Etsy Love

While I might not have made my wish list yet, I know that I'm starting to think of what to get for my nearest and dearest on my list.
There are plenty of gift lists out there for your perusal (most retailers have already put together one by now).

But on my gift list I wanted to feature the talented folks over at Etsy (and bonus: they're all under $50, with most of them under $15. That's what we broke college kids call impress for less).
So lend a hand to the little guys and be kind to your wallet this year, because remember, it's not the money but the time that you spend on each gift that counts.

The Gourmet

Gourmet Popcorn Spice Kit

Holiday French Macaroon Sampler

The Beauty Junkie

Woodsmoke and Vanilla Sugar-Cube Body Scrub

Coconut Chai Hair Nectar

The Geek

Marooned on Mongo Pillows

Geek Clock

The Romantic

Paris Je T'aime

Lavender Scented Stationery

The Jock

Personalized Basketball Player Wall Decal

Defense

The Fashionista

Body Chain, Vol. 4

Moonstone Tear Drop Necklace

The Baby

"Candy" Rabbit Plushie

ASL "I love you" Teething Toy

Favorites

You know what I hate?
When practical things get in the way of fun things.
I would like to be buying pretty new dresses and sassy shoes, but instead I need things like underwear, bras, and socks.
I unfortunately was forced to go and drop about $200 at VS today on bras and underwear (socks come in 6 packs from Kmart as far as I'm concerned) because I was doing laundry every four days as I cycled through my four pairs of underwear without holes in them, and my one last good bra finally bit the dust.
I figure I'm probably saving money, not going to the laundromat every couple of days. However I just find it hard to get excited about something that no one else is going to see.
Meh, hoping that if I indulge in pretty lacey ones I'll get more excited about under garments.

ANYWAY (man, am I a rambler lately or what?) here's what's on my Etsy favorites page that I wish I was buying instead of panties.

Vintage 80's Anne Klein Belt

Probably my two favorite things: lions and snakeskin. If we could just throw some leopard print in there I'd be a very happy girl.

Chiffon Skirt

This might be blasphemy to vintage lovers, but I'd probably hack this off to knee length and then twirl around and pretend to be a ballerina.

Birgitte Clutch in Silk

I'm not much of a tote girl. Usually I carry around just a wristlet or a clutch, and this one I think would be perfect to replace my old Calvin Klein one.

Soft Wool Jacket

I love the new aviator jacket trend, but as always with trends I try to partake but a little more classically or just not with something blaringly obvious as trendy. This jacket has the same silloughette and fuzziness as an aviator jacket, but done in soft felted wool.

Love Bird Dress

If I haven't declared my love loudly enough for a great, simple t-shirt dress, let me do it one more time. LOVE. (and I don't have a grey one yet! I think this one might be necessary).

Black Leather Panel Leggings

Okay, imagine these with a t-shirt or the above t-shirt dress, and some cute wedges or booties. Better?

Slouch Pullover

For those days when putting on jeans and a sweatshirt to drag yourself to class is about all you can manage.

 

Bar Earrings

These would make my neck look a mile long with my "chic messy updo" aka "I haven't washed my hair in four days and my boss told me I looked like a greasy homeless bum so I put it up with a pen to disguise my greasy roots".
Classy.

Um... check out the back.

Lady Butterfly Blouse

Enough said.

And awesomely enough most of these are custom-made to order, except for vintage of course. It doesn't get much better than that.

Alchemy

I decided to do a test-drive of the alchemy feature on Etsy, because I had something in mind that I haven't been able to buy.
I'm kind of particular about accessories, since I wear very few (I'm a minimalist like that) and why I love buying my accessories from Etsy is that I can ask an etsy seller to tweak their product a little to customize it for me.
Designing from the ground up though? Well, that was new.
So I was looking for a connected earring cuff. Something simple and chic that didn't scream "I PLAY DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS AND I WISH I WAS A FAIRY PRINCESS FROM GONTHOLZOR"

or something like that.

So I posted my idea with a quick sketch I had done (albeit a very blurry one) on the Alchemy board. 

I wanted a stud and drop pearl earrings connected by a thin gold and silver chain. I got a few offers, some were good, some ridiculous.
I decided on Veraida Gifts after reviewing her work, and she seemed like just a generally nice person. We emailed back and forth for a while, she was very understanding and professional, and made sure that we clearly understood each other.

The final product came and I might have squealed, just a little. It was absolutely crazy to be able to hold an object that a few weeks ago was just an idea in my head.

I can see that this alchemy process is going to become addicting (especially for someone as nit-picky as myself). I already have a few other ideas that I want to see if the wonderful artisans of Etsy can make into reality.

OMG

AWWWWW....

 Chinese Tiger Cat Hat

My fat cats would absolutely kill me if I made them wear this.... but I'm really tempted to anyway.

