Etsy Favorites: What Santa Brought

It is one thing to believe in buying handmade, it is another to actually do so. This year I made it my goal to get at least 75% of our presents handmade. The other 25% were books, a couple of movies, and a few games. My customers are so good to me, I try to spread the love out as much as I can. Here are some of the great items we scored on Etsy this year!


You may see Scott out wearing this fantastic Tshirt. It is from Billyyy.


The girls got a chicken dinner, pumpkin pie, AND witches brew from Mudpie Kids.


This little guy lives on Sylvia's bed now. We bought it from Cuore.


We got one of each for the girls. Purchased from Sweet Bonny.


Stuffed this baby in Scott's stocking. Bought it from Nowvember, home of the amazing rainbow vomiting cat journals.


Buck Yeah poster for the man in my life from Mixed Species. LOVE this shop.


Hers and hers superhero capes from Baby Pop. Now in addition to playing Wild West they can play Wild West plus Superheros.


I bought two of these cuties for my girls from Tokyo Inspired. They arrived gift wrapped in Japanese paper which helped proliferate the whole Santa thing.




Purchased from Timberps for my step-brother. He predicts this will add a whole new level to the "wood" jokes in shop class.



Purchased from Arizona Dreams for Sylvia after being told that she would no longer have bad dreams if only we'd buy her a dreamcatcher. These were the nicest ones we saw on Etsy.

Etsy Favorites: Bonnet!

I didn't even know I wanted a bonnet until I opened Etsy this morning and found this fantastic reversible bonnet!

Miss Minoes out of Leiden, has created this amazing reversible flip-flopable sunhat/bonnet (there are four ways to wear it) that is so casually crazy that I think even I could pull it off (and I am NOT a hat person). I might need this for our summer outings and even a little light gardening.

Welcome to Esty: Sandy Dyas Photography

I love this photo of Caroline flying through the air. Photo by Sandy Dyas

My first new Etsy shop to feature is a good friend of mine, Sandy Dyas. She is a fabulous photographer with a knack for catching reality at it's most sincere. I am positively smitten with her photo of her granddaughter bouncing on the bed in her supergirl outfit. I'll let her shop description tell the rest of her story.

Sandy Dyas Fine Art Photography

Welcome to My World. Indeed this world is rather strange, a bit unusual and beautiful too. I have had a camera in my hand since I was a young girl. Cameras make you pay attention to what is right in front of you. For years I used film and sometimes still do but I own several digital cameras now in addition to my old-school cameras.

Drawn to people and their environments - and especially natural light, I strive to create a collaborative and authentic portrait of the world we live in. I look for photographs in the constantly changing world that strike a note with me; images that contain reality and ambiguity. I use my camera as a way to see, to interact with the world and to remember.

Early in my career, I owned a small portraiture business in Bellevue, a small Iowa town near the Mississippi River. A dozen years later, I moved to Iowa City. I received my MFA in Intermedia (Performance Art & Video). My first book of photographs entitled Down to the River; Portraits of Iowa Musicians was published by the University of Iowa Press in June 2007.

My photographs have appeared in the New York Times, Glamour, Jane, Simon & Schuster, No Depression, Newsweek, Random House, RedHouse Records, Vogue and many more publications.

Photographs are printed on Fuji Lustre E Surface Photographic Paper unless otherwise noted.
All prints are on archival paper and printed at a excellent professional lab I am been using for many years. There are more options such as: Metallic Photographic Paper, Canvas on Masonite and more - Just Ask!

Most images can be printed at various sizes.

More about my work:
http://www.sandydyas.com
http://sandydyas.blogspot.com/


James and the Pronghorn. Photo by Sandy Dyas


Green Dress on Orange Wall. Photo by Sandy Dyas

Etsy Favorites: Sub Rosa Fashion

Sub Rosa Fashion is out of Sarajevo. I have found several artists based out of Sarajevo who masterfully use color and texture in their knitting and crocheting. The line of clothing made by Sub Rosa is fun and unusual, but not outside of the realm of practical. It is relatively affordable as well considering how much time and materials must go into each piece. She uses a broad range of colors, ruffles, and textures to create her fabulous unique pieces.


