jena from modish is really on a roll this week with a fantastic selection of posts featuring etsy artwork under $50. today she’s got two posts up: her first, up now, is photography under $50. at 10am she’ll have another post live- gig posters under $50. click here to check it out. image above: paysage jaune (a photo digitally mixed with a painting) by labokoff- $2.

[don't forget, voting for the 2008 d*s diy contest ends at 9 am this morning! click here to see the entries and vote]

today’s new city guide belongs to the lonestar state. carolina saunders of carolina eclectic was kind enough to write this guide to houston, focusing on the “inner loop” including downtown, the museum district and many others. houston is a large city and there may be some spots we’ve missed so please feel free to list your favorite spots in the comments section below. thanks again to caroline for creating this great guide to houston! click here to read the full houston design guide. [want to see guides to other cities, products and gifts? click here to browse the d*s guide page]

read more …

the other day i got a call from a television program asking me to come on to talk about affordable home good. so for the past few weeks i’ve been rounding up environmentally friendly products under $100 (ala my monthly domino column) and realizing how incredibly heavy and HUGE the packaging can be for a small roundup of items. so when i stumbled upon a few fun flat-pack pieces at eon (thanks beth!) i started thinking about how much easier it would be to transport things if they were all flat-packed. not everything can be broken down into flat elements and then reassembled but i’m totally enamored of pieces that can- like these little wooden eggs, kiwi, lamp and hanging pendant, all from eon in new zealand. just re-connect all of the pieces together and ta-da! you’ve got a small accessory or lamp for your home. blu dot also flat-packs several of their pieces like this barbarella table ($449) and 2d:3d letter tray ($45).

and the mailbox? ok, i cheated, it’s not flat-packed but i saw it at eon and couldn’t resist. it’s so cute and retro. click here to shop eon’s online collection. [i'll share more details on the tv segment (if anyone wants to laugh at me while i try to act calm) when things are finalized]

[logo by julia rothman]

today is the last full day for diy contest voting, so if you haven’t weighed in yet click here to leave your vote among the 3,000 people who’ve voted so far. want a little peek at the current tally? so far kirsten’s dog bed, angie’s jewelry cabinet, suzanne’s wall mural and melissa’s diy crib are in the lead. don’t see your favorite among the top picks so far? click below to view the finalists and then leave your vote (or tell your friends to vote. voting will be closed on wednesday, march 19th at 9am. finalists will be announced that afternoon!

• finalists 1-4
• finalists 5-8
• finalists 9-12
• finalists 13-16
• finalists 17-20
• click here to vote!

thank you again to our generous sponsors: 2modern.com, sparkability, growmodern and readymade magazine. you can visit their sites by clicking on their banners below.

ac and i are in the beginning stages of wedding planning right now so we’re still working on the bigger issues (when, where, how many people?). but of course, my head has skipped straight on to picking a wedding dress. and while i haven’t tried anything on yet, my mind always goes toward lace. of course, my mind also goes toward $9,000 lace dresses from monique lhuillier and amsale so i’m going to have to reel my lace-wishes in a bit. so perhaps in the meantime i’ll focus on these letterpressed lace cards from brooklyn artist julie soltz of bow & arrow. each card is printed on 100% cotton paper and is available in a set of 5 for $12 right here.

i’m a huge fan of paige russel’s work so i was thrilled to hear about her new vintage shop on etsy. i’m still a little torn on the whole vintage items at etsy thing because i’d really love to see the site stick to the mission of connecting handmade makers with buyers (i’ve already read that as original makers i guess). but sometimes a few items sway me back towards loving it. paige’s hobby shop, as she calls it, is full of everything from tableware and accessories to toys for children. click here to check it out and shop online. [thanks, paige!]