Crafty Crap

With Halloween done and gone (well, the candy still lingers), my attention is turning full-speed to the Christmas holiday -- more specifically, Christmas shopping. Yes, I know I already blogged about it recently.

But the more I think about it, the more I think I'm wanting to go the homemade route for many gifts. Either stuff that I make myself or stuff handmade by other people. You know, crafty crap. (I mean that in the nicest of ways!) Stuff that is not mass-produced on an assembly line in some foreign country.

The way I see it, there are three ways to get crafty crap for the holidays (or whenever):

1. Make it yourself.
2. Shop holiday craft shows/bazaars.
3. Shop Etsy.

There are a few things I can make myself -- notecards, some kitchen/food gifts, beaded jewelry. I've tried to convince my siblings to do a "handmade" gift exchange -- a CD with a mix of tunes would count, but they're not so enthusiastic. Do you do any handmade gifts? What?

Last year, my mom, sister and I spent a whole day going to holiday craft shows. It was a blast. Sure, there were an abundance of beaded bracelets and I wasn't interested in the homemade jar candles that seemed so prolific. But I did find some cool stuff -- little handmade soaps with mini treasures embedded inside, a fashion-forward t-shirt with a rhinestone horseshoe -- perfect for cheering on my Indianapolis Colts. And when Annie was big into American Girl, those craft shows were the perfect place for buying doll clothes that didn't break the bank.

We're hoping to do a day like that again, so I'm on the lookout for dates/places for local craft shows. If you know of any in the Central Indiana area, please leave me a comment!

Finally, Etsy shopping. I learned about Etsy when I came across a woman who had a booth at a craft show I was at and she had her Etsy site listed on her business card. I could spend hours looking at stuff on Etsy! To get started on Etsy, you can go to Etsy.com and just search something you're interested in -- frogs or Scrabble or sock monkeys, whatever.

Here are a few of the Etsy sites I check from time to time.

1. Lasso the Moon -- Where my Etsy fascination started.
2. Fairies'nFirecrackers -- Adorable frou-frou for little girls by 4th Frog follower Annie
3. Sara's Art -- I just discovered this shop - funky & whimsical art for your home

Do you have others you like? Do share!