Friday Gift Guides: Little Girls

I decided that I am going to do my own little gift guides each Friday throughout the holiday shopping season. All of these items will be chosen from my favorites, many of these sellers I've either bought from in the past or traded with. I know the Gift guides on Etsy are controversial, but in theory they are a great idea. My biggest concern with them is that they tend to pick from the same group of sellers when there is such an immense number of amazing sellers out there. One of my scarflettes was in the For Her gift guide earlier this year and it resulted in over a 1000 views and several sales came directly from the exposure. It would be great to have that amazing power spread throughout Etsyland this holiday season.

I have 6 wonderful little nieces that I love shopping for. I am always looking for an excuse to shop for them so I decided to start with Little Girls.

The Monkey purse is from THEMONKEYSHOP. I have bought several of her sock monkeys before and they are so well made and fun. This is a great take on the sock monkey trend.




I have always loved Spiderbite's monster journals. She has a whole line of Nightmare Snatcher® journals that will have keep your little one's bad dreams away.




I love Papersilly's use of color and whimsy in her items. I think this picture journal would be a great gift for any little girl.

I wasn't a huge doll girl but I think if I'd had these colorful choices as a little girl I would have been much happier. The doll to the left is from

RisingExpectations, who I just completed a great

trade with. The doll to the right is from suzannahmullikin. It is a Waldorf inspired doll in vibrant batik fabrics.

Several of my nieces are totally into the American Girl Doll craze. I've never really bought into that mass produced toy thing but I love that dollcloset makes really wild clothes that you would never find at the stores. I'm having a really hard time picking out which outfits I want to get the girls.






I've been shopping for jewelry a lot for the girls as they are getting older. I love these colorful little trinket boxes made from polymer clay, which would be perfect for keeping all of their jewels in. CookiesCreations has them on sale now so hopefully they don't sell out before I make up my mind.

Stay tuned as I do Gift Guides each week for everyone in your life. And if you're looking for something for yours truly that will be coming soon!

Handmade Pledge

I know my family thinks I'm kind of crazy but it is really important to me to support other crafters and artists by buying handmade. Last Christmas I managed to give about 75% handmade. There are a few people in my life that are hard to please but I still gave them something small handmade and then gave them a gift card or something from their list.

In today's world it is so much easier to just buy the latest toy or gadget for our loved ones, or even worse a gift card for them to buy themselves something. I think it is so much more personal to give something created with someone hands. Trust me, it is not always easy to find something handmade for some people, particularly men. Etsy does not have the largest selection of men's gifts to choose from. My father is a farmer and a very manly man. Last year I found a painting of a cowboy on horseback that was just perfect. I think he really appreciated it much more than when I used to just give him a shirt or a book.

This year I'm starting my shopping early. I've been participating in different trade discussions on Etsy. I love the idea of trading. You find something you like in someones shop and they hopefully find something they like in yours. No money is exchanged and all is good in the world. Sometimes it doesn't work that smoothly but that is the theory. It is actually a lot of work to get good trades set up, but it is definitely worth it in the end. I have made 3 trades for gifts so far and have convo's in to about 7 other people. A lot of people are tightening their gift giving budgets this year so trading is a good alternative. If you are interested in making the Handmade Pledge it is really easy. Just follow the link and sign the petition!