Here are some beautiful new soaps for the New Year by Etsy seller 4thAveSoapCo! They are glycerin soaps in cool designs, and all available for around $5.00 or under. Made by a gal in Iowa City, IA who was looking for something fun to do while she was in law school. Go take a peek.

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Thank you Trina for the photo!

It is holiday time again and time to wrap up goodies for your friends and family. Luckily there are lovely papers and tags available on my favorite site Etsy. Erin Ruth offers gorgeous giftwrap that is stylish and eco-friendly (50% recycled). Available in red, green or black and sure to make any present really fabulous. Also check out her coordinating ribbon.

Rifferaff has silkscreened giftwrap in a cool jigsaw pattern. I think this paper would go well with Time2cre8’s gift tags. Choose from Sweet Seahorses, bunches of Octopuses, or cool 2008 calendar labels.

If you are in need of a cute gift box, take a look at Field and Sea Papers mini boxes. These handmade pillow boxes are perfect for giving jewelry or other small items to your loved ones. There are many different styles and hues available. Aren’t they fantastic?

Etsy shop Every Jot and Tittle makes gorgeous gift tags on heavy cardstock that are lovely. I have ordered some of these and I love them! They have tags with holiday images and other designs that would be fun and festive for any occasion.

Now, we just need some presents to slip inside this wrapping and we are all set to go!

Don’t miss out…

December 12th from 8 am to 7 pm the Kennedy Club in the SLO MultiPlex is having a fun event, Snow Daze, which includes a ton of snow for the children to play in, a holiday marketplace, and a silent auction benefiting the SLO Children’s Museum. Also, my SIL will be there with her hats, so if you missed her last weekend, you still have a chance to score some hats before the holiday.

Here is how her hats can make you feel:

(Not sure if this event if for members only! Contact 781-3488 ext 20 for more information.)

Boy, it is finally getting cold enough for hats and coats and scarves here on the Central Coast. And that reminds me- don’t miss the Christmas Craft Fair in the Mission Plaza in San Luis Obispo this weekend, December 1 and 2. There are always lots of great holiday handmade goodies to give your loved ones, or better yet, to buy for yourself. And while you are there, don’t forget to stop by my friend and SIL Erin’s table to view her Tinerhats. She makes the most fun and fabulous crocheted hats- you just have to see them!

Here are a few of her hats on her pal and her niece:

I’ll see you there!

Today’s holiday post is about hand-made coasters. As a host or hostess this holiday season, you will need some festive coasters for your guests’ drinks. Here are some of my favorites from Etsy crafters and designers.

Amy at Craftchi has these fun coasters. They are collage on tile and are $15 for a set of six. I like these four styles: Paris, Leafy, Tiffany and Victorian.

Sidney Ann has many different patterns to choose from. These coasters are glass with soldered edges and are $30 for a set of 4. Here are some styles in polka dots, flowers and paisleys and they are made from paper or vintage scarves or wallpaper.

The coasters from Mirrorgirl are designed by several different designers and are printed on mousepad material. See these fun designs by Susie Ghahremani of boygirlparty, Jill Bliss of blissen.com, Heidi Kenney of My Paper Crane and one of my favorite Etsy artists, Ashleyg. They come in a matching tin and are 6 for $16.

Littletilegnome makes decoupaged tile coasters and has over 500 styles available! They are available in sets of 4 for $10.00. Here are a few of their holiday styles and their other fun styles.

Today I want to mention some colorful and fun mobiles that you can hang to brighten any room.

Animal mobiles: The first is an Ole Flensted Elephant Party mobile, designed in 1974 and made in Denmark. The elephants are plastic and it sells for $28 at the MoMA Store.

The second is called the Vollabella mobile by Selecta made in Germany. The birds are wood and it sells for $66.50 on Moolka.com.

The third is frolicking Bunnies mobile. I am not sure where it is made or what it is made from, but I couldn’t resist including it, since I am a bunny fancier! It is available through ModernTots for $27.

The next set are of modern and abstract shapes: The first is Orange Circles by Quilt Baby on Etsy. It is made of die cut foam and sells for $46. (There is a nice blue and white one available as well.)