I just love the crazy colorful oversized ribbing.


The uneven hemline reminds me of seaweed.


Ok what pink ruffle loving gal DOESN'T want this dress!

Etsy Favorites: Paper Airplane Launcher

When my daughter turned 5, I looked desperately for handmade games and toys to buy for her. While inventive art stuffies are nice to look at, they are really not all that engaging for an intelligent five year old. I wanted to buy her some sort of board game or other toy that required something more than just her imagination (because trust me, she's got that one covered). After searching for days, the best I could come up with were a few stacking games and a fishing game. I bought a few things handmade, made a few things, and purchased most of the games from a locally run educational toy store.

I wish I had found Times 3 Toys! They make really great wooden boats powered by balloons and rubber bands and paper airplane launchers. I love the paper airplane launcher. It holds any kind of paper airplane, so I can imagine an airforce of differently shaped airplanes flying through the air.

I've got this shop bookmarked for next year!

Etsy Favorites: Heidi Legwarmers

Yikes! I do not like legwarmers, but I WANT THESE! The colors are spot on, and the embroidery detail down the front brings a tear of joy to my eye. I am dusting off my ledehosen and braiding my hair as you read this. At a mere $17, these beauties from Olga11223 are a steal!

Etsy Favorites: A Coincidence?

When I mark favorites, it is typically a random occurrence. I mark items I see on the front page, or items as they scroll through the recently listed items. Sometimes, if I am looking for something in particular, I will mark items I like so I can come back to them.

I love opening my favorites and finding mini accidentally curated collections of items. Here is what I found today.


Harold and Maude Paper Dolls by Little Grey Goose.



6 Tiny Portraits by Be Happy Now.


Love Bird Note Card by Fancy Me Flyin.


Fluffy Owl Yarn Wreath by Knock Knocking.


Brigid by Kelly Packer

Etsy Favorites: Rainbow Sweater

Ok so all you really have to do is SAY rainbow sweater and I am on board. When I saw this amazing sweater last night, my heart skipped a beat. I realized that not only do I love rainbow sweaters, I love diagonal knits. I've seen A LOT of sweaters, and this one by Canann is one of my favorites.


This sweater has a nostalgic 80s feel that I very much enjoy. It reminds me of the video for "My Girls" by the Animal Collective

Etsy Favorites: Red Bloom Muff of Fabulousness

Fabulous indeed! The photo is ALSO fabulous, the pale aqua walls against the brilliant red makes me want to start painting again. I absolutely LOVE the texture and color of this piece. Birdism obviously spent some serious love putting this muff together. Wouldn't this be amazing in a winter wedding?

Etsy Favorites: 4 Season Cone Gnomes from CutesyPoo

I don't know about you, but here in the land of the perpetual snow, I would like the spring gnome to start pulling his weight. These cute little guys arrive in the form of a .pdf file that you can print from home and assemble. At $1.99 I almost don't even have to think about it! Cutesypoo Toys also makes similar gnomes in fabric, pre-assembled.

I picture these up on a shelf in the girls' room or peek out from behind a plant. What about you?

Etsy Favorites: Last Five Etsy Purchases

Ever wonder what etsy sellers are buying on etsy? Here are five items I purchased for the holidays.


Ham Earrings. I bought these for my best friend, because who doesn't need a pair of ham earrings? Found at Sweet Meats


Seriously? Why Wait. Be Rad now. Three awesome screened posters from Mixed Species


Every year I purchase or make new ornaments for the tree. These came from Old World Primitives


These cuties came from Katie Anna. The girls love them!


And who doesn't like getting clean with booger soap? Made by Annie Poo