An extra WINK

A sponsor of ours, Kristen Devries, sent me a sample of a new product her shop (Kir Devries) is carrying and I wanted to plug it because she's been a great sponsor to us for some time now, her product is such a great idea, and she's going through a really rough time these days (I won't get into the gory details because she might kill me but let's just say that some men are scum) and it sounds like she could use a little extra help. So, this product she sent me is an all in one household & laundry cleaning ultra concentrate.

Do you know what this stuff does? It replaces 48 bottles of household cleaner or washes 95 loads of laundry. It's such a fantastic concept because I have a zillion bottles of cleaners (why I don't know) and every time I look under the sinks at all of them I get irritated. According to Kristen this cleaner works on carpets, shampooing pets, cleaning jewelry, making hand soap and so much more. I decided to use some to make a glass cleaner (mixed with water and vinegar) and a general household cleaner (mixed with water). I bought some water bottles at the dollar store and mixed them up in those so they're ready to use. (I forgot to get cute labels).

Since a little of this concentrate goes a LONG way, I might even try it as a laundry detergent. It works wonders and I am stoked to try it out on everything. (P.S. It's non-toxic, biodegradable, hypoallergenic and ph neutral). Get your own bottle of goodness here. And while you are there, check out all the other great products she carries...I just found the CUTEST bento and snack boxes! Thanks Kristen!!!

Colette's boutique

We here at DTI are lovers of pretty, shiny things. This includes jewelry. We're excited to have Colette on board as a new sponsor. She has a fabulous Etsy store, Colette's Boutique, where she sells her beautifully hand-crafted earrings, necklaces and bracelets made from semi precious gemstones, sterling and fine silver and sometimes crystals and other type of beads. (I've already poked my boyfriend who is sitting next to me on the couch to point out a couple of pieces that caught my eye). Her shop also includes some jewelry tutorials, for all you crafty folks out there. I'm including some of favourites below (clicking on an image takes you directly to the listing). Welcome Colette!

The Great Gift Challenge

It's the final week of the Great Gift Challenge. For the last three weeks Kim and I have had the "arduous" task of joining forces with Martha Stewart and eBay to find the perfect Christmas gifts for loved ones. I have had so much fun and found so many cool eBay sellers. This week's budget for the gift is $300 (excluding shipping). Hello eBay!!!! Let me loose. This could be dangerous. The recipient of my eBay hunting is Donna, a wonderful friend and soon to be bride. She and her long time main squeeze Alan are taking the loving spirit of the holidays just a touch further than most of us by marrying on New Year's Eve. So with $300 in my virtual hand it just had to be a very special wedding present.

I've been helping D & A renovate their apartment so I have an idea of what they like and I think I found it. Ever since I saw Grace from Design*Sponge upholster a headboard with an Otomi Indian embroidery I fell in love with these beautiful hand worked textiles. So did Donna when I showed her the D*S post. Light bulb moment! The hunt was on.

  

I bought this silver grey otomi from Mexican Textiles Museum Store. $255 USD. Lesson number one. Photos on eBay often do no justice to the item and colours on monitors are never right. Lesson number two. Things are never quite the size you imagine them. I thought it would be bigger but it's the size it says it is. Shipping was super fast and OMG it's gorgeous. I just want to run my hands over the silky satin stitches. I did have one problem though. I still had $45 left to spend. I tried my hand at a couple of auctions for suzanis. I know I know. Fad fabric but I still love it. When the auctions went above $45 I had to come up with another plan and fast. The wedding is 3 weeks away.

So I bought these. Three Turkish kilim pillows with just a touch of the "it" colour orange. They are from this store and are on their way from Turkey now. Fingers crossed they get here in time. Hardest thing was choosing which ones. There are hundreds and I love them all. The seller also has patchwork Turkish rugs. Just wish the shipping wasn't so high to Australia. Actually lucky otherwise I'd be buying too much! If all things suzani still have you tingling then take a look here. I've got my eye on a few things there for my own place.

