Duke & June: A Sweet New Handmade Shop

Hello followers of my very neglected blog! I have been busy chasing my toddler who apparently thought it was time to start walking and getting into EVERYTHING...I think we have that situation under control now...sort of.

While away I spent a bit of time contemplating whether or not to reopen my Etsy, Red Planet. While trying to pull it together I decided the best thing to do was to start completely fresh and that is when I started my new Etsy, Duke & June. A shop inspired by my little "Duke" and all of my lovely friends and their adorable wee ones.

Duke & June has sweet items for Modern babies and mommas. I will be having a give away on my Duke & June Facebook later this week so be sure to "Like"

Treat for ME!

Being the momma of a grabby baby I have officially decided to completely retire the dangle earrings until the grab and pull stage phases. Which has lead to my first Etsy purchase for MYSELF.

Look at these adorable little posts! AND the design is hand drawn AND ON TOP OF THAT they were only $14 shipped! I will be sure to brag about them again once they arrive!

Post 215: Happiness in My Mailbox!!

I bought this beauty the other day... (here)

I love her!

Usually, I buy something online and stir and wait for days, sometimes weeks for it to arrive. Waiting for items in the mail is a very dramatic time for me. But the folks at New Duds apparently know how excited and impatient I am and this pouch made it here four days from the night I ordered it. F-O-U-R days! Talk about on the ball!!

Saddest part of this story, I bought it as a gift for a special momma in my life. I really considered keeping it but then I realized I received a coupon with my purchase! OH YEAH!!

Post 193: My life belongs to MONSTERS!

I can say that this last month has been completely OVERWHELMING! The word overwhelming doesn't even begin to paint the picture...

As I had mentioned last month, with Regretsy's help, we started a fundraiser for my nephew and his family.

(Aidan and Little Brother Amry)

My nephew, Aidan, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia September 13th. You can read about it here. Since the fundraiser kicked off October 19th, we have raised over $50,000. How you might ask?? By selling his adorable monster drawings on Etsy. I have no idea what happend but the stars aligned and the world fell in love with Aidan and NOW I have a garage full of thousands of picture mailers, photo paper, printer ink, and lables. We are nearing the sale of 5,000 drawings in a little less than a month. THAT IS NUTS!

His art has gone to Austrailia, UK, Russia...just about anywhere you could think of and it completely blows my mind and still seems completely unreal. It doesent make Aidan well again but it makes us feel like we all have the world in our corner. And that, my friends, is an amazing and uplifting feeling.

So that explains the lack of crafting and blogging these days. :)

Post 190: Pink Elephant!

Hey, its Friday! Annd to make my Friday even better I just received this beautiful ring in the mail! I won it from a fantastic give away over at Wichita Handmade! The ring is made by the one and only Pink Elephant Embellishments.

I must say the ring is even more adorable in person and very sturdy (and when you are me that is VERY important). The cuteness does not stop here! Swing by Pink Elephant Embellishments and check out some of her other cute jewelery!

Oh, and a cute baby update for good measure!

Lucas is now 2 months old and weighing it at 13 lbs 12 oz. He is a big ol boy and getting bigger every day. One of these days I will learn to balance Red Planet and a baby but it does not look like I will be opening the shop any time soon.

156: Makin' Thangs.

Soooo, besides reading about chickens this weekend I did get to do a little bit of crafting. With everything tossed away in storage crafting has really been put on the back burner. This weekend I completed a small project for Baby's room using cheap items I could find at Alco (since I was too lazy and cheap to travel into town.)

I am pretty pleased with it.

Also, this handsome guy arrived in my mailbox this weekend. I was so excited!

You have no idea how much I love this and how perfect it will be in my soon to be fantastic nursery.

Sorry for the dark pictures it has been pretty dreary here the past few days :(

Post 154: Proud Owner of...

I will be the proud owner of this funky vintage lion bank! It makes me giggle and I simply could not resist. It will be watching over the the nursery once he gets here...hehe

Lion Bank from Winton Studios

Post 153: Unicorn Promenade!!

"Like a phoenix rising from the ashes or something similarly awesome, SugarPickle is back!"

In honor of re-opening her other Etsy shop, Sugarpickle, my BFF, Leanne, from Folk Craft is having a fabulous GIVEAWAY!! (that means FREE folks!)

Talk about one fabulous blingin' pincushion! 10 coordinating pins are also included! woot woot.

Post 143: Love me tender....

Love me sweet. Never let me gooooo.

Some LOVELY Valentine's Day finds!

I am in LOOOOOVE with the BEAUTIFUL bracelet by Mae Bee.

How adorable is this embroidery by Julie Ellen

I love the raw beauty of this necklace by Strands Of Light

This fantastic red satchel is by Unique Handbags

I am in love with the detail in this art print by Sweet William

Post 123: HAPPY FRIDAY!

This afternoon I will be getting the news about our offer on the Dream Home! Eeeeeeee! I am so excited just to know what our next move is wether they accept our offer or not....If it is a 'yes' I have a TON of work ahead of me since we will have to get this house sold!

