Etsy Finds + Faves: 02. 17. 12

Hi lovelies! Well I had grand plans for this post, which was to involve another wrap up from my Alt Summit experience. However the morning has not gone as planned, so I will leave you with this little roundup of some of my current etsy favorites instead. Hopefully I'll have the Alt Summit post finished and ready to share with you all next week. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy your weekend and thanks for stopping by today. xo Ez

Zebra Art Print - FayeMoorhouse | Eames for Herman Miler Molded Plastic Rocker - CoMod Classics | X Brass Cuff - Young Frankk | Mudcloth Tote Bag - Accra Accra | Cooking Recipes Notebook - Arminho | Love You Night Light - Owly Shadow Puppets

One Good Thing: Domestic Construction Mats

As a pet owner, I have never been able to adorn my home with throw rugs (if you get what I mean—eww). It's something that's always kind of bummed me out, so when I found these awesome Domestic Construction Mats at Plastica last week I was thrilled! Not only are they machine washable, but they look pretty schnazy too! Bare living room floor, prepare to meet your new friend! See all the styles Plastica has available right here. This one is my favorite:

Imm Living Choo Choo Chooses Blogger Challenge

IMM Living recently invited me to be a part of a small blogger challenge using six of their playful home decor products. I along with Erin from Design for Mankind and Bri Emery from Design Love Fest were provided the goodies and then asked to photograph them in-use in our homes. The quirky sensibility of the IMM Living products made this challenge a lot of fun. Here are three of the items I had fun with:

Earl the Squirrel Stacking Game: My daughter and I have had a lot of fun playing this game already (my daughter can stack all but 4 of the nuts on there)! While not in use as a game I decided to start displaying some of my most recent finds from our nature walks on the squirrel's tray. Pretty adorable!

Jack D. Jackalope Wall Hook: Hung in the washroom to hold my daughter's and my jewelry and accessories. It adds a nice little pop of quirkiness to the otherwise bland space.

Heart Ornament: My daughter doesn't know it yet, but this Christmas I'll be granting her wish for a new bed. It's a little bit too large to wrap, so instead I'll be tucking a little note inside of this heart that she will open to reveal her surprise (currently hiding out in the garage)! I can't wait!

So cute, right?! Also be sure to see how Erin and Bri styled their IMM Living goods over on their blogs (you can enter the IMM Living giveaways they are hosting too). And finally, IMM Living has also partnered up with Digs to offer a 10% discount to all of you on these featured IMM Living products:

    •    Herald Ornament, Heart
    •    Jack D Jackalope Wall Hooks
    •    Earl the Squirrel Stacking Game
    •    Lockhart's Trove Small Coin Bank
    •    Hybrid Faberge Container, Aleks
    •    Hybrid Faberge Container, Natalya
    •    Hunter's Den, Bear
    •    Ladies in Waiting Picture Frame Jewelry Holder, Virginie the Giraffe
    •    Canning's Jar, Deer
    •    Zodiac Gods Wine Stoppers
    •    Lucky Strike Oil & Vinegar Container Set
    •    Lucky Strike Container
    •    Little Helpers Bottle Opener

So if you'd like you can hop on over to Digs and take full advantage. Just use promo code IMM2011 at checkout (offer expires December 31st). You just might be able to cross a gift or two off your holiday shopping list! xo Ez

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Full disclosure...because that's what all the cool kids are doing: IMM Living provided the products featured in this challenge for my use. All content was left solely up to me. I have not been financially compensated for my opinions of these products.

One Good Thing: Gran Pillow Covers

A modern little forest for your home - Gran Pillow Covers (in grey or black) from Fine Little Day. Also available as Wallpaper.

Create Your Own Unique Wall Art for (Almost) Free

I came across a link for Rasterbator (yes, the name is skeevy sounding but not gross when you click on the link) in a back issue of Martha Stewart Living yesterday, and had to give it a try right away. Through their free and simple to use program you can upload any photo or image of your choosing and they will instantly convert it into an enlarged rasterized version (showing the shapes as pixilated dots) that you can print, reassemble, and hang on your wall in giant poster form. Free art...almost—you'll just pay for the cost of paper and ink, or having it printed at a copy shop!

Here's the photo of our dog Stella that I had converted. Once rasterized and printed my daughter and I put all the pieces together (it was like piecing together a really fun surprise puzzle—I didn't tell her what the image was going to be of, so she was really excited when Stella's face finally took shape). I'm sure you could be a lot more precise with the reassembly, but I think that it looks great even with just a few pieces of masking tape holding it together in back. For a more long term display solution I'm thinking I might pick up an affordable frame from our local craft store.

A few tips: Look for images to convert that don't have a lot of really dark areas or you will use quite a bit of black ink to print those portions. The printed sheet are also not numbered for the order that they will be reassembled in, but ours printed out with the bottom row (from right to left) printing first...and the top row (from right to left) at the end. When it asks if you'd like to include a faint border to aid in trimming your pages, be sure to select "yes." Now go try it out with your own images, and have fun! I'd love to hear how it goes! xo Ez

Psst...Wouldn't this also make a great gift or memorable decor for a party?! Love it!