craftiness :: pretty teacup candles

Aren't these wonderful? With very little effort you can take those pretty china cups and saucers that you have hidden away in your cupboards and never use and turn them into something functional and pretty. Check out the easy as pie directions on making these sweet teacup candles over at Design Sponge. They shouldn't take more than a few minutes to whip up and use very few ingredients. I think that these would make a great hostess gift as well as a thoughtful gift for the shabby chic lover on your list. And while you're at it, make a couple for yourself too ;) They're JUST COOL!

craftiness :: it starts today!

Hey people! Today starts a new JUST COOL DESIGN section on my blog called CRAFTINESS, (another great reason to subscribe to my feed) . I'll be posting some very cool DIY craft projects I have found, that will make your home stylish as well as make thoughtful gifts for giving. Great timing, huh? And just in time for Christmas. I love handmade gifts and I wouldn't mind getting some of these this Holiday season. Type the word "craftiness" into the search box at the right or just go the category "craft" for more fabulous DIY's.

Oh and if you have any hip and crafty projects you'd like to share, email me and I will post them , with credit to you, your blog, your grandmother - whatever.

shopping :: great gifts from a cool shop

I found some cool gift items for the cook in your life over at Merchant 4 for under $50.00! This shop has some beautifully functional kitchen accessories that look great in the kitchen, add a modern twist and make whipping up a meal fun too. I love the little "hand soaps" too - won't they be a surprise in the guest bathroom! ;)

Acacia Wood Measuring Spoons

This gorgeous measuring spoon set from ChaBaTree is the perfect gift for that special someone who loves to cook. Using both metric and imperial measurements, these acacia (monkey pod wood) spoons are also easy to maintain by cleaning in warm soapy water. $24.00

Marinetopia Wood Cake Stand

This striking Acacia wood cake stand is a unique display for your baking creations. Mid-century modern lovers will appreciate the lines of this piece. Make your treats the center of attention! $50.00

Hand Soap Pairs

Our favorite artist, Marie Gardeski, is at it again with her new Hand Soap Pair. These whimsical soaps are the size of a bar of soap and created with goats milk glycerin. Available in three shades. We've still got her Hand Soap sets, which contain 10-12 mini-hands per bag..both adorable! $21.00

Honey I'm Home Magnetic Key Catcher

Designer, Arik Levy always makes us smile. His Honey, I'm Home magnetic key 'catcher' simply fastens to the wall next to your door so you'll never lose your keys again. No gift is better than a gift that improves your peace of mind! $39.00

Merchant 4 is JUST COOL!

shopping :: savings this weekend

Wow! I was just checking out the Sears store online and noticed they are having a super sale that runs this Veterans Day weekend, November 9th through November 11th. Here's the wow part. Sears is taking 60% off on all outerwear and sweaters for the whole family. So I'm getting my list together because Libby needs a new jacket and a few sweaters (I saw this cute hoodie that I think she will love), Rebecca is always needing a few sweaters to weather the cold in and of course don't forget about moi! Maybe I'll pick up a few sweaters too (I like that classic looking red one on the right).

Years ago I rarely shopped at Sears. I always thought of it as an old lady's clothing store or a place where Grandpa bought all his tools and his lawn tractor and Mom and Dad got all their major appliances. But things have changed over the past few years. Sears has really updated itself. Now they carry brand name clothing like Lands End, South Pole, Appostrophe and Covington - hey, I even saw some Harve Benard in there. They aren't an "Old Fogey" store anymore. Now they have some design savvy! And they are always up to date on all the latest brand name electronics and toys for the kids. So yeah, I'm headed over to the Sears Veterans Day Sale first thing Sunday morning. With all the money I'll be saving, I can take everyone out to dinner! This sale is JUST COOL!

shopping :: k-mart offers smart shopping

I can't believe that Christmas is less than two months away!My grandchildren, Aven and Calla, have already made out their lists for Santa Claus and I'm busy checking out what all the stores have to offer. This year will be tighter then usual. With my sales down and the groceries,electricity bill and general living expenses up, I'll have to be more frugal about spending when it comes to gift giving. So I decided to check out the K-Mart website which always has great prices for brand name items and is a great one stop shopping site for everyone on my Christmas list, especially the kiddies. I even found the red Radio Flyer car that I had wanted to get them last year for Christmas and it's priced right, too, just $129.00! Plus they have a great payment option called the Kmart Lay-Away plan which makes things a whole lot easier on the pocketbook. I don't think I've ever heard of any other stores offering such a smart payment plan. Here's how it works. First you find the item you want to purchase, then you bring it to the layaway department in the store which is located at Customer Service. You make your down payment and then every two weeks make another payment until your item is paid for and you take it home. How easy is that? I definitely think I'm going to purchase this cute radio flyer car on K-mart's lay away plan. In tough times like this, what a great idea lay away is. It just makes life a little easier!

