Life's a Picnik...

Having a hard time figuring out how to tweak your pictures, airbrush fine lines from faces, erase blemishes?  CNN recently did a review on a site called picnik.com that makes it easy for the average Joe.  No downloads, nothing to install, works on Mac or a PC.  Has lots of special effects to fuel your photographic creativity.  It will work with your pictures on flickr and facebook too.  Check it out yo!

http://www.picnik.com/

Octopus Necklace?

Yes, that is precisely what I said.  I saw some of these for over $100, but I found this one for 11.95 Euros. Large Octopus Brass charm on Gold Plated 16” chain with a cute vintage sea shell charm dangling down the back. Designed by Lili Confetti Of Paris.  Check out the pics on their site to see the scale of the necklace on someone's actual neck.  Strange concept, I know.

Find it here:  Mr Octopus Necklace

Nicole Miller for JCPenney

Great designer Nicole Miller has some affordable, actually cute pieces at JCPenney's now. This halter style top is only $30.80 and ties at back of neck. Another selling point is that you can machine wash and line dry.

Find it and the rest of the line here:

Nicole by Nicole Miller® Mesh Tunic

Mesh Earrings

Long, gold earrings are making a comeback and these mesh ones from Bebe are definitely retro. (Long earrings are called 'dusters', because they dust the shoulders). The $29 price tag isn't too bad on these either.

Find it here: Bebe Mesh Earrings

Rafé

Rafé Totengco left his business in Manila in 1989 to pursue his dream of being a designer. He moved to NYC, started small with belts and moved on to handbags, shoes and more. One of the more recent items that caught my eye is the Saigon Camilla Medium Tote. Bright pink linen and cute pivets on the outside. Also comes in black and white. 11x11.5x7. Find it in the stores (like Bergdorf's) or go straight to his site. $295

Saigon Camilla Medium Tote

Get Wired: Tiny Travel iPod speakers!

The TravelSound i80 gives you 15 hours of music on the move, which makes it perfect for the beach or pool.  Comes with a rechargeable battery and is slim, which makes it great for packing.  Goes with a 3rd generation iPod Nano and can be found for $74.85.  Enjoy!

Here it is:  

Creative TravelSound i80 Speaker Dock for iPod nano 3G

Need a logo design, business card or website?

There is a website called 99designs.com that you can go to and submit a 'creative brief', which is your design idea, and how much you are willing to pay for the service.  They set up a contest for you that runs about 7 days.  The contestants are a "thriving community of 12,945 talented designers".  Pretty cool idea for those design-challenged that need work done and have no clue who to call or how much to spend.    Click here to start your own contest or browse the ones currently going for inspiration:

www.99designs.com