Handmade Holiday Gift Guide

I don't just sell on Etsy, I love to shop there also. This year, I have tried on every gift giving occasion to buy handmade as much as possible. In my search for the perfect gifts, I have found some things I never would have thought of giving. Everyone knows buying handmade gifts for women is easy, especially with all the great jewelry out there. My shop is full of pendants and necklaces in every shape, size, and color. At around $10, they make perfect gifts for any women or teen. But what about those others on your list? Here are some of the most interesting gift ideas that you may have never thought of. All are handmade, and unique, and guaranteed to make your loved ones and friends feel truly special. Recieving handmade gifts make anyone feel like you went to a lot of thought and trouble to find that perfect gift. Isn't that what gift giving is truly about? Making someone feel truly special? The thought? Here are my favorite finds, all from shops on Etsy.

For the man on your list, how about this duct tape wallet? JDuct not only has this one, but tons of other one of a kind wallets in all kinds of designs: Another cool gift for men is a screenprinted by hand, direct from the artist t-shirt, also in many designs, by DBK Apparel: For those little boys (or even girls!), how about a marshmallow shooter? They shoot pom-poms too, for moms who don't have dogs to eat the ammo off the floor. These even come in two packs to avoid arguments, from BoysToys:

For little girly girls, there is everything from mom approved, adorable handmade winter hats, also handmade with love and one of a kind. This one is from MoMos Bows, who also makes tons of adorable hair bows:

Perhaps you have one of those American Girl doll-obsessed little girls. Get some gorgeous, one of a kind clothes for them at much more reasonable prices. I had several custom made to match ideas in my head from RetroReesa, like this Totally 80's one custom made for $15:

For those teen girls, these earrings are really popular, from Daydream Art Studios:

Maybe there's a woman on your list who doesn't wear a lot of jewelry. Try some fabulous, natural, highly fragranced handmade perfume purse misters available in dozens of high end scents, from Flameworks: You can also get goat milk soap, fresh from the farm in Kentucky. This one, Yuzu, smells good enough to eat. Move over Bath and Body Works, for Wilmoth Farms: For a fashionista on your list, how about the latest French fashions, direct from the French designer herself? I love this gorgeous silk top from Malam:

She may also love these very well made (I know, I own one!) and very beautiful designer handbags, straight from the designer in Switzerland, Novita Julien. She has all kinds of bags in all kinds of fabrics:
What about Grandma, though, who already has what she wants. Does she knit? How about indulging her like she does for everyone else? Here is some super soft and high end, hand spun and hand dyed yarn, from LunaBud Knits: Is there a baby, new mom, or soon to be mom on your list? Get them something noone else will, like these onesies that will get giggles everywhere. Bambinamia has giggle worthy onesies for everybody. My favorite: What about that person who has it all? At a loss? How about these super cute mice? The House of Mouse has one available in just about every occupation and even "famous mice" modeled after just about anyone. I like this little chef:
Last but not least, don't forget that even those cards that need to be sent can be handmade! Oh, don't make them yourself, just make them think you did, with great ones like these from Macaroni and Glue: Don't forget, almost every shop on Etsy LOVES custom orders, and is happy to accomodate even "crazy" requests! Often these custom orders do not cost any more than buying the item already made, a fear that often keeps people from asking. Remember, these are handmade items, made by artists just trying to make it. They truly appreciate your business and will go out of their way to show you. Just like your mother always said, it never hurts to ask! Happy Shopping!

Irish Car Bomb and Tag!

This week for my drink of the week, I'm giving everyone an Irish Car Bomb! So there!

Irish Car Bomb

1 pint Guinness

1/2 shot Irish Cream liqueur

1/2 shot Jameson Irish whiskey

Pour the Irish Cream into the shot glass first, followed by the Jameson. If you pour the whiskey over a spoon, it won't interrupt the denser cream liqueur and have that cool layered look. Pour the Guinness into a beer mug maybe 3/4 of the way full, and let the foam settle. Drop the shot glass into the beer mug and drink fast! Trust me on this.

