Glass — stained, fused, painted, opaque, transparent — always puts a smile on my face. It’s beautiful and fragile and yet useful.

If you’re a fan, check some of these pieces out:

These are from Unblinking Eye Designs, purveyor of cool glass things! Not only are there the functional pieces — like the ones above — but there are also many stained glass panels, scrap glass ornaments (yay for repurposing!) and, my personal favorite, the repurposed bottle/spoon rest.

Do check it out … no doubt you’ll find something super colorful and fun!

Vinyl records have that retro-hip quality these days. Recycling is also pretty hip these days. Combine the two and you’ll get some doubly cool accessories and home goods:

This is the work of Christine from Eye Pop Art in Portland, Oregon. Her specialty is taking vinyl records and painting the intricate mandala designs on them.

Mandalas may be round, but that doesn’t restrict Christine’s imagination at all! In addition to turning the records into clocks and wall hangings, the makes them into wavy mirrors or bowls. And there are, of course, the record cuffs. Very cute, bright and colorful.

She’s even taken her painting skills to CDs and turned them into wicked suncatchers like this:

If you’re looking for an amazing art piece for your home — and one that’s functional at that — do check out Eye Pop Art. And you’ll be supporting upcycling, which is an added bonus.

It’s a little early for Easter and bunnies, but appreciating this cute little guy (not to mention the craftsmanship involved) is absolutely timeless:

This needlefelted bunny is the work of Stephanie of Rivulette Craft. She is an extremely talented artist who does needlefelting and incredible glass work. And sometimes she combines the two, as in this piece from her jewelry shop:

(Yes, those are handmade glass beads!)

And then there’s the hand-blown glasswork like this:

Really, there are so many eye-popping creations in both stores that there’s just not enough room for all of them here! Stephanie’s attention to detail is amazing — it especially shows in her needlefelt figures — and she exhibits a high degree of skill in everything she does.

Everything is almost too pretty to use because you’d hate to break it. (Or have guests/kids/some other random friend or family member break it.)

I have extolled the virtues of needle, thread, fabric and felt before, and these fun items only reinforce my love of that combo:

These super-cute accessories can be found at fabulous fabulous!.

The main draw is all the brightly colored sewn goodies in the store. They range from the totally functional — iPod cozies, laptop cozies, patterned totes and even some stockings you can stock up on for next Christmas — to the plain ol’ fun — plush toys, mini monsters, even a wee non-pointy cactus.

You’ll also find crocheted hats and lots of felt-embellished tees and onesies.

Or maybe you just want that awesome-looking owl pillow above, which must have taken all kinds of time to cut those multiple pieces. The craftsmanship looks pretty sweet.

Randi-Sue at Designing Diva hammered, glazed, baked, shaped and formed her way to these lovely pieces:

The Faux-Pal pendant (it’s Randi-Sue’s own original mixture — it’s pretty and shimmery).

The Three Pebbles ring.

Randi-Sue’s passion is creating unique jewelry from stones, glass, and precious metals. She displays a wide array of skills, from fused glass to metalworking to wire wrapping, and the result is a collection of jewelry that’s bold and bright.

She doesn’t use casts for many of her metal pieces (such as the Three Pebbles ring) above, so each piece has slight variations. You’re practically guaranteed a one of a kind piece of jewelry to let that diva in you come through.

Fine art glass is also a favorite medium for Randi-Sue, and you’ll also find glass items for your home and office at Designing Diva. Maybe you need a business card holder? Or wine bottle toppers?

It never ceases to amaze me what ceramicists can do.

If you’re looking for some fun and unusual pieces for your home, you might want to take a look at these:

Not a bad final resting place for your sponge!

This is a bird feeder. The prospect of a bird flying into a fish’s mouth is somewhat ironic to me. But it’s a mighty cool-looking bird feeder.

Turning out these pieces is Lisa from Bailey Bowls. All her pieces are one of a kind!