And the Radio Flyer car - the kids are gonna love it! It's JUST COOL!

Transportation :: Put tools on your gift list!

My brother-in-law's favorite past time has got to be fixing cars. Over the thirty plus years that I have known him he has always had his head under the hood of one of the many family cars. When we go to Baltimore for a visit and pull up to their house, there's Uncle B. decked out in coveralls with tools in hand, tinkering away on someone's car engine. He's so known for fixing cars that he gets his share and more of automobile tools as Christmas gifts.

So this year I have decided to do my Christmas shopping early and was doing my usual tool search for B. , when I ran across a great online tool supplier of automotive tools for the amateur and professional auto mechanic. SJDiscounttools.com is a one stop shop for discount air, power, and cordless tools . They carry large automotive tools and equipment, plus special hand tools, and power cordless tools that can handle any automotive project big or small.They also carry a huge range of well known manufacturers from Ingersol Rand, Helicoil, and Mountain to Hanson and SK Hand Tools. Not only do they have tools but also tool storage and battery chargers, even shop apparel. This one stop shop has such an extensive line of everything for the auto mechanic that I feel a little bit overwhelmed by it all. Maybe I'll just give B. a gift certificate and he can choose the tools he wants from their massive inventory. I know that once he gets onto the site, he's gonna feel like a kid in a candy shop. If you are a car mechanic, or just an average tinkerer like Uncle B. then check out the site because it's JUST COOL!

etsy :: tiny tot toe warmers

What's with felt these days? I'm seeing it all over in clothing, curtains, home accessories and over at Etsy I just found more felt, in these darling little slippers from Dana Robison's etsy shop, "Piddies". I'm so tempted to get a pair for my little granddaughter Calla, who at three years, is already the queen of fashion . Not only are they adorable but don't they look cozy? Hmmm ... maybe I'll get a pair for myself too - they look so warm and toasty and yup, the temperature dropped again last night and I'm not relishing the thought of turning the heat on, since last winter my heat bills soared to $500+ in the cold winter months

So back to these sweet little slippers. Dana crafts them from 100 % polyester felt and they are machine washable. She has a nice range of designs too, plus sizes from baby to adult and you can do custom color combinations if you so choose.

White Mouse Baby S... piddies $26.00

Green Baby Bird Sli... piddies $26.00

Whale Baby Slippers... piddies $26.00

So check them out and think Christmas gifts that are JUST COOL!

food :: a chocolate wolf in sheeps clothing

It seems that what was once real milk chocolate over at Hershey's has now become an ingredient called "mockolate" . Did you know ? And I was thinking that Hershey's kisses were all real chocolate. Whoa to me and all other diehard chocoholics out there!

"Because our consumers like fake chocolate better" is Hersheys defense for it's faux chocolate formulation that is going into many of its products now. From the Patriot News Hershey's is quoted as saying "Consumers love this, and people prefer the change,"

Cybil over at the Candyblog is outraged. To me it sounds fishy. And heck I thought they had a funny taste to them the last time I tried them!

Guess I'll stick to my La Maison du Chocolat - chocolates finest!

cool product :: steaming haute tea - the sorapot

tea isn't my bag but I could surely change my coffee drinking ways if I had a teapot like this one!

Sorapot - It's feather weight aesthetic and solid construction of investment-cast stainless steel, borosilicate glass (Pyrex), and food-grade silicone,makes it look better the more you use it.
Joey Roth designed Sorapot "...to emphasize one of my favorite- the unfurling of tea leaves. Sorapot suspends the process of tea making in a glass tube a few centimeters above your tabletop. Unlike standard teapots that confine tealeaves in a small mesh basket, your leaves will have full run of Sorapot’s interior as they unfurl and change the hot water into tea. You might even see a tea-colored shadow cast by sunlight that passes through the tube."

Read more about it's tea brewing virtues and buy here >>>

It brews hot tea but still, it's JUST COOL!