The One About Etsy

Has anyone ever shopped on Etsy?

I know that people do - I've heard enough about it, but I'm not sure how it works. Sort of like eBay, but without the bidding? I've been rummaging through the site and it's UNBELIEVABLY overwhelming. They do their best to keep it organized and easy to navigate but seriously...I typed in "Halloween" and it returned 81,324 results. Trying to boil it down some, I tested out "Halloween pumpkin" and got 14,935 results. Going back to "Halloween" it popped out 81,349 - does that mean that there were 14 items added in the 30 seconds it took me to complete the "Halloween pumpkin" search?

Needless to say...I'm overwhelmed, but I did find some things in all of the hubbub that I would really love to have, if I could ever figure out how to actually buy it and get it to my house.

It's finally Fall around here, so now I want to decorate my apartment for Halloween. I'm not a huge fan of the whole orange and black color scheme, I really hate spiders (not to mention we have about a million real live ones outside our door) and ghosts aren't very pretty - so I'm looking for something simple and classic that I can use for both Halloween and Thanksgiving. I really like this pretty pumpkin made from old wire but I'd really like a grouping of different sizes, and those don't exist.

I've also found this little gem. It's adorable and graphic, plus I have the perfect place for it. The woman who makes them is working on a set of all 50 states and if she would go ahead and do Alabama I could hang both, one over the other, on this little skinny wall space next to my bedroom door. It would be such a cute little reminder of Texas every morning and I think they would transition well into another apartment, another bedroom, another home - they would be really adorable in a kitchen, a bathroom, or kid's bedroom. I think they're especially fun when you have a connection to multiple states and can group those together. See - I told you I would have Texas-themed shopping on the brain when I got home.

And aren't these sweet apples so cute. They'd be adorable sitting on a desk, in a kitchen, in a baby's room, on the coffee table, on my bookshelves....anywhere you or I want them to go. I actually almost think I my mom could make these myself herself, but I'm not exactly sure how you make them actually apple shaped. I love that they're a neutral, crisp, cream color - but I wonder if all of the dust in my apartment would make them a yucky brown color instead.

This shop also carried really adorable wedding gifts for your friends (since I have that on the brain lately). I ended up getting my friend a plate to celebrate her marriage this weekend, and while I understand the concept of registering so that you end up with the things you want and need - it just felt so impersonal. So why not try something like this?

I also really love that Etsy carried handmade items like the little apples, but also allows true, technical, amazing artists to showcase their artwork. I've seen some pretty gorgeous pieces, like this (which isn't super expensive), this or this, but I've also been interested in some prints of original. Clearly I'm not living on a "growing my art collection" kind of budget - so prints are ideal for my little apartment. This one (to the left) is really beautiful and I love the bold colors, plus I could buy a few different ones and have myself a little grouping. This artist has other prints in a similar style, similar color palette and all birds. My apartment could use a little color here and there, and I really just think these are gorgeous.

And let's be honest - you want these too! They're rough diamonds, and stackable. They come in the most beautiful colors - but still have a natural, and neutral look. They would be the perfect things to start a small collection of - one for graduation, one for a first job, one for getting married, one for having a baby, one for that one time that we went to such and such and did this and that. If you're a mom - one for each kid. I think stackable rings are so much more fun and interesting that a single band. Here's a good question about Etsy though - do these people ever just disappear? What if I wanted one now, and one in 3 years...how do I know I'll be able to locate this individual with the pretty rings?