Cool Stuff: Honesty Stamps

Heartfelt communication is just so ... time-consuming. Enter Honesty Stamps from British artist Dominic Wilcox, which let you express your deepest feelings without any of that pesky soul-searching or tedious word-crafting.

The sentiments range from sweet to snarky, and the wooden stamps come in a pretty white gift box -- making it all that much easier to let that special someone know how you really feel.

They're £15 (about $25) each from London retailer Thorsten van Elten.

Cool Stuff: Frou-Frou & Claude Screens

Dramatic, functional, and versatile folding screens from London designer Shelley McDonald of Frou-Frou & Claude.

Use them to divide a room, to cordon off a dressing area or work space, or to serve as a interesting visual backdrop for a bed or sofa.

They're £425 (about $699), plus the fabric of your choice, right here.

Cool Stuff: Rustic Rolling Bins

I spotted these wooden storage bins on the U.K.'s Rose & Grey, and thought they were great. You could use them to corral kids' toys, stack clean towels in the bathroom, hold files and paperwork in your home office, or put them to use in any number of other household settings.

But at £55 (about $90) a pop? Not so much. Though I'm not crafty in the slightest, even I think it would be simplicity itself -- not to mention a whole lot cheaper -- to make something similar on your own.

A quick eBay search turned up hundreds of vintage wooden crates, for instance, or you can find them at just about any flea market. Heck, you probably have a couple already sitting in your basement.

Then just pick up some screw-on casters at your local hardware store or home center and voila -- a set of handy, utilitarian-chic rolling bins for a few bucks apiece.

Object of Lust: Alphabet Chest

This Alphabet Chest of Drawers from the U.K.'s Kent and London had me at hello. But the price -- £2,700, or about $4,335 -- had me choking on my coffee.

I wonder if you couldn't make a mini version by affixing some vintage letterpress blocks (there are tons up for grabs on eBay, for instance) to a set of inexpensive cubby drawers, like the Fira Chest from IKEA. It's an idea, anyway ...

(Via Designers' Block.)

Etsy Find of the Day: Fréya Art & Design Prints

An utterly charming combination of words and image from Etsy seller Fréya Art & Design (aka London- and Australia-based illustrator Fréya Eté). Above: Let's Plant Our Dreams in This Garden

Without You I Would Be Lost

Home Print

This is Where the Music's Grown

All the Most Beautiful Things

Footprints

You Fill Me With Sunshine

Each image is available as an 8-by-8 or -11-inch ($45) or 11-by-11-inch ($75) print on heavyweight German etching paper. See all of Fréya's sweet sentiments right here.

Etsy Find of the Day: Abigail Brown Birds

I just want to go on record that I'm completely over the whole bird thing. But I'll make a huge exception for these exquisite fabric avians from London-based textile artist Abigail Brown, which transcend the twee, tired trend and qualify as true works of art. They're not exactly inexpensive, but they are absolutely covetable. Above: Fabric Bird in Nest, $154

Blue Birds Canvas, $137

Large Fabric Bird White, $150

Pink Bird in Blossom Canvas, $204

Fabric Bird Blue Gray Cream, $125

Matchbox Tweeter, $31

See all of Brown's Etsy offerings right here (I'm a fan of her crafty foxes, too) -- and check out more of her handmade creations here.

Objects of Lust: Bus Sign Wingback Chairs

The transit sign trend has finally made its way onto furniture: These leather wingback chairs from Sydney design company Davidmet Nicole have been upholstered with authentic vintage English and Australian bus scroll signs.

They're a mere £3,995 apiece (about $6,083) from London's Atelier Abigail Ahern (where the red turned-wood side table also pictured above is a relative bargain at £1,500, or about $2,284).

Cool Stuff: MissPrint Lampshades

Colorful, covet-worthy lampshades from London's MissPrint (aka designers Yvonne and Rebecca Drury). Clockwise from top left: Berry Lime, Catkin White, Exotique Orange, Panache Pebble, Box Bush Slate, Fleur Lime, Pennyroyal Slate and Sunflower, Nectar Cherry, Saplings Slate and Sunflower, and Trailing Flower Pistachio.

The handprinted duppion silk shades are £59 to £140 apiece (about $89 to $212), and each pattern is available in several sizes and colorways.

See them all right here -- and while you're there, be sure to check out MissPrint's equally awesome cushions and wallpapers. (I'm seriously lusting after Saplings, above, in Sunflower Yellow or Turquoise and Gold, about $83 per roll.)

Cool Stuff: The Perfect Tote for These Economic Times

Sad but quite possibly true. ;-)

Get yours for £4 (about $6) here.

(Via Switched on Set.)

Etsy Find of the Day: LinenMe Textiles

Beautiful, understated bed, bath, and table linens from Etsy seller LinenMe (aka Lithuanian-by-way-of-U.K. textiles designer Inga Lukauskiene). Above: French Linen Tablecloth, $40

Luxury Wool Throw, $50

Satin Linen Bed Set, $100

Linen Cotton Cushion Cover, $12

Linen Basket, $9

Linen Cotton Dish Towel, $9

Blue Striped Linen Cotton Napkins, $15 for four

Soft Linen Huckaback Bath and Beach Towel, $30

Huckaback Bath Towel in Jazz Blue, $16

Linen Guest Towels, $6 each

Handmade Lavender Bags, $8 for two

See all of LinenMe's Etsy offerings right here.

Cool Stuff: "All You Need is Love" Signs

Oooh -- want.

They're £170 (about $255) for the set from Rockett St. George.

(Sorry -- I'm still a monosyllabic mess. Note to self: Bourbon shots + three hours of sleep = not a good combo. OK, I really am taking that nap now ... )

Cool Stuff: Flatweave Towels at Toast

While everyone else is slobbering all over the clothes in the new Toast catalog, I'm slobbering all over the towels.

The U.K.-based retailer's bath linens this season are mostly flatweave cottons and linens -- so unlike the fluffy terry towels I'm used to, but with an understated elegance that evokes seaside summer cottages and feels deliciously crisp and cool against sun-warmed skin.

They have a practical allure as well: In addition to looking pretty, imagine how little space they'd take up in the linen closet, and how easy one would be to toss in a weekend bag for a quick warm-weather getaway.

Clockwise from top left: Fringed Hammam Towel, £25 (about $36); Hammam Towel, £18 ($26); Stripe Hammam Towel, £25 ($36); Large Khadi Bath Sheet, £35 ($50); and Linen Sauna Towel, £32 ($46)

Check out all of Toast's tasty new offerings right here.

Cool Stuff: Stain Cups

British designer Bethan Laura Wood's clever Stain Cups are designed to become more beautiful with each use. Wood treats the inside of each porcelain teacup so that, over time, certain areas pick up more stain than others. "The more the cups are used, the more the pattern is revealed," she explains.

The cups are £35 (about $50) each. Contact Wood directly to order, and check out more of the young designer's innovative wares right here.

(Via CribCandy.)