Etsy Finds: Fall Fashion

Today I'm feeling materialistic, so I thought I'd share some of my favorite current Etsy finds. Right now I'm thinking anything cozy and autumn-like.
Like this great leather carry-everything-even-textbooks bag...
And a cute floppy hat.
A girly top in my favorite autumn color...
And gorgeous twig stacking rings.
Maybe even some leg warmers (Confession: I think legwarmers are cute, but I feel ridiculous wearing them. Thoughts?)

What's your favorite fall fashion?

All images property of their respective etsy sellers (see links).

Local Goods (the Etsy way)

We all know that buying local is good for us. Local goods don't require as much packaging and fuel for transportation, making them green-friendlier. Plus buying local supports your city's economy and keeps small businesses afloat. The trick, of course, is finding local goods that you actually want to buy. Which is one of the reasons I'm in love with Etsy's "Shop Local" feature (thanks to my friend Hilary for introducing me to it!). Using their Shop Local search, you can buy handmade products (and some vintage too) made right in your very own home town, or at least very near by.

I did a search for my city and here are just a few of the things I found:
A cute clutch just big enough for summer essentials (wallet, keys, sunglasses, chapstick).
A mellow scent (the seller claims it can calm a rowdy 2 year old).
Black and white photography (my favorite)- this one is titled "blight 2007."
All-natural with an attitude. This tank is made from organic cotton, and the print is "inspired by the art nouveau movement and modern tattoos".

Go here to search for Etsy shops in your area. But before you do, tell me- do you ever try to buy things locally?

All images belong to their respective Etsy sellers (see links).

Thursday Bullets

• It's Thursday and I just got done with finals week yesterday. Two tests and one giant paper later, I'm feeling pretty tuckered out. Tuckered out enough to miss blogging for a day and a half, heh.
  
• On the other hand- it's officially summer break for me! I don't have classes or papers or homework to deal with until September! So hopefully you all can forgive me for my sporadic blogging if I promise to throw in a few extra posts over the summer?
• Summer doesn't mean I get to be lazy. Instead, it means that I have to find a (second) summer job stat if I want to pay my rent. I've got my first job interview Saturday afternoon- wish me luck!
• I want an Organic Chocolate Trio from farmsteadorganic's Etsy shop. Organic chocolate fudge goat milk soap, chocolate body balm, and chocolate lip balm. Sounds good enough to eat (not that I'd recommend it).
  
• I have a giant hot fudge sundae in front of me instead.
  
• I just realized that the first ingredient on my hot fudge is not chocolate, as you might expect, but high fructose corn syrup. That can't be good.
• I couldn't come up with a good picture for this post, so I stuck one of a cute girl from The Sartorialist up there. On a related note, I really wish I was as cute/hip/pretty as anyone that makes it onto The Sartorialist.
  
• That's about all I can think about right now (post-exam brain freeze). I'll be back in normal blogging mode again tomorrow though! :)

How has your week been going?

Image via The Sartorialist.

Fabric Mania!

So I get the idea of making my own pillows in my head, and all of a sudden I'm obsessed with fabric. Some of the adorable printed fabrics on Etsy really make me wish I could sew something other than a square pillow. Maybe I should have paid more attention in home ec?

A few I really love:

• Paisley in Earth at uberstitch's shop
• Marimekko Sarastaa Floral from imaginefabric's shop (my favorite, and also the most expensive- because it always works out that way ya know?)
• Fresh Start from sewhappyfabricshop's shop (cute name, adorable fabric)
• Elephant print from KawaiiLovelyFabric's shop (would not match anything in my house, but is SO cute)

What do you think of my choices? Am I the only one who looks at fabric and just wishes I could sew?

PS: Just two exams this week and then it's summerrrrr :)

All images: their respective Etsy shops (see links above)

Crafttastrophe Shoes

All images via Crafttastrophe (see links)

Thanks to my friend Hilary (hi Hil!) I now have a new obsession: hand-painted shoes. In particular, those from the Etsy shop Crafftastrophe. I could be a little biased because I'm typically a fan of anything awesome made in Ohio, but doesn't this store have the coolest shoe designs? I picked out a few of my faves for you all.

From the Top:
Teal Green Feather Flats
Classic Tattoo Wedges (for those of us who are too wimpy to get real tattoos)
Gears and Pearls Heels
Carnival Dots Heels
Neon Bacteria Heels (okay, so maybe I'm a nerd, but I think these are the coolest)

What do you think of my new crafty love? Would you wear hand-painted shoes?

Etsy Finds: Pretty Birdies

Lately I've been loving anything with a bird on it, seriously. I'm blaming it on spring, along with all my other obesessions this time of year (see below for some yellow lovin').

Some of my favorite bird-related etsy finds:

• Pretty mint-green bird pillow (from joom).
• Polka-dots AND a cute birdie? I'm pretty sure this notepad is designed for me (from boygirlparty).
• I don't wear a ton of necklaces, but I'm drawn to the whimsy of this pretty bird one (from VirginiaGeiger Jewels).
• A take-it-everywhere blue canvas tote with an adorable birdie print (from Kainkain).

(PS: I will be getting links to the items up later, but you can also do a seller search on etsy if you like them- Internet Explorer hates me right now and has crashed about six times every time I try to open etsy to get the links. And this is why I normally use Firefox.)

