This is very colorful, fair-trade, handmade jewelry from Nairobi, Kenya.  Beads are made from recycled, rolled strips of paper and then used in bracelets, necklaces and earrings.  The fun, lightweight pieces are very affordably priced, while the artists making this jewelry are making 5x the national average wage in Kenya!

Great t-shirts by Ellembee.  Nature themed t’s by a Michigan artist.

We were lucky to get some exclusive pins and pillows from recycled, felted sweaters.  They are really cute, affordably priced, and will make great gifts!  New items will be added as we get them… We also have some recycled wool mittens from Peapack Mitten Co., the Brighton Peace Belt, handwoven belts from South America, a great selection of scarves, and always our BKG sweaters in great colors and styles.

Since the holiday season has been sneaking me – maybe out of my sense of denial that time is flying by – I still haven’t put up a Christmas tree.  Now, with Christmas only a few days away, it hardly makes any sense to go to all of that work, especially when we are so busy with other activities and my kids will only be home for a very brief visit.  I have put up a few small, very fake trees, with lights to make it look more festive – and have almost totally talked myself out of a real tree this year.  Guess I am not the only one.  Found this great, artsy tree online.  I only wish that I had been this creative!

I absolutely LOVE it!

The search might change now, from the search for the perfect tree, to the search for all of my precious little mementos that have been put away for years.  It would be great to think of a way that they could all be mounted and then brought out as a tree each year.  Maybe on some wire form.  I may have to think about this.  It is just fabulous the way it is pictured.  Other creative items can be viewed at the website for All the Luck in the World.