It's time for.. Advent Calendars

I have a fond place in my heart for Advent Calendars, mostly because as a child I had a *thing* for thins you could *open* If you don't know, an Advent Calendar is a calendar that counts down the 25 days until Christmas (Yes, this will be a Christmas-centric post, but I promise I'll try to do something up for those of us who don't celebrate that particular holday). Each day, you "open" the little door and usually inside you will find a "treat" of some sort. This can vary a lot. There are chocolate Advent Calendars, there are calendars that just have a little saying or something inside. Today I'm going to highlight a few handmade ones from Etsy (of course!).


Drawered Advent Calendar from DapperDoo
This type is one of my favorites; it's pretty permanent, but it has plenty of space so that each year someone fills each drawer with a little treat, and then each day it gets opened. Now it's obviously not much fun if you're doing this alone, but if you've got kids this is a great way to really ramp up the excitement for Christmas.


Muffin Tin Advent Calendar from keepsakesbykristi
Another one you can fill with cute things- and this one is kind of ingenious. It's a muffin tin with magnetic numbers over it. If you are crafty, this one would also be pretty easy to create. I see this kind of thing and think "Wow, that would have been great to make for 4-H"


Nativity Calendar from grammajssewcottage
I gotta say- I am *not* religious at all but even I think this one is adorable. As the days count down, you fill up the nativity scene with the stick on pieces, until finally on Christmas day it is complete. It's obviously pretty well made and all around just adorable.


Scrapbook-Style Advent Calendar from MomsPeace
Wow. Just WOW. It's gorgeous- and as MomsPeace suggests, you can fill each tin with an "activity" which to me is just begging to work on the Christmas scrapbook pages. If you're into scrapbooking this seems perfect- you could put charms, paper punches, etc. inside and by time Christmas rolled around you'd be all set to just put the pictures on the wonderful pages you created- whether as a couple or as a family. I love it.

Holiday Feature

Just a quick post to let you know what's in store between now and the big day, I mean CHRISTMAS.

I'm hoping to try to get in a post at least every other day with a mini gift guide- What to give a knitter, what to give a friend, boyfriend, mother in law.. etc. Remember, Etsy has even more ways to search around for this kind of stuff, but I'm hoping I can highlight just a few really cool things I find on my way. I'm going to *attempt* to not just pick things that appeal to my aesthetic, but you know how that goes.

That said, if anyone reading has shops they particularly like or items they'd like me to consider featuring, feel free to let me know! Remember, I like to post up eyecandy so make sure any things you suggest have nicely put together photos and are clear enough for me to see.

Guilty as Charged + A Featured Seller!

I haven't really posted any "review" type posts of things I have bought from Etsy lately, for one simple reason: I haven't bought anything from Etsy lately. The last thing I purchased was in the spring, I believe, and was a sMOOchy Skin Bar from GudonyaToo. Yes, I'm addicted, etc etc. But for various reasons I've curbed my consumption quite a bit. HOWEVER, it's HOLIDAY SEASON, and that means it is time for me to loosen the purse-strings a little bit and get in the spirit. For now, though, I'm going to show you a few things I got from sleepingelf, or as she is known in the Asian Ball Jointed Doll community, Tinybear.

Here are some photos from her shop (Mine aren't all safe for work, so I'll be linking to them at the end of the post.):


Bracken Fullset (sold)


BonBon Fullset (Sold)


Mohair Blythe Wig

Wow, right? She's an artist from the UK who makes absolutely GORGEOUS wigs from pelts (They are definitely the "big hair" look but so realistic past that), and has designed a line of gorgeous tiny dolls (Most are under 10" tall) that are produced in resin by a wonderful company. They come in several skin tones and yes, they're pricey, but if you are an ABJD collector you're used to that. And they're little pieces of heaven. Here are some of the ones I have..


Mina, wearing "Bratz" clothing. This was my first.


The only picture I have of all three of them clothed; The short ones are from sleepingelf.

Coco and Bon Bon, the "Fat Fairies" Warning: This picture has realistically blushed naked dollies. Don't click if this will cause a problem for you.

Anyway, I know these aren't everyone's thing, but I can say for certain: sleepingelf is a great store to purchase from (either on Etsy or off) and Carrie has absolutely amazing customer service and is probably one of the sweetest (and most talented) women on this planet. So if you have *any* desire to get one of her little beauties or one of her gorgeous wigs (which I've found to be hands-down the *best* fur wigs you can find due to her amazingly high-quality materials), or even one of the different miniatures she crafts from time to time (she got her start with teddy bears), then definitely do. Run, don't walk. Amazing.

