Handmade Holiday: shopping guide

Hello hello & Welcome to December! I have a fun Holiday gift guide to share... but first, 

something neato! all month my store has free shipping on (domestic) orders $100 and up! hooray. also, we will be posting brand new items every.single.day for the next two weeks. lots of new paintings coming and pretty things to stuff your stockings! 

handmade is something that i truly believe in. i took the handmade pledge two years ago. it's been a fun challenge for me. the purpose is to support independent artists as much as possible. honestly, it's a lot more work to find all of the perfect gifts than just spending an afternoon at the mall but it is also a lot more fun. 

Here is my handmade holiday gift guide including items from Red Velvet and other independent shops that i adore! 

 

2010 calendar

an original painting or a cute print (this one was a favorite of mine).

or, for the cute boy in your life, one of Jeremy's albums. here is his most recent (the site is listenable!) and the first one that i ever heard. so good. i loved his songs for a long time before we met. 

here are some other items (via ETSY) that i think are beautiful and would make the right person very very happy on Christmas morning.... 

cute dollhouse necklace

 the perfect yellow bag

pretty deer shirt

a sleepyking toy

or an iPod case from Quiet Doing.  

I hope this list has inspired you to try handmade for some of your Holiday shopping! And don't stop there, ask for handmade gifts! On the Red Velvet website you can make a wish list. how fun is that?   

and, here is my own little personal list of Holiday wishes....

one of these by shauna & stephen.

one of these necklaces or this adorable one.

a lomo super sampler... or any blue camera. 

a blythe or a record player.... :) [photo cred]

and these are the next four i want for my little vinyl collection...

what's on your wish list this year? 

XO. elsie       

Comments

[Beautiful Bridget Designs]

Excellent pics! I want them all!!

[Mandy @ Miss Indie]

aw :] you are such a doll.
I'm glad you like my sleep mask.
that yellow bag is perfection!
love it love it.

[andrea blair]

not that I get much sleep these days :)...but my peepers could sure use that cute eye mask :)

[sofia]

So many pretty gifts :o

[tiffany.]

def. trying my very best to buy handmade this Christmas. i think its going to go well!
xo.

[Mary-Beth]

i love this list elsie! i haven't been in the mood for christmas shopping...but this makes me re-think my approach to it, and now i'm pretty excited!:)

[Eeffie]

Blythe RoCkS! I started collecting them three weeks ago and i already have four pretty dolls! On my wishlist are handmade clothes to dress my pretties!

Love your list

[Kara]

Super cute list! I'm obsessing over a Holga camera...I've never gotten in to photography but the photos they produce are SO beautiful. Have you ever used a Holga?

[Desiree]

Love the calendar!!! You are such a great artist!!! Thanks for the great ideas!...going to make my wishlist...NOW!

[Abby]

Hey,
This is unrelated to your post today but I was just browsing on Flickr and this made me think of you and the Christmas cardinals you posted recently. http://www.flickr.com/photos/losabia/1184084683/
Have a great day!
Abby

[gina]

I want a Polaroid plushie on Etsy( you can see it on my blog)

Love your list of cute finds (as always). I would love a blythe doll too.
By the way I used a couple photos from you blog I hope that was ok. I did a post about Polaroids. I linked them to your blog and Katie's. thanks so much for your inspiration and have a great December day!!!

[sara]

i love the daniel johnston album. so good you have to own it.

[Sarah]

i always try to buy handmade gifts for christmas, but buying for my boyfriend, brother and dad is always a challenge. you should do a post on gifts for dudes.

[Liz]

I need that wooden United States!

[cupcake.trash]

great picks.

http://cupcaketrash.blogspot.com

[Scrappyjen]

Reading your blog makes me happy :)

[LeighAnn]

Elsie, if you get a chance, check out my etsy. veryloveleigh.etsy.com :) I might be biased ;) but I think there are some great affordable gifts to be found there :)
xoxo

[Samantha]

Elsie, what do you do about the not-crafty men in your life? Like, I can get my husband and brother this kind of stuff, but if you're committed to handmade Christmas (which I definitely am), have you found any kinds of gifts that meld handmade and, I don't know, more practical than decorative?

[Katja]

cute things <3 i just realized that the most exciting part of my christmas wishlist - the fuji instax mini 7 in white and pink - is a wish i already fulfilled for myself ^^ so now i wish for some cute books (like a 60's fashion photography book <3) and some gorgeous handmade items. what i would really love to get is an iphone. but the fact that it's 250 € (480 $) is not making this going to happen ^^ but i will save money to buy one next year <3

and at least i can always wish for some craft-store-items, right?! ^^

[kelly fish]

my christmas list ? :)

lots and lots of yarn !
also a hello kitty webcame, haha