I'm dashing out, so I need to post today's Etsy Take Five Tuesday rather quickly. But first, are you doing well today? I hope so. I've been trying to coordinate a bunch of things and have a lot on my plate right now but I'm happy to report that all is well and though I've still not found a suitable dwelling in which to "settle" into, I'm still working on it! House hunting, or in this case, apartment hunting, is super draining so one thing I've been trying to do is to not get into a pattern of negative thinking although it's hard -- but I'm keeping the faith! My goal is to find a place and move by August or September, so let's see what happens. And when I do, I'll be sure to show and tell... Okay so that's my housing update since lots of you are wondering (thank you for even caring!). Okay... let's look at Etsy for a moment and some of the great sellers over there... want to join me?

Fox & Clover in Seattle has some truly beautiful glass plates, bowls and jewelry. Sabrina paints onto glass with glass enamels and when she heats these babies up her paintings fuse permanently onto the glass and never scratch or fade (her words not mine, I have no idea how this process works). She says that she learned this traditional glass painting technique in France and after seeing her photos I'm convinced that Sabrina has a steady hand and mad, mad skillz with a paintbrush.

I know that about half of you will start to squirm in your seats on this one, but Bug Under Glass is namely that, real (dead) bugs framed for your viewing pleasure. Hey, some people think it's creepy, I call it fabulous. I've been wanting a vintage blue morpho butterfly in a gold round frame for ages but can NEVER find one in a round frame -- always square, square, square! I guess I could transfer one into a round frame, but it's equally hard to find a round frame that is deep enough to accommodate a butterfly. Oh the dilemma! Oh the stress! But Bug Under Glass is fab so if you're scouting for creepy crawlies check this shop out.

Oh and if you don't understand why I want a vintage blue morpho butterfly in a round gold frame, perhaps this tear sheet from a Scandinavian magazine will convince you. See, I bet you didn't care when I said how great a butterfly in a round frame would look, but then I shared with you how the Swedes do it and you're all about the butterfly now aren't ya? Ha! I found it ages ago and think this photo is truly gorgeous and the butterfly makes it in my opinion. (photo by petra bindel)

Bonbi Forest is UK artist Lee May Foster who studied fine art painting at the University of Brighton and she screenprints paper goods, accessories, t-shirts and then she also works on her paintings that often become cards and prints. Her studio is a barn at her parents' farm so obviously nature has a strong influence on her body of work. Pretty, don't you think?

Sweet Petula is both an etsy shop and retail storefront in Seattle that seems to have a pretty loyal following given their volume of sales on Etsy! If you like to take baths and smell good (he he) why not grab yourself a few bars of soap -- I mean, can you really have too many bars of nicely packaged soap? Made from vegetable oils, herbal ingredients, pure aromatherapy essential oils and botanical extracts you really don't need to run around stinky. And check this out, the Bonjour Monsieur shea butter soap smells like black tea, tobacco, cedar, lemon, bay and clover. Doesn't that sound delish, like the hottest man smells all rolled into a single bar of sudsy heaven?

Let's add some bright color and whimsy into the mix today with Abigail Brown, whom I've talked about before but since she has some new things in her shop I thought you may need a reminder! With soft wall art and pretty greetings cards, why not take a peek?

Bonus shop: (because I love ya!)
Two Art Directors and a Photographer may be a real mouth full for a shop name, but what a curious selection they have. About this store, "We are a crazy group of art directors/stylists/photographers/creatives/home interior junkies that can't shut it off. So, on the weekends we are scouring warehouses, estate sales and just about anywhere for the coolest finds. We sell only the things we love, so you will find a well-edited selection on our site. " Definitely well-edited, there are some dazzling finds in this eclectic store.

(images linked to their sources above)