Wednesday Item Feature: Small heart, big love

The heart, a symbol with so much meaning, is usually simplified into one shape and one color. From Valentine's Day cards to decks of playing cards, this stylized shape is universally recognized as an expression of love, holding a range of emotions. However, the actual organ inside our bodies looks nothing like this simple shape. Our blood-pumping, fist-sized organ is such a detailed thing that rests inside our chests, with valves and veins wrapped around embracing the busy organ. I've noticed more and more artists crafting items and products trying to recreate the love emotion with a more realistic heart than what you would typically spot on a greeting card at the store or in an email. Then, I spotted a heart that I deemed "cute" because it was small and delicate.

Prima Cristofolo (also known as RanunculusMarket on Etsy) from Oakland translates her deep love for the natural world and the complex beauty of the human body into a whimsical world of crepe paper and fabric. Her semi-anatomically-correct model of the human heart measures one-inch wide and fits snugly cupped in the palm of your hand. Crafted carefully from red and pink crepe paper, this little heart includes ventricles, a right and left atrium, the aorta, and vena cava, as well as veins delicately placed and made from embroidery floss.

Made to order, these little hearts don't take a lifetime or even nine months to create but only three weeks. If you're in a hurry to confess your love and give your heart to someone, be patient. Order with plenty of time! Remember, wise men say only fools rush in. Not just for med school students falling in love with their classmates or those with significant others that are doctors or surgeons, these little hearts are definitely little treasures to keep or gift as a symbol; they are cute and beautiful at the same time in their own way. Though small, they carry a huge meaning and lots and lots of love.

Check out RanunculusMarket's listing on Etsy now: Crepe Paper Heart!

Tune in next week for the Wednesday Item Feature!

Love & donuts,
Mayene

Wednesday Item Feature: One of a Kind Necklace

I recently sent my best friend a "care package" for starting grad school, which included various playing card related items (such as "chocolate cards" and dice with card suits on them instead of numbers). Though I know zip about poker, having a best friend obsessed with cards makes me more aware and attentive to things with the combination of hearts, diamonds, clubs, and spades.

Bronwen Mauch (also know as TirelessHearts on Etsy) handcrafts unique charms upcycled bicycle materials. Bronwen has recently started a new series called "The Love Letters" which features pendant designs of card suits and "Love". Carefully created with standard card colors, the Queen of Hearts 2 necklace is made from red and pink latex and black butyl tubing.

Shipped ready to wear, the pendant comes on a coated stainless steel cable at choker length. Bronwen's necklace is a cutely rough square that would be a nice surprise to fall out of a love letter to your object of affection, especially if the love of your life is a poker player or card dealer. Or, on the other hand, if it's something that's your style, pick it up for yourself and show off your love for card suits right where your collarbone meets. As Bronwen says, "Hopefully, love is a gamble that pays off." And hey, you can love yourself and give yourself a gift, too!

Check out TirelessHearts's listing on Etsy now: Queen of Hearts 2, loveletter-style!

Bronwen also has an upcoming show in San Francisco THIS WEEKEND at Hecho Local! Like Tireless Hearts on Facebook and get updates and find out more! For more information on Hecho Local, click here.

Tune in next week for the Wednesday Item Feature!

Love & donuts,
Mayene

Tiny fingerprints: a touching gift

Parents always want keepsakes of their bundles of joy from tiny hand-prints molded into plaster to little stompers painted on paper. For those who want something more durable and easier to keep close, how about fingerprints in fine silver?

LilyBuds on Etsy offers 99.9% pure silver handcrafted personalized jewelry, fun to give as gifts or keep for yourself to show off. For parents of two, LilyBuds has a cute little fine silver heart that fits two little fingerprints and names. Great for mothers (think twins!), grandmothers or busy godmothers with more than one little kid to keep in mind!

As a recent college grad bearing zero kids and having no nieces or nephews (yet), I still think the fingerprints-on-silver is a great idea! And I'm a sucker for cute stuff. LilyBuds puts an extraordinary amount of effort into these little things; shipping out from Clayton, she'll send you a little kit with simple instructions on how to get your children's fingerprints done, which you'll send back so she can handcraft your jewelry with the impressions you take. Depending on where you're located, this might take some time, so if you're thinking of having one done as a gift or by a certain date, keep in mind the time restraints associated with a process like this.

If I were a mom, I'd definitely get this; there's something special about personalized jewelry, but having tiny fingerprints of your own toddlers close to your heart is even more touching. It's also an amazing thing to have for those who adore their younger relatives — I know many students who go away for college and talk about how they "can't wait to get home to play with their little brother/sister/niece/nephew". I can't imagine this being a quick and easy gift for a friend since you'd have to borrow a couple kids for a bit, but if you're a husband, think about it! You could give your wife a fancy store-bought necklace encrusted with jewels or you could give her a more personalized touch of love with the help of your kids.

Oh, and Mother's Day is coming up in a couple of months — how convenient!

Check out LilyBud's listing on Etsy now: Two Child Fingerprints in Fine Silver Heart - Medium

Tune in next week for the Wednesday Item Feature!

Love & donuts,
Mayene