I have also been tagged by my friend Annette on her blog, so I am supposed to tell you 7 random facts you don't know, and then tag 7 more people. Here goes:

1. I was in the Army for a whole 2 months.

2. I have a secret desire to be a showgirl. Even though I'm pretty sure you need to be larger than a B cup for that.

3. I also secretly want to be a roller derby girl. Even though I'd get hurt-badly-for sure.

4. I have always been sort of an entrepreneur. I went door to door singing Whitney Houston with a friend when I was 7 or 8 for tips, I made extra money in middle school selling leather keychains I stamped people's names in, and I sold condoms for $1 a piece in high school to shy kids.

5. My first dance recital was to "Thriller" and when they turned on the strobe light, which we weren't warned about by the way, every one of the girls froze up on stage, except me, who thought it was so cool I was doing anything just to see my hands move.

6. I have a secret love of OLD songs that I think are just heartbreakingly beautiful. You know the ones, the Moon River-esque songs they play in nursing homes and old movies.

7. I once figured out it takes 265 licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. Seriously.

Tag you're it! I'm tagging these people cause they all live in Kentucky too, and also cause they make me laugh and I want to see what they say:

1. Miya

2. Libby

3. Laura K

4. Mari

5. Jama

6. Bad Kitty! Heather

7. Creative Eye Kim

Rad Rockin Recycled Gift Boxes On the Cheap

I have been working all week making sure everything is all ready for the Hunter's Moon Festival here in Grand Rivers. One thing I have been working hard on all year is trying to look more pulled together and "professional," while sticking to a tight budget and maybe even being a little earth-friendly too. With the holidays coming up, I have been searching high and low for affordable gift boxes for my jewelry, but boy oh boy, are they expensive! I would have to charge more for my jewelry to afford the silly boxes. Then I found this fabulous tutorial video on Etsy shwoing how to make boxes from paper. A few calendars and Rolling Stone magazines later, I had these:

While I was at it, I cut up a stack of old (probably vintage by now) greeting cards into 1 1/2" x 2" pieces that are colorful on one side and blank on the other, and made gift tags out of them. By the time you fold up the boxes or cut up the cards for tags, the original pictures don't matter, all you see is a super rad, modern colorful look that I find irresistable.

From now until the end of the year, buy something from my Etsy shop or come visit me at the Hunter's Moon Festival this weekend and get a free handmade box, tag, and a fun bow with any purchase, just in time for the holiday season! The Hunter's Moon Festival is a great time, has tons of food and craft vendors, along with inflatables and kid's activities. Add to that a big parade (and a golf cart parade afterwards, since we are a golf cart friendly resort town, lol), a street dance with the wonderful Tabitha of Southern Fry'd (a great local band), and funnel cake, and it is a great day for the whole family!! We hope to see you there!

Seaside Dreams and the great blogs

Its a charmed life! Ever go to the beach with your kids, collect boxes full of shells that you lug back, only to wonder a week later what to do with them? Anyone with kids is probably faced with pocketfuls of rocks shaped like things, pretty shells, and other outdoor treasures all over the house. After our recent trip to Clearwater, Florida, visiting my grandmother. We brought back tons of shells from the number one rated beach in the US, Caledesi Island. One look tells you why it's so highly rated:

Not to mention it's one of the few beaches left with great shelling. We found probably 50 unbroken sand dollars alone. So upon our return, I decided to start making things with the shells, in the grand tradition of grandma, whose house boasts a vast assortment of shell crafts. One of my favorite things I have made so far is this charm bracelet with shells we found:

The greatest thing about this bracelet is that not only is it the newest thing in my shop, it is one of the 50-plus things on sale for 20% off from now until October 19th, for Bluegrass Etsy's Octoberfest Sale! Check out my shop for awesome deals, or go to the Bluegrass Etsy site for a complete list of great sales in tons of shops.

As long as you're browsing the web and reading blogs of artsy people, check out Cherished Dreams. She writes about tons of interesting crafts, mainly showing off beautiful quilts she makes. We're keeping it Bluegrass this week, since I am in the quilt capital of the US!

Drink of the Week, and a Big Big Sale!!

I'm really feeling fall this week. The crisp fall air, sleeping with lots of blankets and the windows open, leaves almost too pretty to rake up, and the wonderful smell of cookies baking in the kitchen. Mmmm...

