Autumn is here!

  I am thrilled that Fall has finally come.  It is the best season, in my opinion.  There is an incredible natural color palette that forms just about everywhere in New England that makes every vignette look like a painting.
   I've been experimenting with making my own liquors and bitters, starting with a cardamom/vanilla pod-infused liquor that I haven't gotten quite right yet.Why just make the vessels, but not the liquors to go in them?  For my first attempt, I toasted the cardamom and vanilla pods, which gave a powerful flavor, but perhaps too anise-y/too much like licorice.  So the next batch was made with raw pods, and no vanilla.  We shall see how it goes!
   I collected a number of my etched glass vessels, etched and painted lanterns, and all things Autumnal for this Fall-inspired scene to remind you of why Autumn is just the best thing ever.  A number of these pieces are available at my Hieropice on Etsy shop.  Happy Fall!

 

Etsy Gift Cards Have Arrived!

Bienvenue, folks!

If you have a wonderful group of friends with diverse and quirky tastes like I do, you've probably been there.  A birthday rolls around, an engagement party, a baby shower.  You know that busting out the Target gift card or the generic bath-salt/foot scrub set as a gift for this particular friend just won't cut it.  You want to give them something super-cool and unique but, alas, the risk is purchasing something that will result in an awkward, blank stare or expression of horror.  A gift that they awkwardly push aside and you inherently know they just don't like.  Unique gifts can also mean you just plain get it wrong, and end up with something that originated in the best of intentions, but landed in future-re-gift territory.  But now, Etsy has a solution!
Introducing, Etsy Gift Cards!  Now, you can purchase a site-wide gift card on Etsy, that can be used in many of Etsy's shops (all shops that feature Direct Check-out, which Hieropice does!).  Now, you don't have to know EXACTLY what that quirky/custom/unique/one-of-a-kind gift your bff wants is ahead of time, you can let them choose for themselves!  And, your sister can get a custom-made nursery-sign for her baby-on-the-way without giving away its gender before it's born.  It's all kinds of neat.

  I have a good friend who was recently engaged and is definitely an off-beat bride, but I couldn't, for the life of me, think of what to get her to celebrate her engagement.  She had pinned all kinds of Etsy items to her Pinterest wedding board, but I didn't know if she actually WANTED that bright purple flower/feather fascinator for her wedding, or just thought the concept was cool.  Now, you can avoid the dilemma I had, and get your independent-thinking friend an Etsy gift card, and let her deck her whole bridal-party out in purple fascinators if she wants to!  I am so excited about the gift cards, and pretty much all of my family-members can expect one in their Xmas stockings this year!  You can read more about the details here, and purchase the gift cards at etsy.com/giftcards.

Happy shopping!

Dara