Oh, Also check out this lovely little Italian blog, Officine Creative! I dont know Italian but it is completely adorable annnd she posted a picture of my Etsy packaging . I am on the bottom left :D
I hope all of you have a FANTASTIC WEEKEND!!

Post 122: Woo Hoo!

Soooooo, guess who made it to a gift guide?!??!

Bet you didn't guess it was little ol' me!

That's right! (And, YES those are my mad photoshop circle drawin skillz. Jealous?)

I would have never even realized I made it here if lovely Amy of Ponder & Stitch hadn't ever so kindly messaged me to let me know. It seriously made my week! Thanks Amy. Thanks Etsy!

And thank you Admiral.

The Admiral - Clutch $28.00

Post 121: Things That Will Be Hard To Live Without...

Soooo I spend too much time browsing Etsy finding the most fantastic items. It will be hard to live without them! But all of our extra pennies are going to fix the hizzouse these days.

I really shouldn't have to tell you how much I need this chart and how fantastic it truly is. This picture really says it all.... I NEED this deer head. I love it. I love it. I love it. I have been looking for something JUST like this for awhile now....sigh

I also need this antique map. Aren't these colors BEAUTIFUL! I love maps, I love globes, I love atlases and really anything that has to do with images, location, and helping me find how to get where I need to go...Maps are comforting and I am sure this stems from my unrealistic phobia of being lost.

I need these fantastic "glovely" glove molds. You really have no idea how much I love these.

Annnnd I need this quilt...but this listing is for the pattern. Sooo, I also NEED someone to make it for me because if I go after it....it will end up like every other quilt I ever started, half finished in the bottom of my closet.

And last but certainly not least...we all need some gold ol' fashioned hot nuts!

So, there you go, just a few items I had on my mind these past few days. :)

Post 119: We partied like it was 1999

10 years ago......we were nerds.

Leanne of Folk Craft on the left and me on the right HA!

Those were the days...I'd like to think in these past 10 years our tastes have been a bit more refined. Buuut if you take a look at our Etsy shops Folk (Leanne) and Red Planet (mine,duh) you can still clearly see our personalities hehe

F O L K

R E D P L A N E T

Post 117: Waiting and Wishing

Soo, we are still waiting for an answer on the house. The reason for the long wait is the people who own the house (on 9 acres next to a 'nature park') have offered the land and house to be purchased by a nature preserve (owned by an attorney) at a higher price than our offer.
I honestly think this 'preserve' is bogus and will eventually be turned into a housing compound soon enough, but that is me being a pessimist. Although the house is not mine, and MAY never be I cannot help but daydream about the things I would LOVE to have for such a fantastic mid-century home. Daydreaming is always fun right? (fingers crossed)

Click images to visit the shops!


I love this, not only because it is fabulous, but it reminds me of the infamous green couch in our first apartment . :)

Thes green chairs are great *drool* as well as EVERYTHING else in this shop!



I am in love with this lamp.

I looove this and its gray! (Gray and I are having a love affair.) This shop is also chock full of fantastic mid-century modern furnature. (p.s. i love the Tabasco ad)

With the house being out in the woods this would be just perfect!
And I would like to throw this in for good measure since it is where I REALLY want to be :). Cute huh? (If you love this there are a few other states in this lovely print collect just click the image)


Now who wants to donate to my shopping fund?!? :p

Post 112: Busy Busy Busy

This week is NUTS! And I just might go crazy! Buuut although things are a bit hectic I have still found the time to fall in love with a few things on Etsy... (click on images for more info!)

You really have NO idea how in love I am with this neckwarmer...(along with everything else in this shop)

I think this would be a perfect little personalized gift for my gear head husband! (made by one of my favorite ladies in the world, Puff!)

I cannot stop thinking about how much i love these screen printed fabrics...sighI could go on forever but I have a socialy retarded pup who has a class to get too! Wish me luck with the reformation! ;p

Post 109: No Ordinary Apple

Okay, so I am a bit of a complainer. I hate the cold. (When I say hate I mean absolutely despise.) I am not a big fan of fall because it is a sign of what is to come. I have lived in Illinois for 3 years now and I still have not yet become accustomed to all the snow and ice and below zero winters. Buuut, I must say, Illinois does have the most beautiful fall I have ever seen. The leaves are GLOWING red, orange and yellow! I am also enjoying fall much more this week since the sun has finally showed up and it has been in the mid 60s. The discovery of Cinnamon Apple Tea has also been fantastic....soooo i might not hate fall so much after all. :)

And as a tribute to fall, apples, and this delicious tea I made this today! [Sorry for the poor pics I have been really lazy with the cam these days :( ]

And the embroidery detail "No ordinary apple" (I got a little inspiration from the movie/story Snow White).....aaand here is the other side

It also has a tiny apple embroidered on the flap with a nice big red button! Aaand it is lined in a dark brown satin :D

And I have a bit of a dilemma! I cannot decide if I want to gift it, keep it, or try and sell it on my Etsy!