2008 Handmade Gift Guide

Dear Friends,

I just love sharing with you my favorite artists, artisans, crafters, and entrepreneurs from around the world! I love that there are so many people out there making unique creations by hand, and that these beautiful creations are accessible to so many of us via the internet. This year, the list is exclusively sourced from my favorite place for all things hand made - Etsy.

Perhaps within these shops you will find some unique gifts to share with your loved ones this holiday season.

Buy handmade. It's good for you.

In Celebration of You,
Amy




GREETING CARDS & BOOKS

WovenMoon.etsy.com
Charlotte, NC
Limited edition couture cards and gifts.

LaurenAlexander.etsy.com
Overland Park, KS
Adorable art and packs of greeting cards

moderncard.etsy.com
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
Blank, birthday and holiday cards – beautifully done.

KupoKiley.etsy.com
Eugene, OR
Handmade books for the serious writer.

malien00.etsy.com
Portland, OR (?)
Colorful greeting cards, notecards and pins.

EmilyBalivet.etsy.com
Vermont
Gorgeous mythological Goddesses, art nouveau divas, Celtic witches, psychedelic sorceresses, and medieval damsels.

takeiteasy.etsy.com
Los Angeles, CA
Handmade books, cards and whimsical whatnots.



CLOTHING

kimmchi.etsy.com
Brooklyn NY
Silkscreen on American Apparel shirts – including men's!

ellembee.etsy.com
White Lake, MI
Hand printed shirts for women, messenger bags and jackets.

Ahpeele.etsy.com
Raleigh, NC
Men’s and women’s clothing.

MariaElena.etsy.com
Duluth, MN
Fairy wings for grown ups!

nodemo.etsy.com
Toronto, Ontario
For the teen (or geeky-cool grown up) in your life.

shellmitchell.etsy.com
San Francisco, CA
Because fingerless gloves are way too cool.

kittyempire3.etsy.com
Nelson, BC Canada
Wallets, bags and accessories.



CHILDREN

threeredtrees.etsy.com
Kansas City
Adorable sock dogs and cats.

cherry6goddess1.etsy.com
La Mesa, CA
Cute little plushies – including penguins, pigs and hippos!

PerfectChildren.etsy.com
Portland, OR
Impossible plushy animals for your wee one’s imagination.



FOR YOUR KITTY

FluffyFlowers.etsy.com
Macon, GA
Catnip anyone?



FINE ART

natashawescoat.etsy.com
Bay City
Beautiful fine art prints and posters

karenfaulknerart.etsy.com
Pennsylvania
Gorgeous original watercolors at very affordable prices.



JEWELRY

WhimsiGals.etsy.com
Newcastle (?)
Goddess brooches and dolls

JulieSuzanne.etsy.com
Toronto, Ontario
Fun art pendants

woundaroundjewelry.etsy.com
Clinton, TN
I love the beautiful wrapped copper bracelets!

allthosethrees.etsy.com
London, England
Handcrafted ecological jewelry.

blockpartypress.etsy.com
Baltimore, MD
Unique and colorful cuff links, tie-tacks, pendants, and earrings.

waterfall.etsy.com
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Glass rings and beads

silentgoddess.etsy.com
Port Orchard, WA
Rings, pendants, bracelets and earrings for the goddess.



ETC

westernartglass.etsy.com
Minneapolis, MN
Glass art – pay particular attention to recycled beer bottle art – very cool!

Xanadu2You.etsy.com
Tacoma, WA
Amazing copper wire creations – bowls, containers, etc. Wow!

lewasdesigns.etsy.com
Gilbert, AZ
Decals galore! Decorate your walls, your laptop, your car... What else ya got?

tlwoldc.etsy.com
Fair Oaks, CA
Handspun fibers and yarn, knitted wrist warmer patterns, pregnancy aromatherapy, music, and more!

GeekGear.etsy.com
Westfield, NJ
Desk-gear made from recycled computer parts... for the coolest geek in your life.

OhWhatIf.etsy.com
Minneapolis, MN
Hand-woven rugs from recycled cotton

akcupcake.etsy.com
Anchorage, Alaska
Oven mitts, aprons and bicycle seat covers, oh my!

books for daniels

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

Applied Social Research: A Tool for the Human Services

Where to Start and What to Ask: An Assessment Handbook

Urban Social Work: An Introduction to Policy and Practice in the Cities

save the world with a morsbag

we consume over a million plastic bags per second. not me and db, but everyone - globally. that's bad. do you know why? lots of reasons. including, plastic bags aren't biodegradable, they trick and kill wildlife who think they are yummy snacks, and the fill up our landfills.

now, i already try to take my paper and plastic bags with me when i go to the grocery so i can reuse them. and i reuse plastic and paper bags as trash bags, lunch bags, packing materials. i even take my plastic bags back to the store with me and deposit them in the plastic bag recycling bin. maybe you do these things, too. it's a fantastic start :)

did you know there are countries and cities around the world who have banned plastic bags? supermarkets and stores are being required to use paper and fiberous material bags, or biodegradable cornstarch bags (similar to plastic). San Francisco is the first US city to pass a law about this.

lets say you've gotten started saving the world by doing some of the things listed above. now, there is even MORE you can do - and its that much better for the environment!

