Yes, please!

I think it's time I list my own wishes for gifties! After all, I'm on etsy all day....I'm bound to have a wishlist of my own! Here are a few.....

Ahhh...black thorn earrings. From redheart13 - where you'll find all sorts of curious jewelry. I like curious, and this shop doesn't disappoint. These particular earrings sold out fast *boo* , but Leila promised to make a pair just for me *yay* and a certain someone said he'd buy them. Now I'm happy!

Frankincense soap from daisycakes soap. You all know how obsessed I am with handmade soap - and I love to try all different shops. Why? Because all soapmakers have their very own methods & supplies that make their soaps unique. I don't buy from one in particular, but am always looking for a new vendor to try (I do admit to having a few faves though!).

Next in the line of my obsessions is lip balm. I'm not a lipstick wearer at all, but I love lip balm! I must have dozens of tubes. This particular flavor - absinthe!! - is from For Strange Women. You've got to check out her shop. It's very very cool...I love the packaging too!

Remember the belt buckle I got for Rob? This is similar, except purple! Same shop - fosterweld.

I really want this! Another from minus, this bag is simple and practical. I really like his work, and after seeing Rob's new messenger with my own eyes....well I did say I had my eye on one of minus's bags for me! This one!

Hope everyone is having a magical holiday season and that you get all of your wishes (within reason) ;^)

For simple men

I notice that a lot of gift guides for men are nice and all...but what about guys who don't wear cufflinks? Or ties? Or cowls for crying out loud? You know, simple guys who wear jeans and t-shirts and sneakers most days...guys like the one I'm married to. It's so incredibly hard to buy for him, and the gift guides simply don't cater to that breed of man. So, here's a sneak peak at what he'll find under the tree this holiday.
A high quality hard bound sketchbook by marquandeditions. The spine is green, the cover black. Very plain and simple goodness :)

A belt buckle (hand cut leather belt included!!) by fosterweld. He uses only American metal to create his buckles. This particular buckle is smaller and very simple - perfect!

A wooden comb by pieceofpeace. Handcrafted in Montreal, this comb is a nice natural wood with a beeswax finish.

Beowulf! This soap has a rich musky scent, with some dragon's blood (one of my fave's!!) Handcrafted by HeathensHearth, this soap definitely smells like a tough guy, even on a 2 year old!

And, this isn't for Rob, but I bought these for his brother - he's single, and tough to buy for. He just moved into a new house, so I thought these, along with his own Beowulf soap, would make a nice gift. They're recycled soda bottles - made into super cool 8oz glasses by YavaGlass.

Do you have any gift ideas for men? They are so much more difficult to buy for than women, so share your tips!
Happy Holidays :^)

Some awesome etsy finds!

Well, the holiday shopping season is well underway, and I'm almost done! YAY! Here are some fabulous gifts I got from etsy for my family members....

For Rob, who desperately needed a new bag for work, I bought this super simple messenger from minus.
His work is amazing - and since I sew myself, I can spot hack when I see it. This certainly is not that, but rather quality work with nice material. Ships pretty quick from the UK to the states too! I have my eye on a bag for me too, of course.

For my niece, whose birthday is in February, I got these really pretty amethyst studs from phoebestreasure.
Those will be super cute on her - she's a tiny 10 yr old.

For my mother-in-law (I hope she doesn't read this post!), I got this really awesome toad house from Anne Marie's Pottery.
Yup, that's where I got my berry bowl! It's really nice and will go well in my mother-in-law's herb garden.

One of the gifts I got for my boys - a night light for their room by GeekGear.
This fancy ball jar changes color thanks to a tiny LED under the lid. I tried it out and it's very cool. Perfect for a boys' room - and boys can be tough to buy for as they get older! Check out his shop for all the geeks in your life ;^)

And, for my babes - my fastest growing boy who I wish would stay two forever, I got him this really cuddly soft and super fun bath mitt from ecoleeko.
If you have a baby to buy for, you MUST check out her shop!! All organic materials and a fabulous price - seriously! I will certainly go back for more.

I'm not quite done, so I may post more finds later! Friends, I can't stress it enough...this holiday season, buy handmade. Support local indie artists and small business owners. You won't get better customer service and personal attention, I guarantee it. And, have fun while you do it! Happy shopping!!

And the winner is.....

Debbie Covart - ALineofHerOwn! Congratulations Debbie!! Come on over to my etsy shop and use your $10!!!

Thank you everyone for participating!!

A little pre-holiday Giveaway!

I haven't hosted a giveaway in a loooong time! Well, the holiday season is a perfect time to do that! You can either get something for you, or a gift - totally up to you :) Here's what I'm offering up this month - $10 toward anything in my shop! That means YOU pick what you want, and get 10 bucks to use toward it!

How to enter...you get 1 entry per:
Follow my blog
Follow me on facebook
Tweet this giveaway and add @4madbird to your tweet
Post about this giveaway on your blog/facebook and link back here

Please let me know in the comments what you've done.

As a bonus entry....of course anyone who buys something from my shop and enters "giveaway" in notes to seller will get an additional five entries!!

This giveaway ENDS Monday!! You only have this weekend to enter, so don't wait! The winner's name will be randomly pulled from a hat ;)

Good luck!!

An early gift for me

Sometimes, I buy myself something. Big deal, I know....but it isn't very often that I just splurge a little and buy something really nice for no reason. I did this last week when I bought this super functional berry bowl.

I have a great love for pottery. Maybe it's because my high school clay teacher was really nice to me. But, I remember learning to throw on the wheel, and that, friends, is no easy task. When I taught art to middle schoolers, ceramics was my favorite unit. I always loved working with mud.
Anyway, about this bowl...it is extremely nice, high quality, and a really gorgeous blue. More of Anne Marie's work can be found in her etsy shop. She's very nice, and her customer service is tops!
What I reeeally need is a new mug, but both hand thrown mugs I've owned, Rob has dropped and thus, broke them both. His hand thrown mug, however, survives to this day....curious, isn't it? Maybe I can convince him that he owes me one.

I just bought...

this super cool mini-journal/sketchbook (complete with the letter A) from Useful Books. It is made using a 45 red record - how cool is that?! I cannot wait to get it! I also must start holiday shopping soon....yikes.