The next is a company on Etsy called pukapuka and they have a bunch or fantastic mobile designs like the Marine kinetic, Sprout kinetic, or just plain Kinetic mobiles. Pukapuka is run by Nina in Melbourne, Australia and the mobiles run from $75 to $120. These are really smashing.

The last are some fun glass mobiles: Mini, maxi and computer mobiles that attach directly to your computer. These are designed by glass artist Leah Pelligrini and are sold on Etsy. The mini and computer mobiles are $25 and the large glass mobiles range from $30 to $350.

It is almost 2008 and it is time for a beautiful calendar lineup. There are many gorgeous handmade calendars on Etsy and around the web, and these are just a few of the wonderful ones I found. They are a nice combination of art and practicality. Love them!

The first is a desk calendar from Modernarteveryday on Etsy. This calendar includes 12 different giclee prints in a jewel case and sells for $18. Each image is just lovely and makes me want to buy some of the giclee prints on canvas also available in the Etsy store.

The next calendar is from one of my favorite card artists Cecilyink. This is another desk calendar in jewel case and is printed on textured paper and sells for $14. Sweet! Don’t miss her paper stockings and cool card sets too.

Next is a letterpress desk calendar from Ilee in Seattle. According to Ilee, it is “a rich mix of old school letterpress, silkscreen, foil stamping, fine papers and handpainted accents.” It includes 12 monthly cards and one extra year at a glance card and sells for $20. Check out all the cool images.

The next calendar is a Gocco screenprinted limited edition wall calendar from Sarahparrott825. It is 5X7, is made using vintage images and sells for $20. It is both retro and fresh!

The next to last is a lovely letterpress wall calendar made by Satsuma Press in Portland, Oregon. It is also a limited edition and is hand numbered on the back and tied with a silk ribbon. What a lovely gift it would make! Quick! There were 200 printed and there are only 57 left in stock. Available for $39.

And lastly, I saw an amazing calendar on Buyolympia.com by artist Nikki McClure titled Things to Make and Do. Her art is unique and surprisingly she uses an X-acto knife to cut images out of a single piece of paper. This calendar is printed on acid-free paper using soy ink and sells for $16. You may also want to check out her cards and t-shirts on the same site.

Well, there you are…. now which one will you pick?

I wanted to do a post about all the sweet notecards I have purchased on Etsy. If you think they look cute in the pictures, wait until you see them in your hands. Some are letterpress cards and some are screenprinted and they are all of the highest quality. The colors and designs are gorgeous and I highly recommend them all.

A fun way to tag your gifts is to use these darling gift tags from everyjotandtittle. The set of 12 is only $3.50 and will cheer up any gift you may give!

These Pink cupcake birthday cards are from Sweet Bonny by malien00. They come in a pack of 6 for $7.95.

These are darling bird Happy Birthday cards from Noteriety Press. They came as a set of 6 letterpress cards for $10. They are not listed right now, but if you contact Noteriety perhaps they have some more they can re-list.

These are sweet hello cards from Armato Design and Press. These are also letterpress and come in a package of 6 cards for $12.

The lovely Thank you cards I got were from CecilyInk and she really wowed me with her presentation. The set of 6 letterpress cards for $12.50 were wrapped in tissue with her business cards and a special extra of coordinating jelly bellies! It was a feast for the ole eyes!

I purchased the Foxy and Winston Lovebug Notelet Boxset for a gift. These are hand screenprinted and come 6 in a box for $14. These are special because they are for a friend who loves ladybugs.

And lastly I purchased the letterpress flat cards in Sunshiny yellow from Pressure Letterpress for another pal. These are a set of 5 for $15. They are also no longer listed, but contact the artist and they may be able to make some more!

You just can’t go wrong with any of these cards! They will inspire you to correspond with all your long lost friends and relatives.

Trunkt is an interesting site. It is an online magazine that celebrates independent designers, crafters and artists and gives them a place to show and sell their works. It is also a fun place to browse and shop. Here are some items from my Trunkt wishlist.

The purse is by Blissbyheather $49, the top is by Bella Sera Baby $20, the rose tablecloth $115 and the journal $10 are both by Henry Road Home.
Look around here and you will find some familiar Etsy artists and some new artists. A nice find!