enjoyment of certain things in my life that DO motivate and inspire me. Money in this scenario (restaurant ownership) would take away the travel and the other things that do motivate me so I’d have to LOVE the food industry to make up for the things I would leave behind (free time, opportunity to jump on a train whenever, etc.). I thought long and hard about this and realized that I still need to pursue my dreams to someday open a shop. And so again the point of how essential passion is and how it needs to be the core foundation in whatever we do was driven home. And passion cannot be forced. A natural drive is either there or it is not there. Interesting to ponder, isn’t it?

Sometimes you simply cannot allow yourself to force something, whether it be your next career or your current new product idea, often the most organic “of the heart” things are those that bring you the utmost success. You win, your wallet wins, your heart wins, your customers win. If you force something to work out, often you’re drained, your wallet is fat, your heart feels like it may burst from stress, and your customers may be happy for a short while but if they sense you’re not happy, you may ultimately lose them. People are attracted to those who have a natural passion for their life and the things that they are doing. Right? If Oprah wasn’t passionate, would you tune in? If Jamie wasn’t in love with food would you watch? If Nigella didn’t lick every single finger would you be as interested? Forcing a square peg into a round hole is wasting ones time in an area where there is not natural fit, and it’s deflating and demotivating with often unsuccessful results. That is what I’m learning currently like never before. Living here is teaching me the value in licking every finger with passion, and slurping up every bit of gravy with the thickest cut homemade bread possible. I am learning that the best things in life come organically and not to force fit a single thing in life. If it is meant to work, it will work. If not, it won’t. Move on. Let go.

So! That was my little essay for the day. Ha ha! I’m writing a lot more on my blog lately and I hope you don’t mind… I’ve had a lot of a-ha! moments since relocating and there is freedom and pleasure in sharing them with you as I go along. Maybe you will take away a tiny something in my words from time-to-time. If not my words, then my finds…

(images: linked to their sources above)