Except for The Boy (who is getting a lot of Wiigames and Wiicessories, because the Wii is something we like to play as much as he does — unlike, say, Marvel X-Men Checkers, which even pictures of Wolverine can't redeem — and you can get a CROSSBOW for it), I'm trying to make this a books-and-Etsy-and-maybe-CafePress Christmas, present-wise.
And there is SO MUCH on Etsy, it's not even close to manageable. I had to narrow my jewelry search down to "jewelry necklace pendant red" to even get to FIFTY-TWO pages. That's a lot to choose from!
This one was one of my absolute favorites:
Isn't that lovely?
I also went through SEVENTEEN pages of stuff tagged "dictionary", of which I liked this, especially:
This made me laugh out loud:
And then there's this handy tote bag from We Are BANG (they have other letters, if your name doesn't begin with E, but if your name doesn't begin with E I suggest changing it, as all the cool kids have chosen to come right after D in the alphabet):
And this scarf, which is a bit pricey, but worth it — handmade and so beautiful:
In addition to some Etsy shopping, I'm also going to make some custom t-shirts for people — this one is for my little boy. He asked me to make him an "I like pie" t-shirt, so, voilà:
(Don't worry, he doesn't read the blog, this won't ruin Santa for him.)
(I know, I know, we haven't done the Dress A Day t-shirts yet; I got caught up in researching alternate t-shirt suppliers and then got overwhelmed. But soon. And there might be a special Dress A Day holiday-type thingamajig this week, if I'm lucky. Or if you're lucky. Somebody's gonna be lucky. Just you wait.)
Any other suggestions for doing a smaller-and-indie-er Christmas (or great games for the Wii)? Please leave 'em in the comments … and remember, you can click on any of the images above to visit the sellers' pages.
A Dress A Day 
I OWN that pendant! I bought it a few years ago at the Xmas fair at Union Square in NYC. (In fact, I have two.)And to think I imagined the designs were more or less one of a kind. Alas.nancykayshapiro.com
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I like http://www.thisnext.com. Its just a site that lists things people think are cool. Sure, the iPhone will show up but plenty of other less common, much cooler things as well.
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What about some fair trade sites such as worldofgood.com?
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Love the Shirt! I want to make a few for gifts, but not sure how to proceed. I have difficulty with fine design lines not looking ‘clean’. Did you ‘iron on’ or did you cut out the design and ‘paint between’? I hope that makes sense! Any tips appreciated.
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There’s always sewing your own gifts;) Seriously,the majority of my list is getting something simple but handmade(an apron with scotty dogs for my mother, outfits for my niece and nephew, etc.) It takes time but since my budget is drastically reduced this year it is thankfully also less expensive.
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That shirt! OMG!@ My son (age 20) would think that was the awesomest shirt ever!
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I sell my paintings on etsy and have bought some of my presents there too. It’s a great site!
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Erin,Here, at my library, we love pie, too! So much, in fact, that we have semi-annual pie days, where we gorge ourselves on all manner of pie (and get very little work done thereafter).Just wanted to let you and your son know about the American Pie Council and their very fun website: piecouncil.org. Their motto: Eat More Pie.Any chance of getting the “I Like Pie” shirt in adult sizes?
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I would buy that pie shirt in big people sizes, thank you.
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I’m doing an all Etsy christmas too! Yay Etsy!! For more DIY Christmas ideas–Etsy-wise and otherwise, everyone should check out Craftypod’s Portland area newsletter DIY alert. It’s not just for Portlanders and she’s got GREAT links to nice DIY Christmas gift stuff. http://www.diyalert.com/holiday_specials
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I had really good luck with Etsy. I got some really cute hand towels from there, and when they came, they were hand-packaged very nicely (I know how you like those hand-made touches), and I was impressed with how professional and efficient the artist was in handling the transaction.Etsy is a fantastic marketplace and a great way to support artists who wouldn’t otherwise have much exposure.And NO, no one paid me $50 for this endorsement!I just looooooooooove it!
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I took the Handmade Pledge and I think there’s only one person I’m going to have to break it for (my BF’s dad). Most stuff I’m making myself, but I’ve also purchased stuff from friends: Traci Bunkers’ Etsy shop, Barbe St. John, and Delana Lee. It’s amazing to have such talented friends. I also bought from someone I would love to call friend, but alas I don’t think I’ll ever have the opportunity to meet her: Julie Zarate. Amazing stuff. Oh! Oh, and I almost forgot, I also bought someone a print from Maral Agnerian, a fabulously talented illustrator and costumer. Hurray for supporting independent artists!!!
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I love my Orange Peel necklace. My daughter wanted one too, but at age three I was too afraid of strangulation.I do a lot of shopping on Etsy, and it’s always been a great experience. All the jewelry I wear daily is from sellers on Etsy.
