Etsy Love: Re-use me

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Diana

*Every Wednesday, I take a look at some of the beautiful items found at one of the best places for buying and selling hand-made and vintage: Etsy. Buying hand-made and vintage lets you own beautiful, unique objects with character. It keeps things out of the landfills and supports artists and small businesses who are trying to make a living doing what they love. If you have a particular theme you’d love to see, drop me a line and let me know. *

Once upon a time, people reused everything. Money was too tight and resources too few to be able to afford the luxury of disposables. As technologies became cheaper, more and more one-time-use items appeared. Now, most people think nothing of the plastic bags, paper coffee sleeves and other items that get used once or twice and then tossed into the trash heap. Let’s reverse that and go back to items that were made to be used and loved over and over again.

(Don’t forget! We have a reusable produce bag giveaway going on right now. Click on over to check it out)

Reversible Slacker or Go Getter Coffee Sleeve, $9.50

Sewtara

GERTi Bag Organic Cotton Canvas Tote, $25

GERTi Bags

Stained Glass Reusable Sandwich Baggie, $6.16 (SALE)

Bells and Unicorns

Swiffer Re-usable Mop Pad 3-Pack, $14

Detroit Knitter

Dirty Girl Wool Dryer Balls – Set of 6, $23

Lucky Hanks

Insulated Lunch Bag Birch Tree Print, $21

Julie Meyer

Etsy Giveaway: LoveForEarth Produce Bags

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Diana

Corded Mint Full Set of Re-usable Produce Bags, $15.75

A few months ago, I bought one of the above sets of re-usable produce bags to carry groceries in. And they are amazing. I have used hardly any plastic bags to bring home veggies or bulk goods since then. The bags are stong, durable, easy to use, and attractive. Almost every time I take them to the grocery store, someone comments on them.

It’s easy to not give a lot of thought to the impact a plastic bag makes, but when you take a good, hard look at it, it’s scary. A simple lifestyle change, like carrying reusable grocery bags and reusable produce bags, can make a huge difference.

LoveForEarth is a great source for beautiful, reusable bags, and they have been generous enough to offer a set of reusable bags to one of my lovely readers!

There’s three chances to enter. Here’s the details:

1) Check out LoveForEarth’s Etsy shop, then come back here and post a comment letting me know what your favorite item in the store is.

2) Favorite LoveForEarth on Etsy and then let me know you did in a comment here.

3) Follow my blog via Google Reader, Bloglovin’, etc and let me know that you do in a comment here.

This giveaway will run for one week, so you have until midnight, November 19 to enter. Good luck!

Etsy Love: One of a Kind

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Diana

I think I followed Etsy for months before I finally learned that OOAK stood for One of a Kind. Before, I always thought that the items had something to do with oak trees. One of a kind items are amazing and unique. I hate it when I run into someone wearing the same thing as me – with OOAK items, you never have to worry about that. Here’s some lovelies I found on Etsy:

Gigi Grey Cotton Mod Mini-Dress, $158

Milo Creative Studios

Hand painted Silk Scarf, $31.75

Debrosse Hardesty

Sterling Silver Agate Cabochons Earrings, $75

JudyB

Black Body Hugging Leather Belt, $66

Etsy Love: Dream House

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Diana

In my dream world, my home would be dressed to the nines in beautiful things from Etsy. In the real world, my budget only allows for so much interior decorating at a time. Still, a girl can dream. If money was unlimited, I’d love to dress up my home in these:

New York City in Black – 12×12 CAFE MOUNT , $44

Red Letter Words

Small Tuck Pot with Drainage, $34

Pigeon Toe Ceramics

My Faith in Love… Smiths Stitches, $68

Chez Sucre Chez

Crocodile Scales, $30

Farouche

Fluor Green Kitten, $8

Cronopia6

Tetris Cushions, $250

Star Gallery

Cheerful Print – My Favorite Yellow Boot, $28

Sloe Gin Fizz

Etsy Love: Thank you, thank you very much

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Diana

I have to admit, despite my best intentions, I’ve never been very good with writing thank you cards. But I’ve found that, the prettier my thank you cards are, the more likely I am to actually write them out and send them in the mail. With this in mind, I’ve put together a set of some fantastic hand-made thank yous from Etsy. Send one to someone you’re grateful for

