Etsy!

I know it's been forever since I posted. I feel bad, but with such low readership I don't think it bummed too many people out :)

Sooo...once again, I'm inspired by another blog. The internet is a wonderful thing, providing me with not only my inspiration (the blog), but also my obsession (the site that I'm blogging about). I probably don't have as big of an "Etsy problem" (I've decided to coin this term in reference to the condition that affects so many all over the world) as a lot of other people, I'm sure, but it's pretty bad. I could spend hours (and $$$Hundreds$$$) on Etsy (it's probably good for me that I don't have internet at home, as I'd probably have much less in my bank account if I had that much more time to find things I just can't live without).

Etsy is a website somewhat like ebay, where you can buy and sell things...it just has a few little (wonderful!) differences. In the words from their site, it's "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade." The handmade items are definitely my favorite, but it also includes vintage items as well as supplies (to make handmade items). Sooo cool! Why didn't someone think of this sooner?!? So, basically, it's one big site full of lots of little "shops." Each seller has their own shop, full of all of their merchandise. This comes in handy, because if you see something you like (by itself-for instance, after doing a search for something you're interested in), then you can see who the seller of that item is, and go into their shop. Chances are, you'll like their other stuff, too!

I know I'm over-enthused about this, but it's definitely amazing. I love the idea of buying handmade (to support small business owners rather than big corporations), I love the idea of selling handmade (I'm working on getting inventory together before I start selling on there-I'll let you know when I get my shop up and running), and I love how great it is to have all of it consolidated into one wonderful website!

Just to give you an idea, I'll do a few random searches:
Browsing categories, I found this:

I LOVE the checkerboard pattern on anything at all, including this purse.

Using their color search, I found this:

This bead is adorable!

Doing a search under Shop Local, I found these:

These very pretty earrings are close enough for me to drive over and pick them up! (you gotta love no shipping!!!)

So, that's just some examples of what glorious things they have on there, and just a few of the many ways to find them. Each of those items only took me about 30 seconds (maybe a little more) to find. Think of looking at it for longer! The treasures you could discover are endless! If anyone buys me anything from Etsy for Christmas, I'll probably love it (hint hint).