I never know if the name of Paper Scissors Rock is meant as a statement of fact or a play on the name of the popular kids game Rock Paper Scissors, but if the product listed at this whimsical and cheery site is anything to go by, paper scissors do, indeed, rock. Paper Scissors Rock is the online home of Northwest artist Pamela Corwin, whose bright acrylic artwork has graced the White House and been featured in national publications and television programs for over 17 years. Using reproductions of her original art, Corwin's clocks & magnets sparkle with bubbly charm. Her alarm clocks are made of light plastic, perfect for travel or everyday, and they really pack a punch; I never sleep through my PSR alarm clock, despite it's 2" size. It came with a free battery, keeps perfect time, & even has a second hand made up of a rotating disk and tiny image to complement the larger image on the face. PSR offers a wide range of alarm clock designs, from flora & fauna to sports, fairies, and your morning cuppa joe. There's even a martini glass with a floating olive, the Seattle skyline, and what might be my favorite, a frog prince waiting to be kissed. In addition to alarm clocks, PSR also carries lightweight clocks to hang on your wall or pose on a stand. Looking for all the world like ceramic tile, they come in two sizes and another wide range of subject matter; I couldn't possibly pick just one!

If you love magnets, PSR offers a gigantic selection, from modular magnets resembling tile to magnets in cut shapes and "glass gem" magnets. All are UV-protected, fade-resistant, fully magnetic, and made in the USA. And if magnets aren't your thing, but one of Corwin's designs is, you can also order any of the modular or cut-shape magnets as a keychain. At $5 each, they're a huge steal. They really cling to the refrigerator, too; mine practically leapt out of my hand onto the metal and holds tight!

The Paper Scissors Rock website is easy to navigate, and ordering is simple. Payment is by check, money order, Visa, or Mastercard, via secure server or a 1-800 number. Ms. Corwin herself is courteous and helpful, and I can not speak highly enough of her. Clearly, paper scissors do rock, in the hands of the right person!

It's not so far a stretch from sparkling bracelet to dazzling dog collar; well-heeled women the world over dip their doggies in rhinestones, wrap them in bespangled bandanas or dress them in sequined ribbons and bows. Some pampered pooches outshine even their well-manicured mistresses, and Bark & Sparkle is the trendy terrier's ticket to tripping the light fantastic, from bark park to beach and back to the water bowl by way of 5th Ave. Just think of it as Tiffany's for dogs.

A combination of designer Laurie Vien's love of dogs and jewelry, Bark & Sparkle got its start when one of Vien's jewelry clients requested a matching collar for her poodle Coco. Vien was only too happy to oblige, and as a result, discriminating dalmations and their owners now have a line of eight sterling silver and Swarovski crystal collars to choose from. And with names like Majesty, Opulence, and Diva, they're sure to make little Lola the talk of the town.

For the "Mommy & Me" petset, Vien has also made each brilliant collar available in a matching necklace or bracelet, and offers advice on how to fit both human and pet alike for perfectly fitting grandeur. They're called "Best Friends," and like all of Bark & Sparkle's collars, they're available in over 20 glittering Swarovski colors.

Vien has done nice job with her online store, too. The website is pretty without being cloying, crisp and clean, easy to navigate, and features beautifully clear, high-resolution product images, so the buyer knows exactly what he or she is getting. But what we really love is that Bark & Sparkle supports animal aid organizations and campaigns against puppy mills, and that wins them a special place in our heart.

If Holly Golightly was right, and you can always tell the kind of girl a man thinks you are by the earrings he gives you, then your choice of collar says a lot about the kind of pet you think your dog is. Show your dainty dachshund or hip havanese you think she's royalty with queenly baubles from Bark & Sparkle.

Ah, Moon River, my huckleberry...hound.

He gives kisses on command and waits to eat until you get home from work. He never laughs when you shriek during scary movies, and he lets you cuddle up against him whenever you like. And the time you left him on his own for an entire week while you went skiing with your girlfriends with nary a word of explanation, he still greeted you with enthusiastic joy when you got home. Oh sure, his pedigree might be lacking, and he sometimes eats his weight in shoes, but for all the happiness your dog brings you, shouldn't he be pampered too?

