Etsy love
In light of our bookstore loss last fall, I really tried to do more local holiday shopping. I bought fair trade decorations, and we did all our kids’ toy shopping at the local toy store. (Everything was still made in China, but at least they were made of wood by reputable European manufacturers.) When it came to other gifts, though, I had a much harder time. I think I’m too type A to shop local – I always have something specific in mind and then have to go store to store to find it, only to wind up at Target in the end anyway. To be more successful in the future, I’ll just have to be a little more laid back about finding gifts. Where I have had success, however, is on Etsy. Whatever it is I think up, someone is selling. Like eBay, but prettier. I was looking for metal ornaments for the tree (I went with metal, wood & fabric this year instead of breakable glass) and voila. I also never have trouble finding the perfect fabric for the various crafty projects that I think up. (Now if only I could actually following through on making them!) And every Etsy seller I’ve dealt with has been super friendly as well, with packages beautifully wrapped and little extras included. The ornaments came gift-wrapped with vintage Christmas postcards, too cute.
I recently saw an idea in Cookie magazine to commission a
painting of your child’s favorite toy. Owen has really grown attached to his
stuffed penguin, Coco, so I thought that would
be awesome. But where to find a painter that didn’t cost a fortune? Etsy, of
course. I found a woman who does beautiful, colorful custom paintings. She had
even done a penguin series already, so I knew she would be perfect. The paintings
arrived yesterday and they couldn’t be cuter!! Owen loved them at first sight as
well, although he became concerned about Coco being “trapped” in the painting
and got upset until we brought him the original Coco
– it was too funny.
P.S. Check out RosieMade if you need something to brighten up your kid’s room!
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