   

How to wrap my treasures? I think I'll use brown paper and tie them with string. Add a couple of stars and hearts to tie in Christmas, New Year's and a wedding and reluctantly hand them over (I want them myself!). If you're a resident of USA don't forget to pop over to the Great Gift Challenge for your chance to win $1000 to spend on eBay. You will definitely find the perfect gift ... for you ;)

(Sponsored post)

The Great Gift Challenge - part 3

It's time for another edition of the great gift challenge (a special campaign with partners Martha Stewart and eBay), where Jo and I scour eBay looking for the perfect Christmas gifts for our loved ones. This week the budget for the gift was $150 (excluding shipping). I purchased something last week for my twin sister Julia, so this week I thought I'd look for something for my younger sister Jen. She's in her late twenties and it was her wedding that I attended in Vegas last weekend. Her and her new husband Dave bought a house a couple of years ago and ended up running out to a couple of boring furniture stores and bought just about everything they needed to furnish their home. I was disappointed that they didn't go out and shop vintage to try and find some unique and funky pieces. So I thought this was the perfect opportunity to find them that funky something. I thought mid-century items would suit their style so I went searching eBay and found quite a few items I thought they'd love:

Lighting is often neglected in a new home and the sputnik chandelier would suit so many rooms in my sister's home, and it's such so versatile. Speaking of versatility, the trolley is a great piece that could be used in a bathroom to hold towels and toiletries, in a dining or living room as a bar, in the office to hold notebooks and other office supplies. The Eames era wall shelves would be perfect in her office or in their media room in the basement to hold books and knickknacks. And lastly, the teak stackable tables, useful when she has guests over and needs little tables for drinks and snacks. I was totally stuck on which one to bid on, until I came across this:

It's a replica Kartell Componibili storage table that the seller picked up at auction and was told it was purchased in the 70s. I have always loved the Componibili but have never come across one here so when I found this one being sold by an eBay seller who is located here in Ottawa (they have an incredible mid-century shop near my home that I always have to stop at) I had to jump on it. It was listed as a Buy It Now for $199 with a "Make an Offer" option. So I went for it, and sent them an offer of $150 and it was accepted! The best part was I was able to drive the 10 minutes to their shop and pick it up, saving on shipping costs. Once I picked it up I realized this table would be SO ADORABLE in my niece's bedroom as storage for her toys and would suit her very vintage bedroom that my sister has recently been redecorating. So now I'm torn. Perhaps I will solve this problem simply by keeping it for myself. ;) This one will be tough to wrap due to it's size, so I'm thinking about finding a big red velvet "Santa sack" and putting it in that with a huge white or black bow tied around the middle. Another gift done! Stay tuned next week for Jo's $300 purchase. And don't forget that part of this challenge involves you! If you are a resident of the U.S., head on over to this site and enter to win a $1000 eBay gift voucher. Now THAT would be a blast to spend.

The Great Gift Challenge - part 2

As Jo explained last Monday, we are taking part in a special campaign with Martha Stewart and eBay where we have to hunt on eBay for the perfect Christmas gifts at certain price points. Last week Jo blogged about her $25 purchase for her niece and this week it's my turn. I had to select a gift for a loved one costing $75 (excluding shipping). I am not sure why but this price point was VERY tough for me. I was able to find all sorts of great items for less or more than this amount. But I am all about the thrill of the hunt so IT WAS ON. I had my twin sister in mind for this one. Julia and I, go figure, have very similar tastes and I wanted to find something for her home that was vintage. She is a fan of mid-century and Hollywood regency styles (she has a couple amazing mid-century credenzas in her home), and has an Asian themed bedroom. She has 2 children who are 1 and 3, so she never gets to go thrift shopping with me anymore as she's always stuck at home minding my niece and nephew. Here are some of the things I managed to find  that were contenders:

 

I love lamps so of course I assume my sister loves them as much as I do. :) I found a couple that would have looked really great on Julia's teak credenzas, and a tension pole lamp that was just so funky and  would look fab next to her vintage armchair. Then there was a mirrored table that had such a fun shape and required a little bit of TLC. I figured if she needed a break from the kiddies this table would be a good excuse to hide out in her garage for a couple hours. I have recently acquired a love for cloisonne so I was stoked to find the cutest set of lidded spice jars. And lastly there was a coat rack/shelf that would be really useful in Julia's front entrance. In the end I was completely undecided, until I found these:

I thought for sure there would be multiple bids and I'd start having a panic attack. I mean, these are the most gorgeous blanc de chine porcelain lamps ever! And the price was SOOOO right - if no one else bid. And to my shock no one else did. They are going to be perfect on either end of the large/low dresser in Julia's bedroom. The seller was a pleasure to deal with and apologized for the $24 shipping cost which I thought was more than reasonable. They should be arriving any day now from the U.S. and I'll have to figure out how to wrap them. I'll probably leave them in the box they are shipped in, and I was thinking of getting some glossy black wrapping paper and a very thick white ribbon to wrap around the box and tie at the top in a huge bow. And voila, one gift done.

So folks, don't forget that part of this challenge involves you! If you are a resident of the U.S., head on over to this site and enter to win a $1000 eBay gift voucher. What I could do with $1000.....