Spring (Pretend) Shopping

It's actually warm-ish today- which simultaneously makes me happy and even more antsy for spring. Can we all agree that the warm weather needs to hurry up?

At any rate, here are some of the things I'd like to wear all spring long (and into summer) if I could:
Colorful flat sandals from American Eagle ($30)
A sweet yellow dress from Mimi's Boutique ($20- marked down from $82! Damn you spending hiatus!)
A pretty shirt from Heavenly Couture via the awesome ladies over at Stuff Under Twenty ($18)
I've always liked the leg warmer trend, and these ones from Etsy are especially sweet ($85, eeps). I'm not entirely sure I could pull them off, though.

Mustache Mania Continues.

Can we agree that this mustache key holder is pretty nifty? Also, I've decided to bring back the word nifty.

It would go well with mustache pencils. I apparently have a thing for the 'stache.

PS: Check out my post on tall girls down below. For some reason blogger posted it below this one, probably because I started it earlier and finished it just now.

Possibly the nerdiest shirt ever.

via Xenotees

Maybe it's because I'm a huge dork, but I think this XX chromosome tee is kind of cool. It's great for biology nerds and proud women everywhere.

What I Wish I Could Buy: Vintage Bag

Owls aren't the only vintage items I'm loving right now. I also really like this cute vintage travel bag from Olive Vintage. Caramel brown matches everything in my closet, and the size is just big enough for a weekend trip home.

Anybody else love older luggage? I always think vintage suitcases have so much more personality than modern ones, but they tend to be clunky. This travel bag seems like a good compromise (darn you spending hiatus!)

Image via Olive Vintage.

Hoot Hoot: Are Owls Cute?

Wall Owls

Today I was flipping through some of the vintage shops on Etsy, and I noticed that I was oddly drawn toward vintage owls. I've never really felt one way or the other about owls, if anything I've always thought they were a bit cheesy, but all of a sudden I am liking them. They look quirky, and sort of cute. Either that or I am losing my mind.
An owl family is cute, isn't it?

And this sweet glass owl?
And c'mon, how adorable is this little guy?

Tell me, am I insane or are owls, like, really cute?

Brass owls via bluebellbazaar. The other three are via OliveVintage.

It's Fat Tuesday!

Just an excuse to eat extra brownies. Or wear a sweet pink mask like this one from Etsy. I chose the brownies.

Image via artisanmaskers.

Happy Valentines Day

Whether you're going out, staying in, or ignoring the day completely, have a good one.

A few Valentines Day posts I didn't have time for:

The World's Smallest Valentine (which you can customize!)

Valentine's Day Lingerie via The Daily Obsession

An adorable lovebirds greeting card (above)

A button I probably need to buy (hi Nathan!)

Not a Valentines Day person at ALL? Support V-day instead (and help end violence against women and girls)

Valentines Day Flowers

Today I stumbled across Susannah Conway, a photographer featured on Bliss, and was captivated by her beautiful images of the world around her. I especially loved these two photos of flowers: "Solitude" (above) and "Sunshine" (below). Wouldn't they make a perfect Valentines Day gift?

It's like getting your sweetie flowers without having to pay the ridiculous florist shop prices (twice as much money for the same flowers just because it's Valentines Day? I think not!).

Images belong to Susannah Conway, and you can see more on her etsy shop Unravelling

Valentine's Coupons

I like the idea of printing off a little coupon book for your loved one on Valentines Day. Not only is the idea totally cute, but low-key as well (and relatively free!). You can make your own coupons personalized with things you know your sweetie would like, or order them from the Etsy shop everydaygrace.

Image via everydaygrace.

Yarn Flowers

These cute 3 Valentine Flowers from Etsy make me happy :) I want them on my desk looking all cheerful right now.

Pretend Shopping: Things I Love List

Psst I know this is a late post- I was running around like a maniac today, trying to get things done. Story of my life :-P

You all know by now that I love shopping. Well, since I am on a spending hiatus and all, I have really been enjoying "pretend shopping" which is my internet version of window shopping. I thought I'd share a few of my faves from my most recent "shopping trip."

This gorgeous crystal and lace headband from Jennifer Behr looks amazing (but tricky to wear without looking too formal?):

via The Daily Obsession

I love the earthy feel of this Lily of the Valley Necklace from Etsy (and the price is good too!):

via dahliasforme

The whimsical Caged Bird Tee from Threadless:

Via threadless.com

And this cute clutch, also from Etsy (I love the mix of grey/black and yellow- and the way the print subtly evokes flowers):

via LaVitaLola- who sells lots of other AMAZING clutches that I can't afford.

There you have it: tell me what sorts of things you've been lusting after lately. And am I the only one who does pretend shopping?

Ants on my bottle!

An ant bottle to go with your ant spoon (previous post). Also, a humorous gift for a beloved aunt?

Image via Etsy.

Ants on my spoon!

How creepy are these spoons? The ants are apparently hand-drawn and printed on, but they look so realistic! I'm not sure if I'd want them around my place, but they would have been perfect for my office white elephant gift exchange in December. They'd also make a great housewarming gift for someone with a sense of humor.

An adorable bunny vase.

How seriously cute is this bunny vase from Etsy shop prettyrandomobjects?

Picture from prettyrandomobjects.

I could just see this little guy chilling out on my desk. He would make me smile while I worked. Too bad I'm on a spending hiatus.