*Review* Pendant Necklaces from Handy Maiden (4.5 stars)

HandyMaiden.Etsy.com - hand-painted miniature sculptures and collectibles (San Diego, California)

Little owl pendant necklace

Product: "Little owl pendant necklace"
Order Date: August 15, 2011
My Total: $30.00 + $5.00 s&h
Discount: $28.00 Heartsy voucher
Artist: Danielle Pedersen

I first learned about the Handy Maiden shop through the Heartsy giveaway. I absolutely love the miniature pendants and had a hard time choosing which one I wanted to buy. I've been trying to not load up on things that have no functional use, so decided to go the wearable art route and choose one of the pendant necklaces.

There is a great amount of detail in each of the sculptures and collectibles and I can only marvel at how the artist, Danielle Pedersen, is able to do it without shaking and smudging anything. She has a wide variety of items that she offers in her Shop: miniature animal sculptures, brooches, chalkboard zoo series (adorable and very funny! see below on the left), earrings, necklaces, and more.

Verdict

Woodland wedding cake toppers - foxes, $160 + free s&h

The pendant looks just as it did in the photos - better, actually! - and arrived very quickly: I ordered it on a Monday and received it on the Saturday. It arrived very securely and safely packaged. I had asked for the chain to be shortened and it was.

+ PROS + Even prettier and more delicate-looking than in the photos. Owl pendant always faces the right way and doesn't twist around as you wear it. Very comfortable to wear, not at all heavy.

-- CONS -- Chain does turn as you wear it, so am always having to check where the clasp is and move it back so it's hidden. The price.

= BOTTOM LINE = I love the necklace and am very happy with my purchase. I wish that the pendant had been attached to a link in the chain so it didn't always twist around though; always an annoyance that I try and avoid when I purchase necklaces. It is a little pricey and I wouldn't have been able to afford it without a Heartsy voucher, however the price is fair given the quality and intricacy of the work.

Chalkboard pig figurine, $15.00 + free s&h

Shop Information

Opened: June 30, 2009
Items currently for sale: 64
Total sales: 518
Feedback: 487, 100% positive (487 positive, 0 neutral, 0 negative)

Links:
* HandyMaiden - Etsy Shop
* @HandyMaiden - Twitter
* Danielle Pedersen - Etsy Profile

NOTE: I purchased the item reviewed and am expressing my own uninfluenced opinions.

*Review* redstarINK - paper goods: simple, bold, modern, eco-friendly (4.5)

Etsy Shop redstarINK - Designer Marcie Hicks (San Diego, CA)

I first shopped with redstarINK in September 2010 when I bought Marcie's DIY calendar in brown and blue, pictured below (it's also available in black and red). I am a HUGE lover of all things organizing-related - The Container Store is extremely dangerous for me and I try to stay clear as much as possible - so when I stumbled across her Shop I felt like I'd stumbled into heaven!

All of the items are eco-friendly and I love the simplicity of her designs. Everything is clean and bold and simple - just great! Shop categories: calendars, journals, notebooks, photo album, prints, box of notes, single notes, tiny notes, wine tags, SALE.

Info from her profile and website: Marcie is a graphic designer and artist. She designs, prints, and puts together all of the products herself. Everything is handmade and she uses as much recycled materials as possible. Items listed are usually ready to ship.

Review

What I Bought

As mentioned above, I bought the DIY calendar in brown and blue. Item arrived quickly after purchase. What I love about this is that it is not time specific, so the weeks/dates are not numbered and you fill in that info yourself. The two page spread shows a box for every day of the week with 14 lines, each with a circle at the beginning so that you can check off items as you go. There is also a blank, unlined "Notes" box in the upper right-hand corner of each week. Click on the photos to see more pictures. I emailed Marcie with a suggestion for her next calendars and she replied promptly and positively.

Phone pic of my own REDSTAR ink
DIY calendar (well-used!)

+ PROS + wonderful product, great quality, very good finishing, professional-looking, shipped quickly, great customer service

-- CONS -- only con was the price, which for me (on an AmeriCorps VISTA stipend) was pretty steep: $29.25 including shipping - lasts a long time, so evens out, but is all printed from template and compared to some other calendars it is pricey

= VERDICT = Will definitely buy from again (including this product)! The entire buying experience was a positive one and I continue to use the item daily. Items that I'm in love with and am considering buying in the future: new left brain / right brain notebook, orders notebook, DIY bills calendar or 2011 bills calendar, set of 8 greetings from ____ cards (different cities and states), list notebook, long list notebook, SALE eco notebook (many of these items are pictured below - check them out!).

Items: eco-friendly paper goods - notebooks, calendars, cards, tags
Price Range: $4, $8, $12, $15-$30

Opened: July 27, 2009
Items for Sale: 88
Total Sales: 881
Feedback: 100% positive (479 positive, 1 neutral, no negative)

Links:
* REDSTARink - Etsy Shop
* Marcie - Etsy Profile
* Professional website
* Video - very cool video on her website showing a notebook being put together
* REDSTAR ink blog
* Facebook Page
* @redstarink - Twitter

Images from Etsy Shop redstarINK

NOTE: I purchased the item reviewed and am expressing my own uninfluenced opinions.

Shop Feature: Ingrid's Art

Funky Whimsical Drawing and Painting (California, USA)

Don't remember how I discovered this Etsy Shop (ingridsart), but I absolutely love the work! "Funky" seems a perfect description, but there is also something delicately beautiful about Ingrid Padilla's work. Her art is very detailed, which is what I think adds to - or creates - this impression. In her Etsy profile, she describes herself as a self-taught artist and says that "the unexpected is what I hope to achieve in my art always."

When looking at the small previews of Ingrid's work, they look like tiny machines and I at first thought that the added details were gears and mechanical parts. When you actually look at a listing however, they seem to instead be some type of other-worldly planet surfaces. Just love it!

Much of her work is abstract, but she also has a fabulous line of Whimsical Letters, which would make an ideal birthday gift. They come in two sizes: 8.5x11 for $20 and 11x14 sizes for $35. Some other Shop categories include Heart Prints, Funky lil Monster Prints, and Originals on Paper and on Canvas. The canvas work is very different from the rest of her body of work.

What I would love to see would be a series of note cards - that would be something I could not resist. A series based on the heart prints would be lovely, and there could also be flat note card sets with the different letters, so it could serve as personalized stationery.

Items: paint and ink drawings - prints and originals
Price Range: $10-$12 (a few); $20-$35 (definitely the majority); goes up to $250

Experience: N/A
Verdict: The letter prints would be a perfect gift for yourself or someone else; the monster prints would be great for a kids' room; hope to see some of the prints in note card form in the future

Opened: February 20, 2007
Items for Sale: 149
Total Sales: 81
Feedback: 100% positive (37 positive, none negative or neutral)

Links:
* ingridsart - Etsy Shop
* mosaicwhimsy - Ingrid's other Etsy Shop featuring Mosaic Whimsy Originals
* Ingrid Padilla Art - Facebook Page
* Flickr photostream
* Profile on Blue Canvas

  

   

All photos taken from Etsy Shop Ingrid's Art