Since we've been baking cookies today (hey, homeschooling means I can teach fractions by doubling recipes, and eat the results!), I've decided to make the drink of the week today an Oatmeal Cookie shot.

Oatmeal Cookie

1 part cinnamon schnapps or Goldenschlager

1 part butterscotch schnapps

1 part Irish Cream liquor

Shake over ice, strain into shot glass(es), enjoy!

While enjoying cookies, be they actual cookies or these yummy shots (or both), hop skip and jump over to http://www.bluegrassetsy.blogspot.com/ and peruse some awesome huge Octoberfest Sales, just in time for holiday shopping!! Most shops are offering 20% off AND free shipping, including me!! Just enter in the code, "BEST OF" in the message to seller in checkout, and wait for a revised invoice before paying. Sale goes until October 19th, but at these prices, handmade, one of a kind items will go fast! Check out my shop here!

Enjoy!! xoxo

Fall Beauties

Today is another beautiful fall day and I cannot get enough!! I finally get to open the windows this week, after a summer of captivity to the air conditioner thanks to Josh, whom I swear sweats in the snow. Yesterday I even took a long walk with my mom and Sierra, hills be damned! Of course my mom, visiting from Illinois and not used to hills at all, was not as gung-ho about the walk through the neighborhood as we were. But, at least it was just cool enough to not sweat about it.

It was also nice enough for me to take plenty of pics of my new jewelry, just in time for the team wide sale the Bluegrass Etsy team is having in a few days. One of my favorites is this necklace I made, using coral, slices of shells, and freshwater pearls:

Super big news about a super big sale coming up!! Details announced Sunday, October 5th!

Treasury Madness

It's been Treasury madness lately for the Bluegrass Etsy Street Team! For those who don't know what a treasury is, Etsy buyers and sellers can create a pictorial collection of favorite items sold on Etsy, usually based around a color or theme. Then, anyone on Etsy (joining is free, like eBay, but Etsy is way better and handmade), can view and comment on these treasuries. The more attention a treasury gets, the higher it moves up on the list. The highest on the list every day are put on the front page of Etsy for everyone to see, which is great publicity. Members of the Bluegrass Etsy team have been doing a great job of getting treasuries lately, and I have been lucky enough to be picked for a few of them! This latest one features one of my favorite necklaces, Flutter Into Fall Butterfly Necklace:

Be sure to visit this treasury while it is still live by clicking here, and leave your comments! xoxo

Bluegrass Etsy Street Team

It's been a windy weekend here in the G.R. and my neighbors are busy picking up huge limbs that have blown down and sawing them up. Everyone seems to have their power back, after a long Sunday without it, and it's back to business as usual just in time for Monday. That includes me, who will be getting to work on a few custom orders and preparing for a busy month.

I was recently asked to be the new team moderator/ leader for the Etsy Street Team for Kentucky, and despite the fact that I probably already spend too much time online as it is, I agreed. So far, I am really loving it! I have been actively recruiting this past week, setting up a networking site for the members on ning, which is an awesome idiot-proof site to set up your own social network (similar to MySpace), and redesigning the team blog. In addition, one of our member-volunteers, Libby, has been hard at work putting together a MySpace page for our team. Soon to come- team promotions! I'd love to know what you think! Please check out our team blog and learn about some other fabulous Kentucky artisans, and if you're on MySpace, stop by and say hello! Be sure to friend us for special updates and friend-only offers in the future.

Spray Paint Fun Part 3

This week I am scrambling to get everything done for the KWW Arts and Crafts Show this week, and needed to make some sort of display for my mini paintings. Maybe I'm cheap, or maybe its my eco-friendly raising that makes me dig through all the junk around the house before I buy anything, maybe its a little of both. After searching in vain for the right kind of wood to construct such a thing, I finally settled on an old, broken poster frame that has been sitting in the garage since I moved in. After fixing the frame with good ol' Gorilla Glue (that glue rocks!), I painted it lime green to match this cheap easel that's been collecting dust for several years now. Then I cleaned up the plastic "glass" from the frame and painted one side with glass frosting spray paint. I then hot glued the plastic in the frame to make sure it was secure, and then laid some of the same cutouts leftover from the necklace display board project and sprayed bursts of white and blue spray paint. The last thing was to add some shelves to put the paintings on, so I searched some more and came up with trim scraps from another household project and screwed them into the frame. Voila!