Certified aromatherapist Kyla Sims thinks so. When her best friend Sasha developed allergies at the age of three, Kyla put her talents to use and developed a line of all-natural grooming products for pampered puppies and problematic pooches like Sasha. All of Spot Organics' products are formulated from 100% organic herbal ingredients, from soothing lavender to refeshing lemongrass and exotic ylang-ylang, and chemical-free bases of sweet almond and essential oils.

The Spot Organics product range is astonishing. Sims has covered every need a dog could have. In addition to the prerequisites like organic flea and itch shampoos, Spot Organics also offers ear wipes and cleansers, and "Aromutt-therapy" products to meet every dog's need. There are specially formulated sprays to deodorize bedding, fight fleas, freshen breath and sooth itchy skin, while essential oil blends can calm a hyper dog, fight travel sickness, even help prevent embarrassing canine pda's. Skeptical? Spot Organics offers samples at reduced prices, or try the Pampered Pup Kit. It features five of Spot Organics' most popular products and is a steal at only $28.00

Spot's prices are excellent; much less than most organic pet products and even most non-organic ones. The site is cute, clean, and easy to navigate, and contains full descriptions of each product: how it works, what it's made of and how to use it. There's also an ingredients page, a listing of brick & mortar shops carrying Spot products, and a blog to keep you up on all the latest Spot Organics news.

So whether your best friend is large or small, high or low-maintenance, the very model of decorum or a Jack Russell terrier on speed, he gives you every bit of love and adoration he has. Doesn't he deserve a little in return? No matter his needs, Spot Organics has the perfect product to pamper him with. ...Just keep your Manolos safely in the closet.

You know the original Hans Christian Andersen story of The Little Mermaid by heart. You belt out "Under the Sea" with the car windows down and warble "Part of Your World" in the shower...along with the pre-song lines, and you can do a Disney heroine voice with the best of 'em. If Disney ever does a stage version, you are so landing the part of Ariel. And the one episode of Charmed you've seen a million times is the one where Phoebe becomes a mermaid. And okay, technically, it's a two-parter, which makes it really two episodes, but come on; it's really one story, and you never would have left the sea. Girl, you so shoulda been a mermaid.

And now, you can be.

From Cape Breton Island comes the sea-themed art and jewelry of Lamoore Designs. Nova Scotian artist Laura Moore brings her fascination with fairy tales to life in the form of mixed-media paintings and jewelry comprised of sea shell pendant necklaces and pins in bright, jeweled tones; drift wood earrings; and "beachcomber bracelets" of driftwood, shell, and glass. Never quite got the hang of flippin' your fins? For the woodland sprite inside you, Lamoore also offers the Enchanted Trail Collection of pewter and maple leaf pendants and earrings. From sea or by land, each piece is a one-of-a-kind, individual work of art, and all are signed and numbered and guaranteed by the artist.

I like the layout for Lamoore. It's all blues and greens in swirly shapes, and I love the whimsical swirly snail scroll bar in the left section. It's neat, too, that Ms. Moore provides a section explaining her entire process of creation, from start to finish. Lamoore Designs has no shopping cart, but prices are listed in the shop section, and I gather those who live far from Nova Scotia or who want a custom piece of jewelry in a particular color can order via email. I find Lamoore's jewelry prices more than reasonable, especially considering the amount of care and detail that goes into each piece, but thrifty shoppers who read all the way to the bottom of the price list will also find great deals on closeouts and 2004 items at prices even a mermaid could love.

After an entire summer of froufrou bridesmaid gowns and last minute bridal panics (not hers), "professional bridesmaid" Erica Goldstein saw a void and stepped up to fill it: specialized thank you cards for the newly-wedded bride. But not just any thank you cards, cute cards. Cards with panache. Cards that say "bling". And you can get them individually or in nifty boxed sets. These are no fancy schmancy, sappily-engraved cards here, no sir. Illustrated by Alexandra Fletcher and ably-captioned by the ever-single-but-never-bitter (and now newly married) Goldstein, Paper Bride's cards are the sort of thing you give your best friend, little sister, mom, and caterer.