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I am lucky to have some great clients, sole proprietors who make their own products. They all ship. If I may: the best cheesecake ever at OldeLibertyStation.com. Beautiful handmade leather belts and bags at PuddleDockLeather.com. Gorgeous dried and silk wreaths at ClassicFloralDesigns.com.By the way, I’d go for an I Like Pie shirt, too!
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I was planning on making this a homemade goods and etsy Christmas…seeing as how it’s almost December and zero of my planned projects have been started, I might be relying much more heavily on Etsy than originally thought. Hurray for other people’s handmade goods!!!
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I’m knitting all my gifts except my dad’s… I need to figure out something for him. Oh… and I bought my boyfriend a DVD, but I also knit him a pair of felted slippers.In the past, for friends I have made pretty small boxes using scrapbooking paper and those little boxes from the craft store and then filled them with “warm fuzzies” you know, happy sayings or memories on small strips of paper that they can pull out when needing a pick me up.I am also a fan of infusing your own vodka as a gift for your favorite drinker… but maybe not everyone else thinks encouraging drinking is an appropriate holiday gift… whatev.
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I’m making little homemade things — handbags, scarves, pillowcases. You can buy the most fab fabrics for pillowcases, stuff I lust after but have no earthly reason to wear for example. I too have been buying from Etsy. Check out the paper goods — notebooks and stationary are my top choices. Love that site.Mary Fran
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Wow, you have some nice picks! I love ETSY too! you could always find some cool stuffs there, it is fun!
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I always love giving gifts to all my friends, but after crafting about a million mod-podged and polymer clay things last year I’ve decided that instead of giving more STUFF to people who may or may not really want or need it, I’m going to give a small donation in each person’s name to a charity they would be likely to support. So I would donate money to a charity that provides books for schoolchildren in Africa for my friend who’s going to major in education, or money to Greenpeace for a friend who is very environment-conscious. I’m going to also make something small, like a card or picture frame, and let them know what their donation-gift is doing. This was actually inspired by a post from a few years ago in this blog, so thanks, Erin! Relatives and very close friends are probably going to get things like handmade fleece blankets, sock monkeys/monsters, and funky purses and jewelry – small, but still appropriate for them and not too extravagant or wasteful.
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Wario Ware will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. Well not really but it is highly entertaining.
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Thanks for the Etsy shout-out!! I love Etsy, too! Besides the great stuff for sale (at great prices!!), the people who participate are just terrific. I am both a seller and buyer on Etsy, and I have had wonderful virtual interactions on the site. Don’t forget that many Etsy sellers will happily do custom jobs. I asked a jewelry maker to make me one of her rings in gold instead of silver, and she was really excited to do it!
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My 17yo dd would ADORE that shirt…”I like pie” is one of her favorite things to say! I’m serious, it is, and yes, she is a bit of an odd child, lovably so, of course:-) I am doing all handmade things this year for Christmas, mostly because money is super tight, but also because I want to. Aprons for the gals on my list and wool felt slippers for the guys. My kids are getting pajamas, robes and probably slippers (if I have the time).wonderful blog, btw
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Cool Wii games: Guitar Hero III, Super Mario Galaxy. And let me tell you, GHIII is the best ever.
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The other day I was complaining to my husband about how hard and time-consuming it is to come up with thoughtful gifts for everyone in our family. He had a shockingly wonderful idea:Give everybody homemade chocolate truffles. It’s brilliant! Every objection I had to the idea (eg, I would appear unimaginative) was met with: “yeah, but if you got a box of homemade truffles for christmas, would you mind any of that?” and I have to say that if I had a box of homemade truffles I could forgive anything.
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OPSIMATH – (n) A person who begins to learn late in life. Just in case you didn’t know, either…
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Looking for unique gift ideas for the women on your list? Check out http://www.artfulwears.com. I LOVE the Asian Tile Rings that are featured in the gift guide. Check them out!
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Erin, this is one blog where I really enjoy reading all the comments. What fabulous, thoughtful readers you have. And how delightful to discover that I am an opsimath. Who knew? I am doing the cookie thing this year. I am re-purposing old coffee cans by spray painting them white and then glittering them and adding a glittery star to the lid. Voila! Perfect cookie jars. I am also making teddy bears from an old chenille bedspread. Well, okay, they’re white so they’re polar bears.
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hey! thanks for the shoutout on my scarf :). i do have littler (and less pricey scarves available)i have been doing all of my shopping on etsy, too, or buying locally hand crafted items. mostly, on etsy, i’ve been purchasing really beatiful ceramic pieces for friends and family. some of my favorite sellers: hijackedceramics.etsy.com shoshonasnow.etsy.com yogagoat.etsy.com tashamck.etsy.com just to name a few! thanks again, and happy shopping to everyone!
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