Etsy finds

I'm loving Etsy lately (think eBay for handmade goods, only without the auctions), so I wanted to share some of my favourite Etsy sellers with you. You'll notice I bought a few skirts this summer. I feel guilty for spending money on myself, but my favourite skirts were wearing out and I just hate pants and shorts. Plus, my husband told me to. It's his fault. He made me.

My very first Etsy purchase ever was some felt food from Katie Made Goods (a Christmas gift for my youngest sister). Katie makes the most amazing felt food, as well as adorable customized teething dolls. I plan to buy more felt food from her when my son starts that sort of imaginative play. Right now, I'd be all "oh look honey, isn't this fun and adorable?!" and he'd be all "umm...whatever Mom", so we'll hold off on it for now.

I found myself this summer in need of a second denim tote, as the one I've had for years needed a little help on Farmer's Market days. A sweet friend of mine, Melody of Creative Radiance, made me a perfect one, with all sorts of useful pockets and really pretty fabric. Melody also makes custom knitted items, journals, and scrapbook albums.

My most favourite skirt ever was purchased from Andria Higgins Designs, who also sells handbags and embellished frames. I recently purchased a second skirt from her, and while I don't love the colours as much as the first one, it is a couple inches longer and should be quite pretty (I haven't received it yet).

I have such a hard time finding long skirts that fit my short legs, but I found a couple beautiful wrap skirts that fit perfectly from Siam2u. The skirts came all the way from Thailand and are truly amazing, especially the ones made from rayon. Beautiful and so comfy.

My last skirt purchases came from Tall Giraffe, who also makes pillow covers and coin purses. As a testament to how much I love my husband, I bought a skirt in, well, a truly hideous bright blue swirly pattern, because he loved it and wanted me to have it. This is one of those "don't leave the house with it" skirts. To make up for the hideous skirt, I also bought a really really pretty one from her at the same time. The skirts are fun, comfy, perfect for wearing around the house. Not so perfect for a windy day. And most of her fabrics are not the hideous bright blue swirly pattern that my husband decided was "so me" (*shudder*).

Finally, I bought some bandana-style headbands from GirLee Girls. Jenni very quickly and cheerfully picked a variety of fabrics to match the custom requests I had for her (to go with all my new skirts!). I haven't received the headbands yet, but she has great feedback and they look like they fit really nicely. I wanted something that wasn't as fussy to tie as the ones I have are, so these should be perfect. Just slip on and go!

Those are the Etsy sellers I've already purchased from. These next ones are ones I either haven't purchased from *yet*, or who have amazing products that are sadly a bit out of my price range (so I just drool over them in my favourites lists instead).

Palmetto Handmade sells these really neat little verse purses. They are fabric purses that fit a month's worth of verse cards in them. The verse cards come printed with various verses - she sells a set, for example, of peace verses, of joy verses, even a set of alphabet verses for children. These are definitely on my "to buy" list. She also has a couple of adorable and inventive baby items.

Mama Suds sells (vegan-friendly!) homemade body care products. Go ahead, pamper yourself.

Fate Goddess sells baby/toddler leg warmers - think Baby Legs for half the cost. I loved Baby Legs when my son was at the crawling stage, as well as during the winter (because those pant legs just never stay down!). I used them around the house instead of pants (made diaper changing a lot easier) and outside underneath pants (to keep those bare ankles warm). I think I'll be snatching up another pair or two for this winter.

Sadly, I'm not in the market, but Bronwen Handcrafted sells some *very* unique ring slings, pouch slings, mei tais (and more!).

Ellembee, Supastarr, Circular Accessories, and Rainbow Swirlz all sell hand-screened shirts in various styles. While I (sadly) cannot convince myself to spend so much on just one shirt when my $8 Walmart shirts do just fine, maybe one of you can. And post pictures, so I can live vicariously through you. Same goes for the awesome skirts Sutara sells and the neat organic cotton and hemp clothing Gaia Conceptions makes. Oh, and don't forget the girls' pillowcase dresses and the women's pillowcase shirts made by Designology - yes, I want pictures of those when you buy them too. Especially the pillowcase dresses for little girls, as I love pillowcase dresses but doubt my husband would appreciate me dressing my son in one.

Finally, my last two - Beneath the Rowan Tree and Green Mountain Wee Woolies both sell children's clothing and natural toys. I'm particularly interested in the playsilks, which I plan to buy my son for Christmas. Right now his old receiving blankets will do (he currently loves to have me tie one around him like a toga).

So go on, get shopping - and buy handmade!