Handmade silver square studs surprise

These gorgeous handmade sterling silver square studs (say that 10 times fast!) were mailed out to our October surprise subscriptions, and came from the wondrous jewelry artist Candice Vostrejs.

Silver square stud earrings - handmade jewelry present

We really adored their miniature size, which made them perfect as everyday-wear earrings.  Yet they didn’t feel fragile at all, so we know they’ll stand the test of time (plus they are sterling silver, so they are very strong!).

Silver square stud earrings - handmade jewelry present

Silver square stud earrings - handmade jewelry present

Not only did we love the earrings themselves, but we thought the gift wrapping for these silver square studs was too cute.  Very simple, yet feminine with a touch of fun:

Cute little present box

As with all our handmade artists, Candice included a unique artist information card with the handmade silver square studs. We ask the artists to include these so that our customers get a feel for the real person behind each product they receive.  They learn about their background, inspiration, and sometimes even about some of their unrelated hobbies!

Candice Vostrejs writes:

Candice Vostrejs is a jewelry artist based on Colorado. She graduated with a BFA in Metalsmithing in 2009.

Using traditional Metalsmithing techniques each pieces is individually made from scratch allowing each piece to be unique. Each piece starts out as wire and sheet metal and is cut, formed, textured, soldered and finished by hand.

Inspiration for her pieces is a combination of minimalist and modern combined with the beautiful and decorative style of art nouveau.  Her pieces are designed to be beautiful and feminine but simple enough for everyday use.

Artist's card for fairivy.com

We hope you liked these lovely earrings as much as we did!
To purchase a pair (if you aren’t already a surprise subscriber!) head on over to Candice’s etsy store by clicking here.

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Do you want to receive a gift box every  month?  Or even two or three?  Every surprise gift is handmade and comes hand-wrapped, along with an informational note card straight from the artist, to let you know about their process, business and background.  It’s fun, luxurious, and you will be supporting US artists at the same time!

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Vintage French Chic Purse surprise

This October, our surprise artists really outdid themselves.  This gorgeous vintage french chic purse was custom created for Fair Ivy by Dulcinas (her shop on Etsy where you’ll find lovely purses is called Mi Bazaar Latino).  It is hands-down one of the nicest Etsy purses we have come across, and hope that the artist soon offers it in her store for those interested in nabbing one (that is, if you aren’t already a Fair Ivy surprise package subscriber).

Vintage french chic handmade purse - handmade gift

We absolutely adore the fabric on both the inside and outside of this purse.  The outside is gorgeous linen that came in a variety of styles (see the difference between the above and below photos?), all of which were lovely.

Vintage french chic purse - handmade gift

While this purse technically could be used day to day, to me it calls for special occasions.  One, because it is cream (i.e. dirt is bad), and two because it is just so darn chic.  A prim and proper outing to a tea house with the girls is an fun event idea to take this purse to.  Where would you take it?

Handmade vintage french chic purse

When thinking about how to describe this, shabby chic purse definitely came to mind—and one customer suggested it was “very Rachel Ashwell ” shabby chic couture. Admittedly, we had to go look up what that meant, but now that we’ve done our research, we agree!

Vintage chic purse - handmade gift

The inside lining even came in a variety of lovely vintage chic fabrics—it was a surprise even to us which one you received!  Here are two of the possible lovely floral lining styles:

Linen lining of vintage chic purse

The artists information card was decorated in a similar floral pattern and reads:

“A collection of jewelry and accessories designed and handmade in California since 2007 by Claudia Anaya selling online and craft shows.  Inspired by the post infused with a vintage chic vibe using repurposed jewelry, vintage baubles and findings, fabrics, etc…”

Vintage chic handmade purse - handmade gift

Plus!  The purse came in a lovely re-usable fabric baggie, which also came in a variety of fabric styles.  The one below is polka dot, and we know the lovely folks over at SubscriptionTherapy received a floral one.

French couture purse

What other gorgeous designs did handmaker Dulcinas create this month?  Perhaps we’ll never know (if you got a different style, post it in the comments)!

Linen lining of vintage chic purse

Want to check out the shop where you can find lovely purses such as this, along with jewelry and more?  Visit Mi Bazaar Latino on Etsy.

Ps. Dulcinas created another surprise item for Fair Ivy back in February 2013.  Check it out here.

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Pumpkin Spice soap surprise

Move over summer, autumn is here at last!  We thought that there was no better way to welcome in the fall than to have one of our October surprise gifts be this deliciously-scented handmade pumpkin spice soap from Fabled Soap Co.  It smelled so great that it was a bit tough not to just put it into a pie dish and bake it for Thanksgiving!

Handmade pumpkin spice latte scented soap

The packaging was extremely cute yet had a modern appeal, like something you’d find in an upscale home decor store.  Along with the little soap came a lovely card describing the handmaker Mickey’s goals and efforts to produce the best bath products for your skin and hair.

Pumpkin spice latte soap

Artist's card from fair ivy

The text on her artist info card reads:

Hello, my name is Mickey and I am the creator of Fabled Soap Co.  I’ve always loved beauty products and a few years back I unsuccessfully tried to find the best available/  During this period, I also learned that almost all commercially available products contain harmful ingredients!  For example, shampoos and what we know of as “soap” don’t actually contain any real soap but detergents that are harsh and drying on skin and hair.  