MorsBags.com gives cool instructions on how you can use any recycled fabric to make your own grocery bags. Plus, they advocate you making lots, registering them, giving them to your friends for free, and reducing the number of plastic bags that are consumed each day. i even know some folks on Etsy who are GIVING these bags away. that's how much they want to help you save the world.

what on earth are you waiting for???

The LinkyPoo

stamp out postal hikes

Dear Friend,

I thought you might be interested in this Free Press e-activism
campaign. If you go to the URL below you can check out what's at
stake and send your own message directly to the decision-makers.
Take action at:
http://action.freepress.net/campaign/postal


Yep, Time Warner is proposing a mailing thingymajig that gives breaks to big companies, therefore being unfare to the little biz. Take a look, and maybe even sign on!

the have more's

big day today.

SW and i went to the special screening of Farenheit 9/11. im a bit shaken up.

michael moore gave a speech beforehand, which received multiple standing ovations. he has such a great way w/ words.

it can be very frustrating and challenging to learn the truth... even when you already know some of it and know that the things you don't know are even worse.

i remember thinking, when bush was taking office, "why isnt anyone doing anything???" it didnt feel like anyone was protesting or concerned or anything. it seemed like everyone just went along with the decision. but this film showed footage of thousands of people protesting in DC, egging bush's limo.

plus they also showed floridians who were trying to stop bush and only needed one signature from a single senator in florida... but all the senators were conveniently "missing".

oh, and it seems that bush happens to have oil related financial ties to the bin laden family, the new presidents of afganistan and iraq, the bad guys of enron, and pre-2000 cheney and ashcroft.

democracy

Britain is quite an interesting place.

did you know that British public television does not have fundraising marathons?

its true. do you know why?

everyone pays for public television. the cost to fund it: 35 pence per day.

i think that is one of the most brilliant concepts ever! the cost is just part of your taxes.

imagine what could happen if the US funded public television in this same way! no more telethons (at least not interrupting our public television programming to raise money to bring us said programming). public television would have far more money and more folks would tune in because, hey, they paid for it.

but we would never do something so brilliant as this... socialism is just not Right.

bisexuality

why am i thinking of men while dating a woman, or vice-versa. is it about being unfulfilled being with one instead of both sexes? what does it mean to me to be fulfilled, sexually speaking? can a biphobic bisexual woman be fulfilled when dating only one person, of only one sex?

sexual fulfillment for me begins with a sense of comfort with my own body and the body i might be interacting with. if im not comfortable with me, im not going to have a good time b/c im going to be thinking about whether they can see my pimple or my fat or whatever. at this juncture, i believe i am quite comfortable with other people's bodies. it feels like once i reached a certain age or maturity i lost all sense of shame. im pretty comfortable with nudity and various body parts. its nearly "matter of fact" like.

next, it seems that the more expectations i have, the greater the potential for dissatisfaction or unfulfillment. thus i make an effort to limit my expectations. this doesnt mean that i have low standards - to the contrary, i have very high standards. having expectations means expecting a certain performance, outcome, feeling, scenario or activity. we all know how dissappointing it is when the real thing is nothing like the detailed fantasy we had mapped out in our mind.

then we get to physical attraction. i am attracted to both sexes. there are things i like about the bodies and minds that are often unique to each sex. i wont get to detailed here but will say, I like the smell and curves of a woman and a man's strong arms wrapped around me. that's as far as i go in this venue ;)

something important i have only recently discovered is meaningful spiritual connection. i think this may be a crucial component for me in a relationship. in this sense it may be the only thing that allows a transcendance of that gender/sex boundary or distinction between fe/male. wow... i feel an epiphany coming on... since we are all spirit in human form, if i can connect with someone spiritually it may transcend those physical boundaries and result in true sexual/relationshipish fulfillment.

exploring biphobia

exploring biphobia
Sunday, May 8, 2005, 12:54 PM - Reflections
5/30/04 12:40pm

im grapling with sterotypes of bisexuals and my own biphobia here...

i identify as Lesbian, but i cant think of a single person who wouldnt label me bisexual if i explained myself to them. fortunately, there is no need to explain myself to anyone... but for the sake of good old fashioned self-discovery i feel the need to explore this.

why am i biphobic?

* is it the stereotypes of bisexuals that turns me away from identifying as such? stereotypes: greedy, slutty, dirty, diseases, steal your honey.

* is it a question of homo-authenticity? in the gay/lesbian community many believe that you are either straight or gay and there is no in between. if you're bi, you're really just a straighty trying to be "in", or gay/lesbian who just hasnt fully made it over the fence yet. 100% is the only option - otherwise you're not "real"

* is it because id lose all my gay friends? no one wants you if you're not 100% b/c you "dont experience all the perils of being 100%". no joke.

* is it a question of being overlooked by heteros? i cant imagine going home with a guy and having my family completely forget that i love women. would they think being gay had been a phase? would they assume i went straight? would i feel the need to talk about being gay constantly just to make sure they didnt forget or overlook the gay community?