etsy friday

I missed last week, and there won't be one next week*, so etsy friday's a little heavy today, k?

:)

When I said I signed the Buy Handmade pledge, I didn't take it to mean that everything I bought was going to be handmade... Hillary was right that there are no handmade Wiis to be found anywhere, and goodness help me if my son doesn't get one of those lightweight r/c helicopters (that he'll destroy in like, 3 minutes... one minute for each of his years!). I really have made an effort to buy handmade when I can though.

For my immediate (adult) family, there are three women and two men to buy (and knit!) for. I made them up each a small box of etsy body goodies in addition to my (still in progress) holiday knitting. Buying-wise for the ladies...


Sample sized bath salts and sugar scrubs from SweetSpice.etsy.com

Shannon from SweetSpice sells lots and lots of good body things, and I couldn't resist picking up this "sample" pack of 3 sets with sugar scrubs and bath salts. Each is about 3 oz, and came beautifully packaged like you see (gift wrapping, not one of my strong points so I appreciate all the help I can get!) You get to choose your scents, so this is also a nice treat for yourself if you're looking to sample scents and don't want to dive headon into a full purchase all at once.

And of course for both the men and women, a favorite standby...


Guest sized soaps (one pound) from FrostFishCoveSoaps.etsy.com


2 lbs of soap from FrostFishCoveSoaps.etsy.com

Then men are each getting a pound of soap from Frost Fish Cove Soaps, while I'll split up the pound of smaller guest soaps among the ladies' boxes. I hope they love handmade cold-process soaps as much as I do... I'm a bit (!!) of a Frost Fish junkie, and have some more ordered for myself on their way to me :)

You may have guessed by now that I can't possibly use all of the things I buy (except fiber! :)) and you'd be right-- lots of things go as gifts for my loved ones. I've been holding onto these for part of this year's giftboxes as well...


Clever Girl shea skin spread by clevergirl.etsy.com

I'm kind of bummed to see that Bek from CleverGirl has put her skin spreads and facial scrubs on hiatus... the shea spreads are so good smelling and I fell for the sample face mask scrubs she included with this order so long ago. BUT! checking out her vintage bakelite + modern metalwork jewelry (ooh, her Sunny Side Up series is SO my favorite!!) makes me feel better. And covetous :)

I have two "male" scents for the guys' boxes-- vetiver and moroccan mint, and the ladies will get more of the fruitier, female scents that I prefer. (I think I'll convo Bek and ask if she's bringing her body care stuff back... I have lots of skin spread, but really mean it when I said I liked her Best You Ever convertible facial scrub/mask/cleanser samples she sent...)

I also really, really like some body stuff I kept for myself...


2 - 8 oz sugar body scrubs from SweetSpice.etsy.com

These are awesome. A girlfriend gave me some handmade sugar scrub last holiday season and while I loved it, it was a bit too oily and a bit too "scrubby" for everyday use. The scrubs from SweetSpice I'm using every day in the shower, and they're not too hard or oily AND I end up smelling good, too :)

I also really appreciate that the scrubs (both these and the sample sizes, above) are plastic shrink wrapped closed-- it not only looks more "professional" in the gift giving sense, but it also feels more assuring that they won't leak or get on anything else if I were to ship them.

And now for things I'm not shipping to ANYONE... :)


"Sari" -- superwash merino, glitz, sari silk, and silk batts from EnchantedKnoll.etsy.com

EnchantedKnoll was so kind to make these up for me custom-- one of my favorite things about etsy is having the artist right there, and that so many are willing to do custom work. Josette had 4 oz of these batts for sale but I wanted eight... I'm thinking I'll spin them up and ply them with freshwater pearls and garnets like I did with the last wonderful batch of batts from her shop. She so kindly made them up for me, and they're beautiful!



There are just too many beautiful fiber things out there, and too many kind etsy sellers :) Just like Rachel and Lori... they BOTH swapped with me, stitch markers for fiber! Can you believe it, cos I obviously got the better end of the deal ;)


Sylthering Sheep, superwash merino by DyeabolicalYarns.etsy.com

I usually never take pics with flash, but there was NO other way for me to capture the bright neon fantabulosity of this colorway by DyeabolicalYarns. Oh, don't see it on her sold items list? That's cos she gave her blog readers first crack at her new dyework, and this was my choice. Awesome, eh? (Really is though! I never buy superwash merino from anyone... I have enough undyed here to choke a chicken and can't bring myself to buy more dyed or undyed-- but HAD to have this one!)

Another had to have by Lori...


"Jam" 70/30 superwash merino/alpaca by FromTheWoolRoom.etsy.com

Oh yes. I didn't even capture how saturated these colors are-- and you read right, it's sw merino/ALPACA. Yes, for socks. Awesome, awesome socks. (Alpaca felts less readily than wool so I'm hoping they'll hold up to a gentle wash in the machine and line dry.) From The Wool Room used a grey base fiber for this dyed braid, so the colors are just so intense without being dark. I think the choice of the grey colored base fiber will be really interesting to spin; for me, sometimes I've been disappointed to see white remnants of base fiber pastel-up colors in handdyed roving (mine included) esp. when spun finely, so this'll be a treat to watch and see.

One more treat before I head off into the sunset...


Felt fruit googly eyes cards from peasoup.etsy.com

I can never catch up to the huge amount of cool cards I buy on etsy, and have slowed down on purchasing cards recently to try... but couldn't resist these. PeaSoup makes handsewn felt cards that she stamps with kitschy phrases (the banana? "i like you a whole bunch...") that just, yeah. Too cute. Nicole also helped me out with a custom order; I saw a card that was in her sold items but not for sale, and she reproduced it for me.

I love etsy.

And etsyians!

:)

Have a good holiday season, all. Miss you!


* I'm heading off into the sunset, visiting family over the next few weeks and trying to get my head and life in order in the process. I don't expect to blog for a while, and have put my etsy zeromarkers shop on "holiday" status for the time being to give myself some breathing room. Have a good season if I'm not back by then, and feel free to browse my old etsy friday posts if you need a handmade fix/inspiration for your holidays :)

And for those of you in the Bay Area (California)? This weekend has a few local treats in store. A Verb for Keeping Warm is co-hosting an open studio "Winter Fiber and Yarn Show" Dec 1st & 2nd... Kristine dyes and sells beautiful fibers and yarns, handspun and commercial, many of which have been dyed with natural dyes. (She has an etsy shop too!) I'll be unable to make it, since I'll be at the Article Pract yarn tasting on Sunday... there's still time to sign up! The sampling this time?

SOCK YARN.

Expect me to come back with a slew of tiny socks modelled by The Bellwether's keychain sock blocker, k?

:)