Thanksgiving Treats

Here in the US, Thanksgiving will be upon us in the next couple days and I know that I, for one, have got turkey on the mind. This is the holiday to eat good food, get sleepy, and probably watch a parade or football game. Me? I'm thinking of getting pizza on Wednesday and then we're going a bit avant garde on the Thanksgiving Dinner front- we're letting our local grocery store "cater" it for us. Takes off the stress of getting up early to prepare a bird! But enough about me, let's see what we've got for you this time around...


Pumpkin Spice Cake Truffles by lollidreams
I have to admit, I'm not usually one who would consider buying anything edible from Etsy, and it's not even that I'm worried about cleanliness (I'm less cautious than I should be on that front, probably). I'm just a little weirded out still buying FOOD online. However, these gorgeous little truffles are something that looks good enough to send me over the edge. I'm a sucker for food that is pretty, and these certainly are.


Merino/Cashmere Sock Yarn by Valutree
It's sock yarn, and it's autumnal. Merino and Cashmere? You'd be walking on air. That simple.


Country Pumpkin Pie Soap by BubblesUpByBethieB
Pumpkin Pie is a mainstay of Thanksgiving Dinner- even if you don't care for it, you'll still find it at the table. I prefer apple but I love the smell of pumpkin pie- this soap looks divine.


Turkey Bot by boldsandbots
Okay, so when people think of Thanksgiving-related stuff, you probably think of the previous things I mentioned- food, food-scented bath and body items, and fall-colored fibers. What you don't think of is an adorable little polymer clay robot turkey who is sure to steal your heart. He's only 1" tall, but that makes it all the more amazing that he's so adorable and detailed. I think I would want to make a necklace out of him!

Bath Bomb Mania

I'm finally living in a house with a bathtub, and though I generally prefer to take showers I am relishing the fact that I can take a bubble bath if I want, or use *gasp* Bath Bombs. Bath Bombs: So named because when you drop them in the tub they EXPLODE into a froth of scent and fizz. As such I've been trolling Etsy for things to add to my shopping/Christmas list. Here are a few of my favorites.


Peppermint Frost Bath Bomb by hogwash

If you know anything about me, it's that I adore peppermint. These are pretty simple- peppermint bath bombs, promising lots of minty scent. I can't vouch for whether they live up to it or not- but they sure look yummy.


Bath Cupcake by CandiedBeauty

These pretty bath cupcakes aren't just nice to look at- they're also vegetarian and cruelty free, which is a big plus for any animal lovers out there. CandiedBeauty also has some great gift sets, like this gorgeous little number. Looks good enough to eat- but it's for your bath!

PS: If you are into cupcakes but none of the ones that CandiedBeauty has strike your fancy, just search for cupcakes- there are oodles of different types.


Set of 6 Fizzy Bath Melts by mmmmhandmadesoap

If you're anything like me, you might find it tiresome not only to pick out a single scent to order, but also wading through all the separate listings; This set is great because you get to pick different scents, and get it all in one listing (which I think is a big plus!). And the presentation can't be beat- this would be a great gift, too.


Cookies n Cream Bath Fizzy by Layla

Doesn't this sound amazing? Of course I always run into the same problem whenever I have things that smell like food- I end up hungry! This is especially true for anything chocolate, but this might just be worth the craving.


If none of this struck your fancy, don't worry. There are literally hundreds of different things you can get on Etsy that fall into the "bath bomb" category, and many are far more reasonably priced than, say, the ever-popular LUSH. And some of them look good enough to eat!

What's this? A POST

That's right, I'm back. Ish. I'm not making promises, but I am going to leave you with a nice photo feature post because I think we could all use a little eye candy. The economy's going down the tubes but DIY is alive and well and Etsy is just getting bigger. No theme, let's just see some things I've been oggling.


Fingerprint Ring from chrisparry

Okay seriously, what more can I say about this baby? It's gorgeous, it's romantic (Could you imagine having that as a wedding band?) and it's a great idea. Yum!


Steampunk Necklace from asecondtime

Steampunk seems to be gaining some momentum lately in the alternative circles, and this necklace is just gorgeous. I think it's probably not strictly steampunk, but it's got sparkle and it incorporates steampunk elements so I'm counting it as a win. Gorge!


SNES Cartridge External Hard Drive from 8BitMemory

What? That's enough to give anyone a geek-gasm. I love this trend of putting data storage in a cool shell- I have a Sims 3 USB drive that I adore and I think stuff like this is fab.