Part 2 of the pre-holiday squee extravaganza of all things handmade, lovely and ethical…

*Erica of Coffee Drinker makes such cool wrist cuffs that I wish I had more wrists! This rainy day one makes me especially happy, whether it’s rainy or sunny outside…

*Who doesn’t like dirt when digging in it means homegrown veggies and pretty flowers? Celebrate the joy over at You Grow Girl.

*Just as I believe a girl can never have too many handbags, I also believe that no bag (or desk) is complete without a to-do list. Watch how you’re procrastinating in style with Susie’s super cute octopus to do list! Squee!!!!!

*Not only do I love chickens, but I also love Nikki McClure! Nikki’s work continues to inspire me- especially in this adorable book, The Great Chicken Escape! Run chicken run!

*Nat over at Evil Eye Emporium is selling beautifully crafted Hope ornaments, with 100% of the proceeds going to pay her friend’s giant medical bills due to Spina Bifida and PTSD. Lovely.

*I can’t even begin to rave about my newfound love for all things garden grown. My new friends over at Snapped Twig make superfine jewelry, with creative sustainability in mind.

*Even though I had a psychotic parakeet as a child, that doesn’t mean my heart doesn’t skip a beat when I see bird-themed accessories, like these lovely pins by Trish at Bits and Bobbins.

*Everytime I take a peek at her site, I am awed at the ways that Melissa at Lekkner meshes her ethics with her products. The future is Lekkner!

*I am a late scarflet convert, I must admit, but all it takes is a day of wearing a scoop-neck top in the cold to see what you’ve been missing. And Lindamade’s scarflets are the jam.

While I love cacophony more than most people, I am not enjoying its presence in my life at the moment as I keep having to shapeshift and change hats trying to get everything done that needs to get done. But that’s the nature of a self-crafted life, isn’t it? Becoming a sort of amoeba-like being- not one-celled, just evermoving, never static- twisting and bending with the flow of things, yet made of the same essential fiber/ethics at the core.

Tomorrow I head back to my grandparents house, the first time since my grandfather died. I am interested to see what in the house conjures up fond memories and sounds of his voice. There is something so magical about the way we internalize and store fragments of people in our lives, the way we absorb parts of their very being as we share time with them.

Lately, at my parents house, I’ve been rifling through my belongings of years past and then following to where they led me. The written recollection of walking through the hills of England in 1995 and seeing sheep herded (I was mesmerized, much to the amusement of my friends), the first toy I ever received (a star, I have one etched on my belly, too), books I adored in high school (all of them put together echo of ethics and truth and freedom and creativity). All these pieces that aggragated and melded together to create the present form.

Sometimes the days are so full of craziness and hurrying that I forget about the simple pleasure of memories and fully realizing how they shape my own work. As someone recently reminded me, “sometimes the best way to go forward is by revisiting the past.” I guess tomorrow I’ll get to have some time to regroup and recenter as I balance being in the present and in the past simultaneously, ever curious to where it may lead me.

I have the song “Noah’s Ark” by CocoRosie on repeat right now. For some reason the juxtaposition between the nice backbeat and the sweet voice overtop is just what I need right now. I’ve been traveling so much this month that it’s nice to hear a song mixed with sadness and beauty and silliness.

But then again, I have always adored juxtaposition. Not just for the way the word rolls off my tongue, but for its denotation, too. I like the way busy city streets pair up the most unlikely combinations, culminating in a cacophony that is at once both mundane and symbolic. I also like how nature reminds us in this modern world that even when we think we’re alone someone has stepped here before.

Most of the work I have done over the past two years has nodded to that effect, that the future belongs to juxtaposition- in a nook where in making comparisons between two seemingly unlike things you arrive at a new way of understanding and/or a new way of being. It pops up again and again in my research, my writing and my art/craft production, this notion that everything is made of something else- you just have to know where to look.

The times where this becomes most apparent are the days when I’m rushing around doing loads of different tasks- making coffee, fighting traffic, reading some Roland Barthes followed by n + 1 followed by the local paper, selling books, editing articles, cooking, learning basic design, knitting, catching snippets of bad television. As my brain skips from one task to another, ideas form and bubble to the top as I flit from one activity to the other. Less restless and more curious.

The past two days I have been sick and therefore bed-ridden. While I may have caught up on sleep, it has done little for my overall productivity. I need to think in between actions, not think as an action all on its own. It is between the cracks where I honestly think that creation and invention lie, somewhere between waiting in line for coffee and rummaging through your desk for that perfect pen your mind connects disparate ideas.

If writing about craft and activism has taught me anything, it’s that there is always something to connect- you just have to realize that the first step is putting two seemingly unlike things side-by-side and stepping back. In blurring the edges, most often you will find a wealth of similarities and whole new modes of thought that you never thought possible.