Yes, caterer. Or florist, venue, and seamstress, just to name a few.

For friends and family, there are cards for your girlpals, little sis, mom, fiance, family-to-be, and even an apologetic one for turning into Bridezilla. All of them walk the line between humor and misty eyes that perfectly captures the insanity of planning a wedding, whether you're the bride or just got swept along on the Crazy Train with her.

There are cards to ask your friends to serve as bridesmaids and cards to thank the entire wedding party, from the Best Man down to the flower girl. There's even a card to address the Bachelorette Party.

For more informal newlyweds, Paper Bride offers postcard books of announcements and thank yous, from the aforementioned Bling to Save-the-Dates and the highly Yenta-like "Thank God...!" Jewish-themed engagement announcements.

But the crowning glory of Paper Bride is the Deluxe Bridal Thank You Box, containing 50 cards and envelopes from every other themed box - all properly indexed and tied up with ribbon in an adorable keepsake box, of course. It even makes a wonderful gift; you're practically assured a thank you card for your thoughtfulness!

The Paper Bride website is easy to navigate and offers a straightforward ordering process. The layout is all pink and feminine, without being cloying or overly girly, and is obviously all about the bride, but fun enough for couples to search through without making the groom-to-be feel out of place or like there's nothing there for him. If you're a fun-loving spirit and want to share your feelings without the overbearing sentimentality of most bridal cards, Paper Bride may be right up your aisl--er, alley.

Who knows? You might end up sending Goldstein a thank you card.

I'm a romantic at heart. I love Sleepless in Seattle, pretty boxes, chocolate, fresh cut flowers, and old jazz standards. So I was delighted to stumble across Zuzu's Garden in my wanderings this week and instantly fell in love.

Offering what it calls "handcrafted garden-inspired home accents and gifts," Zuzu's Garden is a sun-dappled meadow full of flowers, butterflies, and delicate skyblue eggs masquerading as whimsical fairy keepsakes and framed cross-stitch or pressed botanicals.

At this writing, the keepsakes called Woodland Fairy Collectibles consist of 4 designs, each a tiny, painted, papier-mache box topped with vintage silk and preserved flowers and plants and containing a small paper bearing the Shakespearean verse or Elizabethan lyric or poem that inspired the box's design. My favorite is Titania's Woodland Bouquet, an oval keepsake topped with pink roses, tiny fern-like fronds, yellow twigs, and a pale pink velvet ribbon.

The Cottage Garden Miniature Cross-Stitch Collection consists of cross-stitched miniatures of designs by Dutch artist Marjolein Bastin. The small works (the largest measures roughly 4.5 x 4") are sewn in soft colors on antique-white fabric and framed in creamy, whitewashed wood frames. My favorites are the Butterfly Threesome, a set of 3 tiny (life-sized?) butterflies, and Three-ball Topiary, a modified design daintily stitched and perfect for a cottage mantlepiece or tucked into a bookshelf or plant-filled ledge. It's a little taste of Old Europe.

But my favorite part of the entire site, the pièce de résistance, is the Pressed Botanicals Collection, dried and framed collages consisting of pressed flowers and leaves, sheet music, old letters, elegant and pretty paper, original drawings and artwork, and whitewashed wooden frames unique to each work. All of them are absolutely gorgeous, and it seems a shame to single any out, but I absolutely fell in love with the shower of delicate lavender petals in Loves Me and the wild roses and sheet music of Moonlight Sonata. Thinking of You consists of vintage letters and stamps beneath the deep violet petals and graceful green leaves of Epilobium angustifolium, and Zuzu's own artwork is showcased floating over vintage ledger papers in the feathered grass of Cecropia Study.

If Zuzu's Garden leaves you craving more, her links page leads to a plethora of sites for the garden-craving cottage set.

Working from the theory you can tell a lot about a person by the purse she carries, former fashion major Jeaneen Benson has designed a line of accessories with style and verve all their own.

