Say ‘cheese’!

Having a lazy Sunday trawl and found this cute little camera charm necklace. It’s made by Verabel and can be found on etsy. Check out her store and you can find a range of delightful necklaces..not just charms, but some beautiful lockets too.

Chinese New Year Fortune Cookie Style!

I’ve been saving these finds to share in time for Chinese New Year. First stop Etsy – you could spend all day on this fantastic site dedicated to providing crafters with a shop front. These delightful little fortune cookie booties (& Mummy slippers too) are made by ‘Sushibooties’, a crafter called Della, based in Oregon, USA who will ship internationally. You can even make up your own fortune to attach to them..how cute is that?

Also, on the Fortune Cookie front, I have discovered these sweet little purses from designer Diana Eng. Each purse is made from recycled leather and has a unique number on it so you can track its origin. It even comes with a fortune inside!

A tattoo is for Christmas..not for life

Always fancied a tattoo but only for special occasions?
Looked at kids’ temporary tats but not sure you can carry off either the pirate; rock guitar or (if you’re lucky) the occasional rose? If you’re like me and prefer the idea of a tattoo to be an accessory rather than a lifestyle choice then you need to visit Tattly
There are tattoos to suit every taste designed by a whole host of designers..very cool, & no regrets!

Cute little Robot Tattoos..

Miniature Worlds you can Wear

Although I missed last year’s Small Worlds exhibition at Clitheroe’s Platfom Gallery I was intrigued by a photo I saw of one of the exhibits in Lancashire Life magazine. After much investigation I discovered that the artist was Dublin based maker of kinetic jewellery, Alan Ardiff. Check out his amazing work on his website.

For Map Lovers & Inquisitive Travellers

I have always loved to look at maps & plan (usually imaginary) trips. I am being a bit lazy as these maps are a current post from Fab but I thought they were so great I just wanted to share. They are from www.herblester.com & they are definately on my shopping list!

magical art & make believe…

Today, I had a little peep in ‘Room’ www.roomgifts.co.uk – a shop in Lytham which tends to stock lovely & quirky things. As the parking ticket was about to run out, I only had a moment to stop and admire some gorgeous artwork by Kerry Darlington, an artist based in North Wales. The photos don’t do them justice as they have an almost 3D quality to them and are really big too. Check out Kerry’s work via her website www.kerrydarlington.co.uk

Whilst there, I had time to quickly admire these delightful dress-up tutus by bobandblossom.
They come in a range of interesting colours, including a vintage pink and silver grey and they feel really soft too..so why don’t they make them in grown-up sizes?! If you fancy one for your little dancer, click here Bob and Blossom Girls Tutu Pettiskirt Vintage Pink 4-8y

fairytale shoes..from Fairysteps

One of the things I love doing on the internet is finding people who do dream jobs…it is a real delight to find artisans following their heart & creating things of great beauty, and in this case, of great use..William Morris would be ecstatic! These beauties are handmade in Devon.

Checkout the website www.fairysteps.co.uk

Tartan on trend

Tartan Textile Bracelet by Linda from http://www.papastour.com

Scotland is one of my favourite places so I was delighted when I found this quirky bracelet made out of tartan…subtle, whilst making a little statement ‘I love Scotland!’

These little gems are £16 from Scottish craft site www.papastour.com

Welcome to my world of aspirational shopping!

Hello, Raspberry Velvet is here & I plan to share with you all kinds of one off & beautiful gifts. Do you find that you go online for a little mooch just to see if you can find something a little bit different but then re-emerge several hours later, looking bleary-eyed and feeling that it would have been quicker to go into town? Or, do you worry that when the item arrives it will be a shadow of the gift you imagined? Well, here at Raspberry Velvet I aim to share a select stock of fabulous goods so that you can enjoy the pick of my endless trawls into the infinite shopping arena of the Internet without disappearing down that rabbit hole of missing time yourself. Keep watching this space!