BeeBlog

OK, so I've been meaning to blog the progress of my very DIY wedding and, let's just say, I'm a little slow in getting around to it.  Well, better late than never...

Part the First: How to Get Your Man to Propose

Buy him a sparkly orange bird from bubbletime.etsy.com!*



Well, that's what I did anyway.  I had no idea they were imbued with magical pop-the-question vibes!  And to all those nay-sayers who say it was mere coincidence that I gave him this on the very same night the M-word was mentioned, well I say "poo!" to you.

*OK, so Ryan really likes this stuff.  Your results may vary.


Part the Second: The Fruits of your Labor

I'm not the kind of girl who wears jewelery on a regular basis (in fact, I am more apt to be found wearing a goofy felt pin of some sort), so  knew I wanted a really unique engagement ring.  Also, since we were just about to buy a house, I definitely did not want the whole 2 month's salary thing (not to mention the ethical issues involving diamonds).  So, with the help of the ladies of Richmond Craft Mafia, we trolled Etsy and IndieFixx for a fun, pretty, and affordable ring.  I fell in love with this ring by ornametal right away, but I kept looking just so I didn't pick the first thing I saw. 



Turns out, after a week of searching, I realized it was the very one I wanted.   (Funny, we did almost the same thing when we bought our house: we bought one we fell in love with the first day out!) 

 I give thanks that I don't work retail!

I spent many years working in a small local shop and I cringe every time one of those ads for 4am Door-Buster sales comes on TV. I imagine tired, blurry-eyed salespeople and cashiers getting up at 3am to get ready for work and deal with seething masses of crazed bargain shoppers. I remember the nightmares I would have around Christmas time: the ones where I could never ever leave work because just as we would let the last person out, someone else would come in.

Why has Christmas shopping become a full-contact extreme-sport obstacle course? An obscene spending glut of mass-produced crap from China that will be in the landfill by next Christmas? How is this special? How does a $20 DVD player tell someone how much you love them? It doesn't.

I give thanks for handmade gifts!

My family and friends are all receiving handmade gifts this year. Sure, I may not be able to buy them as many things as I would if I went to some big box retailer, but each thing will be special and unique. Many things will be made by me or by people I know personally. Call me a big old hippy, but that's how I think things should be.

"But what if I'm not a big old hippy craftypants artist like you Erica?" you ask...

That's fine, there are plenty of craftpants people out there to help you!

I give thanks for local Richmond, VA crafty folks!

For those of you in the Richmond, VA area here are some upcoming opportunities to handmade and local!



I give thanks for crafty people all over the country (and the world!)

Not a Richmonder but still want to find craftiness near you this holiday season?

Go to craftmafia.com and see if your city has a craft mafia. A good place to start if you are looking for local crafty resources and events.

Check out indiecraftshows.com for upcoming craftshows all over the country.


I give thanks for Etsy!

Oh, Etsy, how I love you, let me count the ways! How about 70,000 and counting? That's how many sellers there are on Etsy to choose from!

Etsy is a 24-7 world-wide craft fair. Find a unique handmade gift for anyone on your list, buy craft supplies for the crafter in your life, or reduce - reuse - recycle with fabulous vintage finds!

You can browse my favorites and check out some of the great Etsy sellers!

So, instead of wrestling the last crappy off-brand DVD player out of the hands of someone's crazed granny tomorrow at 4am, sleep in and do your shopping on Etsy. Many sellers will be running sales for the Thanksgiving weekend (you can check some of them out by doing a titles and tag search for "cybersale.")