In making pieces sometimes labeled art and sometimes labeled craft, I have learned that trusting convention is only okay if you see it as part of a continuum. And that the richness of the experience is not always drawn from the finished project, but from the moment the idea ignited and made itself known.

The trick is finishing the thought that was sparked to completion, which is something I am currently struggling with as I surround myself with half-finished essays and projects and pieces- all which look more like chaos than works in motion. But just like the way thoughts in my head meet up together, so will the projects find their way to done. It’s just a matter of stepping back and letting them co-exist side-by-side for a bit and trusting in the process as well as the continuum that allows me to create.

Welcome to the first of my Friday posts in December where I get to shout about some of my favorite artists this year, all of whom make products by hand and out of love. Some of them donate a portion of their proceeds to charity, while others create with ethics in mind.

All of these crafters and artists truly believe in the wonder of creativity and the joy of making things by hand. I am lucky to know many of them, all of whom have inspired me beyond belief. If you’re doing a little online shopping today, you could do worse than to check them out… but if it’s for the holidays be sure to make sure you order with time to spare as handmade does take more time to construct, as it’s made with care and love. If you’re still in search for the best holiday gift for your children, you can try giving them popular ones like the best hand crafted wooden playhouse for sale.

1. The Walrus and the Carpenter is the online store of many wonderful things, but Giao’s Mary Jane cards make me want to write letters to friends far away, sharing the love of cute shoes and kneesocks across the world.

2. Cinnamon’s purses at Poise made me want to carry a different handbag every day of the year. Just beautiful.

3. Anti-Factory is an endeavor after my own heart, Stephanie creates the most wonderful pieces out of recycled clothes which often sell out quickly, so check back often…Joining the mailing list is the best way to be notified when things have been added.



4. A true one woman craft-tornado, Heidi makes the best plush toys imaginable over at My Paper Crane. Her creations make me dream a little bit about the joy of creativity when I’m in the grocery store, which is just lovely.

5. Demoderby’s products make me squee with glee. I have several of their buttons that I adorn my sweaters with all the time.



6. Holly of misshawklet spins yarn from fleece obtained from a local farm, which only makes it more beautiful. Not that it isn’t already flippin’ fantastic already.

7. Not only does Charlie have the best store name ever, A Minor Thread, she also makes the best things. The craft resurgence has done nothing for my already out-of-control handbag obsession!

8. Remember the schoolyard joke, “What’s up? Chicken butt?” well relive the wonder over at Young and With It. There are also gnome cards made by Dixie, need I say more?



9. Not only is Ileana super nice and sweet, but she also makes me want to learn to crochet….and make pretty things instead of political… not such a small feat. See the pretty over at India*Romeo.

10. Everytime I check out Kate’s artwork over at Obsessive Consumption, I not only adore it, but also question my own spending habits which makes her stuff even more incredible and inspiring.

I can’t believe that tomorrow is December. I honestly don’t know where the time goes! If there are any of you out there looking for indie rock Christmas carols, I wholeheartedly suggest downloading Sufjan Stevens Christmas album here. Along with traditional favorites, you also get to rock out to songs like “Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!” and “That was the Worst Christmas Ever!” Definitely better than 80s instrumental new age stuff like my family always has on repeat all month…

Friday means the start of a month of “Ethical Holiday Shopping” posts, which means 4 weekly lists of gifts you can buy for those on your lists that will are ethically sound as well as just good gift. Seeing that today is Wednesday, and I’m already feeling festive, here are some links to gifts that you can start making for the holidays instead of consuming. (And if by Friday, you’re just a tangled mess of glitter, yarn and construction paper, you can scrap it and get out your wallet instead of your glue gun…)

While it might seem weird for me to post such obvious product placements, this month is the one month of the year I get to acknowledge outright the amazing products that not provide me with much joy as well as the people who never fail to inspire and bring a smile to my face. I know that there are a bazillion gift guides online, but the ones today and for the next 4 Fridays are written in the spirit of community and ethical choices.

*What hipster doesn’t like the nostalgia of snow globes? And doesn’t secretly (or not-so-secretly) love Martha Stewart? Learn how to make snow globes with stuff around the house. I suggest ones that are reminiscent of Florida in the 50s, but that just might be a recent fixation talking.

*What could be more adorable than a small army of happy knitting bunnies? I love this free pattern from the knitting superstar and all-around nice girl, Jess Hutch.

*Why not make your holiday cards instead of buying them? Learn how here thanks to the super Susan!

*NotMartha’s tutorial on bathbombs makes me want to say screw taking a shower…hello to bright pink bath bombs with lavender everyday! Hurray!

*Like robots? Need some crafty robotic inspiration? Click here. So many robo-tastic possibilities!!

There will be a bigger list on Friday, this is just to get you in the mood for making things because it is honestly more amazing to give than receive. The only thing I haven’t been able to find is a knitted elf pattern for this holiday season, which is what i want the most. Elves rule!