When I learned I could make my own bath and beauty products, I immediately jumped onboard.  Now my goal is to make the very best soap, lip balm, bath soak, etc myself, using simple, high quality ingredients.  I have a great variety of handmade home bath and body products available on my online shop www.Fabled SoapCo.etsy.com.  There’s something for everyone and I regularly add new items, so check back often.  

Fabled Soap Co is all about simple but luxurious products that are effective, fun and accessible.  And perhaps best of all, it is about that handmade tough that makes everything extra special.

Pumpkin spice latte soap

We love every piece of this wonderful product, and hope you did too (here’s one rave review we just stumbled across!).
We included some of her other fantastic items in a recent blog post called Homemade Beauty Products.

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Dead sea bath salts surprise

We love luxurious bath products, and these dead sea bath salts from Paradise Bath Boutique drew us in immediately.  The were sent as one of our September monthly surprise packages, and came in one of three different scents—Eucalyptus Spearmint, Lilac and Peach.  Pictured below is the lilac-scented version.

Dead Sea Bath Salts - Monthly surprise packages from fair ivy

We love that there were actual dried flower petals mixed in with the dead sea bath salts.

IMG_7436

Interesting fact:  This item was not originally scheduled for September, but after a different hand-maker had a bit of a last-minute emergency and had to cancel, Cindy from Paradise Bath Boutique stepped up to the plate and we couldn’t have been more pleased.  She wowed us with her dedication, commitment and extremely quick turnover time (she had less than 1/10 the time of most of our surprise gift package artists)!  We couldn’t have been luckier to have such a fantastic hand-maker on-board our surprise train.

Dead Sea Bath Salts - Monthly surprise packages from fair ivy

deadseasalts

Be sure to check out Paradise Bath Boutique’s store for her other wonderful surprise gift items that would make unique birthday gifts for women, and would be especially great pampering gifts to give to yourself!

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Do you want to receive a gift box every  month?  Or wait—make that THREE gift boxes every month!  Be sure to head over to our options page to sign yourself or someone else up.  Every surprise gift is handmade and comes hand-wrapped, along with an informational note card straight from the artist, to let you know about their process, business and background.

Silver and gold stick necklace

Every month, one of our monthly subscription gifts is a dainty and lovely piece of handmade jewelry.   In September, subscribers received this silver and gold stick necklace, made by Rita of Just a Charm Jewelry.

Silver & Gold Stick Necklace

We absolutely loved this piece.  It was actually created exclusively for Fair Ivy—Rita had created a similar piece in silver before but decided a unique pairing of gold and silver would be just the ticket for her first  feature as a Fair Ivy surprise gift boxes hand-maker!

Both our Original Subscription subscribers and our Jewelry subscribers received this hand-wrapped  and hand made goodie as one of the surprise gift boxes in their mailbox.

IMG_7835

Also!
I was recently asked by Whole Foods to do a presentation on Creative Gift Wrapping for the Holidays at a location in Santa Monica, and they asked for a photo of me to put on a banner (gulp).  I decided this necklace would be a perfect accent piece, so wore it for the photo—check it out below!  (ps. If you live in or near Santa Monica, come to the Wilshire Whole Foots on December 9th at 2pm to hear me speak and participate in a gift wrapping craft event!)

Lucy Fairweather - owner of Fair Ivy surprise gift boxes

For more details on Rita’s jewelry and other lovely handmade products, check out her shop Just a Charm Jewelry.  We know you’ll love her handmade products as much as we do—and remember to keep them in mind for future birthday presents, or random surprise gifts for friends.

Keep your eyes open for more posts on our previous and recent monthly subscription gifts. Coming soon…

Fresh strawberry soap, passionfruit rose lip balm

We love handmade soap, and especially love it when it comes all wrapped up in an adorable, clean-feeling way!  This fresh strawberry soap was handmade by Mickey of Fabled Soap Co, and mailed to the subscribers of our Fair Ivy monthly surprise boxes.

Fresh strawberry soap + passionfruit rose lip balm - Monthly Gift Box

Fresh strawberry soap + passionfruit rose lip balm - Monthly Gift Box

These photos don’t do the smell of this fresh strawberry soap justice.  It was delicious enough to want to drink it up in a smoothie!

handmade passionfruit rose lip balm - Fair Ivy Monthly subscription gifts

The handmade passionfruit rose lip balm smelled just like a rose garden in the spring—and felt absolutely amazing as a lip product.

Lip balm packaging using Washi tape | Gift box subscriptions from Fair Ivy

Fabled Soap Co - Artist of Fair Ivy's Monthly Gift Box for Women

We also really liked the way these handmade surprise gifts were packaged.  We always love using kraft paper as a gift wrapping base, and in this instance Fabled Soap Co went with some adorable washi tape for a cute, fresh look (and it also meant she didn’t need to use any regular tape!).

About our artist, Mickey Cho from Fabled Soap Co:

After years of unsuccessfully searching for detergent-free washes and soaps, Mickey discovered she could make them herself. So, it became her mission to create the best body products with the highest quality ingredients she could find — and Fabled Soap Co. came to be.

Didn’t get a chance to receive this lovely fresh strawberry soap and passionfruit rose lip balm back in August as a monthly gift box?  Check out Fabled Soap Co on Etsy for these and other wonderful handmade gifts!

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Do you want to receive a gift box every  month?  Or even two?  Subscribe to Fair Ivy! Every surprise gift from our monthly gift box subscription is handmade and comes hand-wrapped, along with an informational note card  from the artist to let you know about their process, business and background.  It’s delightful plus you will be supporting US artists at the same time!

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