Be sure to come see what mini paintings I have- at marked down show special prices- this weekend! While you're there, pick up a goodie bag of handmade samples from me and other Etsy crafters, like these swell potscrubbers handmade by Mary Ellen's Crafts. I used one myself and can tell you firsthand, these nifty things really rock! Get one free and find out yourself, and then swing by her shop and show her some love!

margaritas and free samples!

Its been a busy week of getting last minute things done for the big arts and craft show next weekend. So make yourself a Margarita and relax with me!

Margarita:

1 1/2 oz tequila

1/2 oz triple sec

sweet and sour to fill

splash of Rose's Lime juice

garnish with a lime after pouring in a salted glass, and enjoy!

I have been busy today putting together fun "goodie bags" chock full of handmade with love samples from other Etsy artists to give away, so make sure to come out next weekend and get yours while they last! A taste of what to expect:

And from me:

Proud To Be Lowbrow

Apparently I have been putting all my jewelry in the wrong category in my Etsy shop. I thought "jewelry" covered it, but in browsing yesterday by category, I stumbled on jewelry similar to mine, (but hey, not all hand drawn with all the love I put in) under "kitsch". I guess I never knew really what this meant, because according to Webster's dictionary, it is:

kitsch
Pronunciation: \ˈkich\
Function: noun
Etymology: German
Date: 1925
1 : something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality 2 : a tacky or lowbrow quality or condition
— kitsch adjective

Gosh, I thought it was just fun, retro-ish, maybe a little pop art, fifties funky, that sort of thing. Lowbrow?! That's a little harsh. I consider my stuff to be high quality, since I consider how abusive I am to jewelry, and design everything to stand up to that. I spend alot of time hand drawing what others would just photocopy some graphic and glue on, and I definately never considered anything I make "tacky". I prefer "funky" or even "unique". Nonetheless, I tried putting some of my things in the "kitsch" category just to see what happens. My newest, He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not earrings:

As it turns out, kitsch is a pretty broad term, that apparently means something different to everyone. Some really cool artists are considered kitsch. My favorite, Russian born South African artist Vladimir Tretchikoff, was considered "the king of kitsch" (quite a title, don't you think?), and also one of the best selling artists of all time. One of my favorites, Ballerina:

I'm not even in this dude's league, but I'll settle for being kitsch, even lowbrow, for now. If you're up for a little educational reading, you can read more about this fantastic artist here.

Or just waste some time browsing Kitsch on Etsy here. Have a kitschy day! xoxo

A Day in the Life...

I have probably taken on too much. Seems I thrive in chaos, because I certainly am happier that way. I am now a columnist for an online art zine, http://www.skwigglekreationz.com I write a weekly interview section with various artists, so if you want to be interview, contact me and we'll chat. I am also contributing to two other blogs in addition to this one, Etsy Secrets and Bluegrass Etsy. I am also interviewing Kentucky artisans in the Bluegrass blog as of late, and posting super secret specials in Etsy Secrets!! Check them out (links are forever and ever in the sidebar over there--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->>>

I am also in the process of trying to place exchange students in local host families. This is, so far, time consuming, but quite fun for a social butterfly like me. The problem in working from home, since the bar burned down and I am here, has been the utter lack of socialization. I am now in a job, albeit part time, that I essentially talk for a living. How perfect is that?

I am also utterly inspired lately and have two paintings, a custom tattoo order, and umpteen jewelry pieces in the works. As if I wasn't busy enough, haha!! Throw in trying to wrap up the school year in the ol' Sullivan homeschool for the year, and plan out the summer, which seems to already be planned up, and get ready for the big double digit birthday for Sierra, and WHEW!! Hard to believe next week my little baby will be ten! This year it's all about Hannah Montana. Oh well, at least it's not Jaymee Lynn Spears or Britney for that matter.

So if you get time, (because I know I sure don't have any) check out Skwiggle Kreationz. Or any of the other blogs I'm writing. Stop on by, say hello!!