It’s springtime and the time that many folks probably think about planting things in the yard.

If you have a penchant for killing plants instead of nurturing them (oh yes, there are many of us green thumb-less folks out there!), maybe you should look into these:

(The actual Etsy listing is only for one cactus. But the whole range of cacti was just so much fun to look at!)

These cacti are from Barbara at Blazing Needles. Barbara is an avid knitter who turns out a lot of really unique and interesting things. And not just cacti!

Check out these awesome things for your home:

There are also ipod cozies, lip balm bags and even a little Judaica if you’re so inclined.

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.

Back when I was a kid, I discovered the joy of polymer clay. It was colorful, pretty, and fun. Back when I had an imagination, I made stuff for friends and my favorite teachers — pigs, a globe (a darn good one, as I recall), a piano (for my music teacher), and probably a few magnets here and there.

Polymer clay kicked the pants off Play-Doh.

Because Play-Doh couldn’t possibly have turned out something like this:

This is a candle holder from Niceclutter. All the tiles are painstakingly handmade from polymer clay and then attached to a candle holder to make this stunning piece. And since each tile is handmade, each piece is unique!

You will find magnets and mirrors and other embellished candle holders at Niceclutter. Every piece is eyecatching … so if you think your surroundings are getting a little boring, getting one of these pieces is an easy way to spice things up.

If you don’t have the patience to play with clay — and trust me, it takes tons of patience to turn out pieces like these! — meander over to Niceclutter and get something nice and colorful that won’t wind up being clutter.

It’s allergy season again, and if you’re a sneezy person like me, you no doubt are going through tissue like there’s no tomorrow.

It would be nice to have a cool box to hold your tissue, perhaps something like this?

You can find this box at My Punk House, a collection of tattoo-inspired handpainted items for your house. Jessica is the gal behind My Punk House, and a proud member of the Sacramento Craft Mafia to boot!

All of Jessica’s work is pretty stunning (the photos just don’t do it justice). Especially her handpainted candles, which have plenty of detail and just look darned cool. Here’s a koi candle:

I don’t think I could ever burn this candle, or any of the other ones, for that matter!

My Punk House also has other goodies, like recipe boxes and mail holders and hooks. It’s a nice way to add something unique and plain cool to your home.

This time, we’re talking about glass!

The Etsy Glass Artists have informed me that they are having a sale:

The sale runs March 11 to March 18.

You’ll find some pretty stunning pieces like these:

Check it out!

You could get your house to smell like a bakery by baking bread/brownies/cake/muffins/cookies … but then you’d have to whip out some bowls, crack some eggs and spend a whole lot of time putting all the stuff together.

Or, you could light one of these:

It’s the Devil’s Food candle tin from Beccalights.

There’s a whole host of scents available at Beccalights, from the yummy food ones to floral scents to fresh linens and even fresh-cut grass!

But my personal favorites are the food-scented ones — I’ve owned the cinnabun, the devil’s food (probably No. 1 in my book), the coffee cake and the vanilla frosting. A veritable bakery, indeed.

By the way, not only do they smell awfully nice, the candles last practically forever. What’s not to like?