Hopefully everyone is having a nice relaxing weekend and getting rejuvenated for the week ahead. We both embarked on some winter retreats this weekend, split between two coasts. Where I am, its brisk but sunny, the perfect late winter day that makes you yearn for full on spring sunshine.

We want to get back to featuring more of our etsy peers this year, by picking a search term and seeing what awesome finds are being offerred in the etsy community. This Sunday, in homage to the beautiful day outside, I searched “Winter Sun” and came up with some inspiring hits. Take a look:

Antique Bottles no. 2 Print

Hand-dyed Sock Weight Yarn

Snowflake suncatcher

Moss amethyst Earrings

Geese on Frozen Pond

Felt Sunday Hat

Enjoy the rest of your afternoon whether it be sunny, rainy, or somewhere in between!

Well, we’re winding to the close of another long and hectic week. We have some fun adventures planned for this weekend and we will sure to be back with lots of stories and pictures.

Until then, we’ll leave you with a teensy sneak peek of a big project we’ve been working on with the MAJOR help of our friend Dave. When its done, its going to mean some exciting changes for the Ravenna Girls.

Can you guess what we’re up to??

Oh man. Here it is almost February (!!), and we still haven’t had a chance to share with you some of the fun handmade gifts we gave for Christmas this year. We’ve been doing so much looking forward, which has been very productive for us so far in 2011, but lets take an evening to look back.

We always try to make and give a variety of handmade gifts that we hop the recipients will find useful, fun, and beautiful. 2010 was no exception. Both of us made lists throughout the fall trying to brainstorm what people would really love. So without further adieu, we’ll share a few of these with you.

Vintage Fabric Sailor’s Knot Bracelet

I followed this etsy tutorial, but before winding the cord I sewed vintage plaid fabric around 1/3 of the length to give a little bit of whimsy and interest.

Painted Enamel Fountain Glasses

By using a baked-on hard enamel paint on top of whimsical glasses found at TJ Maxx, D was able to create a set for a family of 4 to enjoy next summer.

Waterproof Beach Bags

I found and modified this pattern, using waterproof vinyl outdoor fabric both inside and out, to make waterproof beach storage bags. One for brother, one for sister. Heavy duty zippers for the kiddos.

Sparkly beach wreath

Perfect for the front door of a beach cottage to give it that holiday glitz (although it could really be for any season). Shells were collected on Washington beaches throughout the year, then glittered with a combination of fine Martha glitters.

Holiday Headbands

D made a batch of these wool felt holly headbands for her youth group girls so they could all be as festive as her, the Christmas Captain. The holly berries were made easier with this fun Clover Needle felting template we found at our local fabric store.

Tea Towel Apron

An easy pattern, I modified a pre-sewn turquoise tea towel with some Amy Butler fabric and chocolate grosgrain ribbon. Then, I embroidered the initials of some very special twinsies in the pockets to keep them near to mom’s heart while she’s baking cookies.

Holiday Yarn Wreath

Last but not least, a very festive version of our yarn wreaths, this one with jingle bells and a big felt Christmas bow. Wrapped up like a present!

There were more that we didn’t get photos of (yeah, we go overboard). But hopefully we can get some shots and share those throughout the year.

Hope everyone is recovering from the holiday crafting binge nicely. Anyone have any fun projects to share? We can’t WAIT to get started on next year where we have goals to make even more gifts by hand!

We’ve been seeing ads for the new HGTV show Cash & Cari for a couple weeks now, and been very excited since its right up our alley. I’m actually surprised we haven’t seen more buzz on design blogs about it, but perhaps not as many people are interest in seeing the nitty-gritty behind vintage acquisitions.

In any case, we finally got a chance to watch a couple episodes of the show this week. The show follows Cari Cucksey of RePurpose, who manages estate sales, and resells vintage items in suburban Michigan. Since we hit up so many estate sales, management of the process has always been intriguing to me, and this show both confirms some of my suspicions and sheds new light on some of the clients. It shows me how hard the process really can be (not that I’m surprised), but I also love how her title on the show is ‘Treasure Hunter’. Ha, i’m going to make business cards that say “The Ravenna Girls: Treasure Hunters”. Because while a lot of people think we’re crazy, we know the treasure is out there!

Estate sales can run the gamut from glorified garage sale with not many items that aren’t truly vintage, to a treasure trove of vintage items hid layers deep. Sometimes you can really get a glimpse of someone’s life. The premise is inherently sad, but its also awesome to see what kept people busy over the years. Then again, sometimes you just find houses of hoarders and it can be a little insane. We’ve posted before here about trends we see at estate sales here in the Seattle area (read: Scandinavian gems), so its interesting to see what these sales are like in other parts of the country. In short, they really vary by client, and its interesting to see the strategies Cari has developed for different types of merchandise.

If you have any desire to see what our estate sale adventures are like, this show is really spot-on. Usually we’re just the quiet people in back digging at the back of kitchen cabinets, but sometimes we’re those haggling people too. Hopefully this show will teach us some tips to haggle even better We might even hit up one or two this weekend, on Sunday when items are typically 50% off. . . who knows!

[Also, here is a NYTimes article from a few weeks ago about estate sale management. Interesting.]

All image credits hgtv.com

Just like last Friday, the weather in Seattle is dreary, gray, and very very wet today. Its supposed to clear up this weekend, but until that happens I am longing for the warm and cozy that can only come from sunshine.

This outdoor fireplace from the Jan/Feb issue of Lonny, that was shot in the Hollywood Hills, fits the bill perfectly. Its so cozy with those wool blankets, but also modern and fresh. That cast concrete fire pit is awesome!

Perfect spot to kick back and have a Dark and Stormy.

We’re going to spend the weekend working on some website elements, and some projects around the house. Stay tuned! What are you all doing this weekend?

Here’s hoping for sunshine!