Yatta's product line includes handbags, clutches, wallets, checkbook covers, idea books and art, as well as the Yatta-trademarked "clutchlet": adorable handbags sized between a wallet and a clutch, perfect for the girl on the go who hates to be bogged down with heavy bags. The clutchlet also has a handy wrist strap, so if you're like me and avoid clutches like the plague but don't like to carry an actual bag just because it has a strap, the clutchlet may be the purse for you. My favorite style is the adorable vintage fabric Lamb, though the Blu Kitty also caught my eye!

If clubbing is your thing, Yatta's wristlets measure approximately 9 x 7" and will hold a wallet, keys, and lipstick. I love the soft pink felt Pear.

In addition to smaller wristlet bags and clutches, Yatta also offers the Lola line of larger bags featuring exclusive artwork by Enrique Torres. There are currently three bags in the series, available now. The Camille line also heeds the call of the large purse set, with plenty of room inside the attractive, utilitarian handbag. I have to admit to finding Kittens adorable. :)

Using sturdy outer fabrics like denim brocade and wool felt, Benson lines her constructions with vintage and whimsical fabric of dolls and bunnies or vibrant tropical scenes and flowers. She accents them with ribbons, lace, Swarovski crystal, and "windows" that provide glimpses of lining. After all, what earthly good is a cute kitty lining no one but the wearer ever sees? I appreciate this attention to detail and the care and creativity Benson obviously employs with each creation. And I love that she offers a reduced price outlet offering "projects gone wild" - items which, for one reason or another, did not meet Benson's production standards. I can not tell you how much I love this long wallet with its cheery sheer flower accent and the kicky-fun Butterfly bag.

I wonder what Benson would think that says about me?

Poking around Mood Swing is a little like suddenly discovering your Great Aunt Agatha's attic on a rainy afternoon. You know Agatha; she was the creative one in the family. The one everyone thought was just a little off, who saved everything and filled her house with unusual "treasures".

So it is with Kristen Townsend, the creative force behind Mood Swing. A self-described "one woman chaos," Townsend collects beads, vintage items and other bits of nostalgia, incorporating them into her designs. Products range from jewelry like rings, brooches and bracelets, to home accents such as papier mache alphabet letters, throw pillows, pictures, and things Townsend calls "Vignettes": vintage images and papers encased in soldered glass and given an aged appearance, meant to be hung from doorknobs, shelves, or anywhere else you might care for a whisp of the past.

The Mood Swing website well matches Townsend's products and is uncluttered and easy to navigate. She also offers a sale page, wishlist (registration required), and The Glitter Diaries, an aptly-named blog featuring Mood Swing's new items and Townsend's treasure hunt adventures and plunders.

Though the site is fairly small, if nostalgia's your thing, there are probably more than a few items you'll like at Mood Swing, and I'd give it a looksee, just for fun, if nothing else. Aunt Agatha would love it.

7twentyfour is run by one young woman in Southern California and has a small but very stylish collection of greeting cards and stationery ranging from elegant to moderne. The website is neat, clean, easy to navigate, and pretty...which is a must for me, frankly. I dislike shopping on sloppy or haphazardly designed websites; the more crisp and clean, the better, and frankly, every design element has an impact with me. If your website is not attractive, how can I trust your product to be?

This is something I wish more small business owners would pay attention to. I should start a Hall of Shame for those designers whose websites are atrocious, because boy, are there a lot of them. But I digress.

At the moment, 7twentyfour offers custom design services for baby announcements and wedding invitations, as well as a gallery of past designs in the wedding line and a line of ready-to-go baby announcements in the works. Pricing is generously below what most custom-designed invitations cost and offers four different packages and extra options which include hand-tied ribbons and bows and vellum wraps. The Everyday line is composed of ready-to-go designs, with prices ranging from $1.75 - 3.00 a card.

7twentyfour's line of announcement cards for new babies is absolutely adorable, and I really like several of the designs for everyday, especially the bright orange birthday card with a picture of a cake on the front and the asian print cards. If you're looking for something original, would like custom-made baby announcements, or are getting married, odds are 7twentyfour press can meet your needs.