Oh and remember this scarf? Yeah I definitely just bought it.
Loves.

Anubis

Hotness.
I think I'm in love.

Anubis Ring

Locket Up

I seem to be having a focus on accessories this week. But the latest piece of jewelry that has caught my eye is a necklace (and no, I'm not going back on my stance).
Blame Valentine's Day, but I'm loving the idea of a little heart locket on a delicate chain.

Lockets always have a certain interactive quality that I love to have with my jewelry. Mostly I like it if people are simply curious and want a closer look, but with lockets people actively want to know what could be inside.
What kind of picture or memento are you hiding in there?
I might just have to make one up. Perhaps put a picture of Hugh Grant and call him my lover ; )

Etsy seems to be the best place to find these. Here's some that are on my wishlist:

Tiny Heart Locket Necklace

Vintage Etched Locket

Rose Locket

Vintage 10K Gold Locket

Oh, and btw all of these are under $25. Gotta love Etsy.

Procrastination

I can't remember if I posted about regretsy.com yet, but I'm doing it now.
If you have some time on your hands, don't have time on your hands but want to procrastinate, like etsy, hate etsy, or just have a sense of humor go check it out.
I laughed so hard I almost peed myself.

http://www.regretsy.com/

A Moment of Silence

I feel like we should take a moment for what I just stumbled upon on etsy.

Yup. That's a happy uterus.

I love etsy.

photo courtesy of Primavera777

Body Harnesses?

"Isn't that like a fetish thing or something?"

glad I have such understanding friends sometimes.

I know that body harnesses and body chains conjure up images of those creepy kids who used to lurk right outside of the high school, or you know, that weird goth phase we all went through (What? No one else went through that phase? Just kidding then).

But I think that these chains from Armor are just divine. They seem to border on that edge between being delicate and pretty, and just being completely bad ass.

After seeing them on the lovely queens from Kingdom of Style (modeling in the last picture) I feel like these could be pretty versatile. Drape them over any formfitting dress, t-shirt etc, you could even layer the last one with a blazer or cardigan.

All I can say is that the owner picked a great name for her store. I love pieces that when you wear them you feel completely invincible. I get that from a wicked pair of high heels, from a body con dress, from a nipped and padded blazer, and if you just wrapped that up in chains, you would get one awesome power suit.

Etsy List

I had quite the day today, and to kick back and relax I browsed on etsy with my cup of tea (I'm deciding if it's a bad thing that my idea of relaxing is window shopping) I've added a few things to my favorites list that I might pick up in a month, but hopefully you guys will find something you can enjoy now.

I've been waiting to get in on this "statement necklace" trend until I could find one that I would love after the trend was long gone. I think that this piece from Bonnie English could do the trick.

I love this ring from Didalo. It has that old world charm because of the rampant lion fused with the clean minimalistic lines of the setting. I do seem to be drawn to that old world/new tech combo.

Just how cute is this little notepad? Yeah, you heard me right, this adorable little monster is also a notepad for jotting down all your worries. To get your "worry-woolie" fix head over to Spider Bite's shop. I'm totally getting my sisters ones for Christmas (shhh... don't tell them).

This hair comb from Percy Handmade is just divine. I honestly have never used a hair comb, and am not sure how to, and I think this is supposed to be a wedding fascinator.... but still, it's just beautiful.

Double Trouble

A while ago I mentioned how I had seen a stunning "brass knuckle" ring on moxie. The only reason I didn't jump on that ring was that a) it wasn't a true double finger ring and b) the price was a little ridiculous.

However, I think I found the perfect double finger ring.

Isn't it gorgeous? It's a true double finger ring, with that simple bar shape that I love, and it even has a little gem for a touch of girly with all that tough minimalism. Perfect.

It can be found on etsy.com custom order from Stars for Sydell.

Infinitely Cuddly

So I was browsing about on Etsy, looking for a big woolly scarf for the winter (it gets wicked cold here, even if I'm not in New England anymore. A scarf is a necessity!) and while I could with a lot of time and patience knit my own, I don't think I could do this:

This darlings is the "Samantha" scrolling infinity scarf by Smitten Kitten Originals on Etsy. She also comes in charcoal and a red. Samantha is also just like the math symbol she's named after, and is made with a triple twist in the design to help her drape elegantly no matter how you choose to wear her, whether as a hood, scarf, or wrap.

How cozy does it look? As soon as I saw it I

a) thought of the Missoni F/W RTW 09 show

b) wanted it

not necessarily in that order.

See? Doesn't that girl look all cuddly and cozy and ready to brave a North Eastern winter? I think so.

YES

I finally contacted the seller of my dream necklace, only to have a reply that she had just put one up for sale.

How long did it take for me to buy it? Probably a personal record of 0.27 seconds.

This darlings, is now on its way to me. YES!