Extraordinary art for everyday, plus 'yummy' soap

In the past, I'd reserve weekend blogging for posting "light reading" material. It looks like I'd forgotten about that for a while...

Since it's been a while since I've posted anything on art (along the lines of crafts, vintage jewelry, quirky appliances and home decor, and indie art), I'm doing so today.




Okay, after posting all the pictures, I realized the time. Need to go out for a while but I really, really would like to click on "publish" already and show you such wonderful works of art. Hence, I'm doing so sans proper captions and links . . . [8 hours later, I'm back!] and now I'm supplying the erstwhile missing info.

Don't you just love flower vases that make those pretty blooms even more beautiful? The vases above by Scholten & Baijings -- a European company -- have a somewhat feminine vibe while playing on the unconventional. It's amazing how the interesting design, while itself a good conversation piece, still works with the flower rather than removing the focus from it.





It's amazing, too, how ordinary materials can be turned into works of art, such as old chopping boards, flatware, faded bric-a-brac -- even bottlecaps! For a quirky place to hang your apron, dishtowel, oven mitts and other kitchen essentials, the Hanging Butcher Board with Hooks from WhimSy love is it! The bottlecap pendants are made by the same artist, and I must say, I had never thought of bottlecaps as the stuff of fashion accessories before coming across these! I've always associated bottlecaps with Bert of Sesame Street (he had a bottlecap collection), but they do make quirky jewelry pieces, after all.




Now, would it have occurred to you at any time while savoring those spaghetti dinners that the fork with which you were twirling the noodles could possibly be transformed into something like what Georgia Varidakis has fashioned? I now see flatware in a whole new light...




Ditto with artists like Talula, who sees beyond the faded, forgotten and tarnished pieces we usually spot in old boxes or lying on dirty sidewalks and often dismiss as "junk." "Home of trinkets & treasures, all revamped, redone, deconstructed, and reconstructed into fabulous jewelry, destined to be handed down to lovers of all things unusual, odd, old and timeless," is how she introduces her pieces at her Etsy page.




Rosanna Bowles' collection boasts of china that is more formal than these numbered pieces, but I think these are cute while still being elegant. Plus, they can come in handy when you've got a toddler or preschooler just starting to master their numbers! Just don't let them handle the precious breakables, hehe.




On second thought, let me show you the artist's other tableware pieces...




And look! Yummy brownies and chocolates! Except they're not for eating. They belong in the bathroom and they go on your skin, not on the dessert tray!



These are among a wide assortment of sumptuous-looking soap treats crafted by Soap Cafe that you'll get a kick out of, definitely! Get a load of the cherry cheesecake soap slice and there's even "Krispy Klean" donut soap! I wonder what's on the menu at the "Entree Soaps" category, which I haven't perused yet. One thing's for sure -- users will get to enjoy these without putting on any pounds, hehe.