I was looking around Etsy for some good art the other day when I stumbled across Four Crows Art. Robin, the artist behind Four Crows actually has four different etsy shops, each one filled with all sorts of great art. Following with the company name (and perhaps her own name) almost all of the prints involve a bird in one way or another. The colors are rich and dramatic, and the prices are fairly reasonable for an original print.
Available from Four Crows Art Etsy shop, prices start at $16.

See Robins Blog “Sneaking out at Midnight”

I love wooden toys and puzzles. They are generally either very simple, and in many cases very ingenious. The 3d wooden sphere puzzle falls into the later category. The puzzle has three separate planes connecting four chambers filled with colored wooden balls. It works much like a rubiks cube, in that if you make a change in one chamber, it will effect another. Besides being a great mind bending puzzler, it is also good looking and affordable.

Available from Deep Discount for $8.

Via Bem Legaus!

My love for Balsa airplanes goes back a long time. When I was a kid, every time my Grandfather was in town he would take me down to the toy store to buy one. The best ones were the ones that were self powered via a rubberband. They proved to be cheap and provide hours of fun. I don’t however remember them ever looking this good. These Yoshida airplane designs date back to late 1800’s and they still look great today. They come in a single and double propeller version, both of which cost $19. They would be a perfect gift for any kid 10 yrs and up, or great as a mobile for the little one. For the big kid (read adult) check out the expensive, but amazing Carbon Butterfly indoor flyer.
Yoshida Plane Kits available at Build It Play It for $19.

It’s been fun watching Avalisa’s offerings grow. She started out with a couple of nice prints and now has expanded to offer cards, rugs, and her latest, memory games. Memory is one of those classic games that is entertaining for any age group. These 3 x 4 cards feature all the great Avalisa designs you already know printed on a sturdy little card. They come in a lead free metal box to make sure that they don’t get bent up while traveling. The price is a very reasonable $15, and as always you can choose to donate to Cure International.
Available from Avalisa for $15.

If you liked Jargonboy’s Modern Alphabet flash cards, chances are you will like Blue Ant Studio. They have all sorts of great posters, including an Alphabet of Design Classics poster that features a different design classic for each letter of the alphabet. New to their line of great posters is this museum series, which highlights some of the greats of furniture design. The posters are 11″ x 17″ and are printed on a real 1200dpi digital paper in matte finish and then glued to a heavy stock black mat cardboard. The price is $35 per poster and includes shipping within the US. They are currently having a 2 for 1 sale so you could get 2 great posters for only $35. Thats a great deal!

Available from Blueant Studio for $35.

We got a taste of spring this Saturday. It actually got above 60 degrees for a little while and was absolutely beautiful until it stated snowing a couple hours later.
For those of you that are eagerly anticipating the warmer weather and budding leaves we may have to wait a little longer. Luckily even though we can’t have spring right now, we can have this great Spring print by 12 fifteen. Printed on archival canvas paper this lovely 8.5″ x 11″ orange print will be there for you even through the coldest winter months.

Available from Whatdesigners.com for $15.

I have featured quite a few different sites that sell vinyl wall art before. Most of them are pretty similar on pricing, and the biggest difference is the selection of designs. DVider is no different in that aspect. They do have a nice selection of wall stickers (I especially like the nature series) and prices start at around $25 which is typical. What I was impressed with was their room dividers. They sell modular kits that are available in different configurations. They are basic pole mounted white canvas sections, but the hardware makes for a very clean installation. When combined with some of their wall art, they make for an impressive little wall divider. Prices start at around $363 for a small 4×6 divider, and while that’s not cheap it’s a lot easier than building a wall and looks better than hanging an old sheet.
Available from DVider.

If you haven’t heard of the Black Apple yet, you are missing out. These wonderful prints created by the talented Emily Martin are quickly becoming one of my favorite Etsy finds. With well over 6,000 sales on Etsy, the Black Apple is not exactly new. But even if you have know about the Black Apple for a long time, you can still find new things there as Emily is always updating the inventory. Besides original prints, you can sometimes find dolls and other soft goods, photographs, pins etc. To top it all off, the prices are very reasonable. The 6.5″ x 7.5″ prints shown above go for $13.

Available from the Black Apple Etsy shop.

Check out Emily’s Blog too.

When my wife was a kid she had a little red bird watching book that she carried around with her everywhere. This book might be blank inside, but it’s so good looking that you might want to carry it around with you, or at least put it on a shelf where everyone can see it. Available in either ash or walnut and these 4 x 6 homemade books feature a wooden cover with a screenprinted image protected by a clear varnish. Inside you’ll find 72 blank pages just waiting to be filled.

Available from Veronicapress Etsy shop for $28

I received a lot of great gifts this year, but perhaps the one that captures the Christmas spirit the best was this shirt from Rosaloves.com. If you haven’t heard of Rosa Loves before, you should definitely check it out. Not only do they have some great designs printed on American Apparel t-shirts, but by buying a shirt from them, you are actually doing some good. The idea behind Rosa Loves is that everyone has a story. They find someone who is in need for whatever reason, design a shirt for them, and then donate all the proceeds of that shirt to support and help them. So in a way it really is a gift that keeps on giving.
Fitted Tee’s are $25 and proceeds always go to a good cause.