In addition to the creature-inspired goods above, you’ll also find mugs, platters and dishes. Some of the kitchenware has an image of a dog etched into it; that’s inspired by her dog, Bailey (hence the name of the shop).

Lisa also makes ceramic colanders, all of which are unique and have different patterns for the holes. Here is a nice blue one:

One could argue that credit cards are just a bad thing that’s contributing to the financial ills of many people. (But then again, how else could some of us be able to buy such great indie stuff?!)

Anyway, at least one person is making sure credit cards do more than just burn a hole in your wallet:

This neat idea — yes, it is an American Express Blue card! — comes from Sweet Stella Designs, who has other fun accessories in her shop.

(She’s also got another credit-card related necklace in her shop … check it out here.)

In addition to some of the silver and beaded jewelry, there are plenty of food-related polymer clay accessories in the shop. All the clay accessories are true to their respective foodstuffs and just might make your friends hungry along the way. Take your pick from breakfast to snacks to candy.

Enjoy!

Felted pottery has never looked so cool:

All these pieces can be found at Valerie’s Gallery. Many of the bowls, vases and lidded jars in Valerie’s shop are crocheted with wool and then felted (or fulled, if you prefer that term) for their final fuzziness. Some are also wet-felted. A few pieces, such as those above, also combine needle felting with the regular process to produce 3-D embellishments.

The detail in the house scene is really nice, and the other pieces in the shop that have extra decorations give the bowls nice texture. I like how things such as the grapes and the flowers pop out of the bowls. The pieces with the patterns crocheted into the bowls are also well-done.

If you’ve got some potpourri or dried flowers or even just some decorative rocks, these would be nice resting places for those things. Or use a lidded jar as a candy jar. Much more fun than just a glass bowl.

Did you ever have anything embroidered when you were younger? Maybe your initials on your lunch sack or gym bag? (Hello, L.L. Bean?) Or maybe you had an embroidered shirt, or hankerchief or something fancy when you were older.

I promise, this embroidered stuff is way more hip and whimsical and fun than say, your fancy embroidered oxford shirt:

I especially love the card; the embroidery is a nice little touch.

These goodies can be found at Pillowhead. All manner of things that have been embroidered can be found in the store, from cards (there are thank-yous and holiday cards for next holiday season …) to magnets to, as the name of the store suggests, pillows.

Every piece is hand-embroidered. And we’re not talking just simple three-letter monograms either! (After all, “thanks” is six letters.) You can even put in custom orders (for if you do want your monogram after all).

And true to the shop name, there pillow-related things on sale, even of the non-embroidered variety. Here’s a pretty pillow case:

Here is Part 2 about the awesome goodness that was in my Sampler Select: Home!

Etched shot glass from Bread and Badger. Finely detailed and super cute. Bread and Badger is also another one of my favorites.

Pillowcase and embroidery pattern from Sublime Stitching. The perfect way to spruce up a bed!

Decorative tile from Little Flower Designs. This was probably one of my favorite things in the packages. Absolutely beautiful. I can admire the craftsmanship all day. And birds are cool.

Clothespin doll kit from The Small Object. A pretty neat idea … and the super retro clothespins are cool. Can’t wait to put it all together.

A special edition of CROQ Zine, with articles about the home! If you’re unfamiliar with CROQ, check it out. It’s a great zine packed with helpful tips and great ideas. And this special edition also has some vegan recipes. Yum!

Print called “Housegirl at Tea” from The Black Apple. There’s a hauntingly beautiful quality to this piece. Very nice.

Again, you’re highly encouraged to check out the Sampler Select! The current Sampler Select: Sleep is on sale now, and another Sampler Select, with the theme of Pins and Needles, will be available in November!

You can also check out the regular Sampler, which of course is on sale every month.

And lastly, check out all the great contributors to The Sampler. They all make pretty fabulous stuff!

In case you hadn’t heard, the awesome folks over at The Sampler have a brand new type of Sampler, the very special Sampler Select.

The Sampler Select is centered around a theme and is a limited-edition version. It’s full of great stuff from some longtime contributors, and many of the items in the Sampler Select were commissioned just for that particular edition!

