Friday, November 25, 2011

A handmade Christmas {gift guide and coupon code}.

If you're visiting because of the Indie Christmas blog hop, welcome! :)


I love handmade. I am a crafter who's afflicted with the DIY disease, which means that most of the time when I see something neat my first thought is, I could probably make that myself! Which is, by the way, how I ended up accumulating all of my crafty hobbies.

But I do buy handmade items, too. I love to browse Etsy and see all of the lovely, creative things that other people are doing! Whether you're a crafter or not, Etsy is the perfect place to find quirky, one of a kind gifts.

So, on this Black Friday I will not be camping out in front of Target or fighting people for that last flat screen TV. :) I did make a few Etsy purchases, though, and now I want to share some awesome Etsy shops with you!
{Photo credits, left to right: The Little Fox, Kecky, The Black Apple}

I love buying sweet art prints on Etsy. The above prints are from some of my favorite shops that sell art.

The Little Fox has adorable fairy tale and Alice in Wonderland artwork! The owner lives in the UK, but all prints have free shipping and, every time I've ordered from her, they get here super quickly! And she's having a 25% off sale this weekend. I bought a pendant of the above Alice print. :)

Kecky is (I think) the first Etsy shop I ever discovered! I really, really want the Narnia print shown above, from "The Magician's Nephew." Her Winter Rains print is gorgeous, too.

And I think The Black Apple is probably my favorite Etsy shop. I adore her style and have a ton of her prints in my favorites. :) Her Alice series is really incredible, and it includes scenes from the books that are usually left out of film adaptations. Emily is releasing a children's book in January that is based on one of her series of paintings, and I'm so excited for that!

{Bottom left: Wee Little Stitches, top right: A Little Sweetness, bottom right: Studio MME, and bottom center: Follow the White Bunny}

If you know someone who is a crafter (or if you're one yourself!), you should know that Etsy is full of adorable patterns. I think it would be nice to give them as a gift- either you could have the shop owner send the pattern to their email address, or you could get it, print it out, and wrap it up! And a lot of pattern stores sell gift certificates, too. These are some of my favorite shops that sell embroidery patterns.

The Pixel People patterns at Wee Little Stitches are perfect for cross-stitchers who are nerds. :) Or who have a fondness for a certain TV show or film franchise. They are so cute! I just love the Harry Potter ones, the LOTR one, and the Princess Bride gang, shown above. If you buy two or more patterns this weekend, you get 20% off with the coupon code THANKS.

If you love woodland scenes that involve a lot of green, red, and light blue, then you'll love A Little Sweetness. Her patterns would be perfect embroidered for a little girl's room. You can see one of my finished embroideries from her pattern here.

Studio MME already has pretty art prints, but now they are also selling embroidery patterns and even kits (that would make a great gift!). I just finished using one of her patterns.

Follow the White Bunny has lots of adorable woodland patterns. But my favorite and the one I stitched was fairy tale inspired- the Princess and the Pea.

{Bottom left: Polarity, top left: CuteAbility, bottom right: The Black Apple, and bottom center: Purrrfect Pendants.}

One craft that I have not really ventured into is jewelry making. So I love looking at handmade jewelry. I mostly only wear necklaces, which is why they're featured so prominently in pictures {I have seen some adorable earrings, but I don't have pierced ears}.

Polarity apparently recycles a little part from a car and turns it into cute lockets! Each locket comes with two or three magnetic interchangeable covers, and they have dozens of designs to pick from. I love the Alice ones and the fairy tale one pictured above.

CuteAbility has the most charming jewelry I've ever seen- little miniature red ruby slippers, sewing machines, hot air balloons, etc.! Everything definitely has a whimsical feel, and I love it.

I show my love for Cary Grant by wearing the above orange necklace. :) I think the shop had a different name in the past, but now it's called Purrrfect Pendants. They have Scrabble tile pendants featuring just about anything you can think of!

And once again, the Black Apple. Not only do they sell art prints, but right now they have a collection of lockets featuring her art. They're called Fancy Wearables. :) I have been swooning over this midway locket for months now, but it's a little out of my price range just now. I think it's the most gorgeous locket I've ever seen...if anyone wants to send it to me, feel free to do so. :)


And now for a bit of shameless promotion...

I have an Etsy shop, too! :) I opened up Sew Technicolor just over a year ago. My shop features handmade fabric wallets, iPod or cell phone cozies, embroidery pieces, and handbound books.

For the holiday season, I changed my shop sections. They're now gift guide style:

-For the Shopaholic {includes wallets and a couple of bags}
-For the Music Lover {includes iPod cozies, which also hold most cell phones}
-For the Bookworm {includes handbound books}
-For Your Home {includes embroidery framed in hoops and ready to hang!}

Also, for a limited time during Christmas, I'm now offering a bundle where you can save money by purchasing both a wallet and a cozy. See here for details.

And one more thing...
I am offering free shipping just to my blog readers and visitors for this weekend only. Just enter the code BF2011 during checkout. This offer is good for this weekend only: on purchases made from right now through Monday night!

Until next time,

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