School Rules, Set of 6 Thank You Cards, $12

CutiePie Company

Merci Coffee Cup Notes, Set of 5, $11

Paper Lovely

Mr Roboto Thank You Card, Set of 6, $14.50

Anemone Letterpress

Recycled Kraft Paper I Thank You Cards, Set of 6, $9.50

The Craft Pantry

Stitched Thank You Card Folder Set of 4, $12

Little Seeta

Yellow Flower Thank You Cards, Set of 4, $7.50

Whitney Rae Paper

Etsy Love: Pretty Colorful

Posted on October 20, 2010 by Diana

I’ve written colorful Etsy sets before, but I see no harm in putting together another one. I always find myself drawn to bright, vibrant colors, so it makes sense that I would gravitate towards them when looking through my Etsy favorites. Here’s my favorite colorful picks this week:

Spin Mobile, $30

Charest Studios

Diana’s Morning in Candyland, $30

Palomaria

Spice and Flowers Patchwork Lunch Sack, $35

Hip to Piece Squares

Mix Pack – You choose which – 3 Pieces of Screen Printed Fabric, $16

Melbomba

Helsinki Afternoon August 1969 Giclee Print, $39

Inaluxe

Etsy Love: Aaaaargh!

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Diana

Because Halloween is coming up, and because pirates are awesome:

Solar Power Pirate Hoops, $49

2TrickPony

Custom Made Victorian Waist Cincher, $89.99

Damsel in this Dress

Vintage Gold Coin Waist Belt, $13

Lydia’s Vintage

Three Quarter Pant in Sap Green, $32

Dolly D

Size 8 Vintage Tall Black Leather Boots, $48

Maefair Vintage

Silver Metal Compass, $4.95

Assembly Required

Etsy Love: In the Stacks

Posted on September 29, 2010 by Diana

I don’t know how it happened, but somehow, even after two years of library school, half a year looking for a library job and now a little over half a year of actually being a librarian, I’ve never done a library themed Etsy Love set. For shame! Turns out, I’m not the only Etsian with a love of all things library related. Here’s just a couple of the gems I found:

Stack of Old Books Handpainted Necklace, $28

Heather Kent

Bewitched by Books Magnet, $5

Artsyville

I Love Books Zipper Pouch, $12

Kukubee

Books and Birds Screen Printed Cards, $14

Two Guitars

Simply Tote Bag in Red, $38 (for carrying your books!)

Bayan Hippo

Imagination (Version 2) $20

Studio Mela

Etsy Love: It’s Business Time

Posted on September 22, 2010 by Diana

Whether you work from home, in a cubicle, or anywhere in between, it’s always nice to have a stylish and organized workspace. For me, if my desk is a mess, I’m much less likely to get anything done. Here’s some fantastic vintage and handmade items I found on Etsy that can take any workspace from drab to fab:

18 oz Cream and Green Cup, $18

Monster Op Maat

Vintage Pair of Industrial Wire Baskets, $26

Haven Vintage

Stelie Designs 2011 Desk Calendar, $18

Stelie Designs

Mini mod gooseneck lamp, $34

Pica Pica Found

Vintage Flip Clock, $22

Industrial Relic

Pepperberries, set of fabric push pins, $14.50

Paper Pumpkin

Etsy Love: Shopping For a New Blouse

Posted on September 15, 2010 by Diana

Right now, I’ve got a good bit of money in my shopping budget, so I’m thinking about finally buying an article of handmade clothing. I’ve been wanting to buy some handmade clothing on Etsy for a long time, but I always seem to get distracted by pretty accessories, and never getting around to plunking down the cash for clothes. Now that I’ve actually got some money available, I’m looking at some blouses.

My stipulations: must be work appropriate, yet versatile enough for weekends. Must be comfy jersey fabric (no polyester) (organic cotton a plus!). Drapiness is awesome, but not required.

Here’s what I’ve found:

Graphic Vine Print Tank, $46