The debut Sampler Select has a home theme, and came in this neato, theme-appropriate box:

And inside was all sorts of sweet home goods:

A mouse pad from My Favorite Mirror, featuring artwork from meganmary.com. The whale is awesome. And I like circle mouse pads … just ’cause squares are sometimes boring.

A sweet sachet from India*Romeo. It’s made of vintage quilt squares, and it made the whole package smell so good. Totally cute.

A set of letterpressed coasters from Green Chair Press. These were really neat, what with a nice design and a nice mix of fonts. I am a font/type nerd and these are going to be perfect at my house. And it was a set of 7! What a generous number of coasters in one set!

Bar of Calendula soap from Botanical Earth. Sweet smelling soap from a great shop.

This is only half of the goodness that was in the Sampler Select: Home! Stay tuned tomorrow for the other half!

And while you’re at it, check out the new Sampler Select that’s in the works — Sampler Select: Sleep! Go find out all the cool details here. One’s actually on its way to my door, and I can’t tell you how stoked I am about it already.

If you’ve ever moved more than say, three times in your life, you may have accumulated a few kitchen utensils along the way. Maybe lots of mismatched pots and pans (you know, ’cause you have to boil ramen at some point in your life, right?) and the occasional plate and spoon/fork/knife set.

And then at some point you acquire some really nice stuff and realize you have all this mismatching stuff and have no idea what to do with it.

You could give it to your local charity, toss it, or, if you’re like the intrepid folks at Dinner Time Chimes, you will find creative ways to recycle said items:

It’s a birdhouse made from a pot!

Goblet chime, anyone?

There’s even a chime made out of spoons! Oh, and keychains made out of spoon handles too. And other neato stuff.

Just more proof that recycling can be cool!

So maybe you have all these grandiose visions of doing something to the plain walls in your abode. You could paint them a wacky color. Or maybe you’re even more grandiose and are imagining some really cool mural or painting straight onto your wall.

And then at some point you wake up and you realize what a daunting task that would be.

That’s when you turn to Vinyl Wall Art, where you could decorate your wall with cool stuff like this:

You can even get yourself a chandelier if you want.

The vinyl art is meant to be no muss, no fuss. It won’t damage your walls, it’s easy to put up, and you can change your look whenever you want and however many times you want. And they’re not super expensive, either!

There are also window clings and window decals meant to look like etched glass. It’s a great way to do some quick decorating.

What if you put these in a bowl just to freak your friends out?

Seriously, that has to be the coolest set of fortune cookies ever. But don’t try to crack them open — they’re made of porcelain!

This rather brilliant idea is the brainchild of Amanda at YogaGoat Pottery, based in Vermont. Amanda also turns out some colorful hand-crafted serving pieces and display pieces as well, such as this lovely bowl:

Many items are available in different color schemes, and some can be customized, such as the wedding/anniversary plates she offers. Just read the directions carefully when ordering — don’t click “buy” for the custom orders, for instance.

But do look look around all you like. You can also see more of Amanda’s work on the YogaGoat website.

Maybe you like flowers. Indoors. Some nice vases and cut flowers.

But maybe something is preventing you from being able to have vases and flowers in your home. Maybe you’re allergic. Or you have wily, crazy animals (like cats) that like to knock over breakable things. Or maybe you just don’t have the table or shelf space for a big glass or ceramic vase. Or your flowers keep dying. Etc.

Well, how about these nifty solutions?

This felted (OK, more like fulled) goodness is from Pottery in the Round. If you’re unfamiliar with knitting, the term “in the round” means to knit in a seamless circle. So, pots + knitting in the round = Pottery in the Round.

The shop features a variety of pot and vase styles, from simple pots to vases with handles to vases with lids. And there are many flowers, too, to fill your wool pots.

It’s a great way to add some color to your decor, and it won’t break … unless of course, a cat gets a hold of it and thinks it’s a toy it can scratch to death.