I have found so much cute stuff, but I don’t always have just the right person in mind…so I thought I’d share some of my favorite handmade finds for holiday gift ideas.

For the dog lover in your life:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/scratchandsniff

http://www.etsy.com/shop/blennox

Adorable.

I’m not supposed to still be on the internet. But here’s what happened. I went back to Flickr to check if I had any comments (I did!) and followed a link to a commenter’s photos. This is how it starts. Then, I followed another commenter…and so it goes.

I found this blog, Crazy Mom Quilts, which is FULL of inspiration. Most inspiring - this Red Cross Quilt. I truly love this quilt. I’ve been searching and searching for the most perfect quilt for my sister, and this is it. I’ve been saving blue and aqua fabrics, and it’s going to be perfect.

I also stumbled onto Johanna Wright’s artwork on etsy. Wow. My craft room will not be complete until I have some of her prints - or even better - some of her original paintings. I LOVE her.

Now, I seriously need to get off of here. Now that I’ve saved those links for myself, I can go do something else. Like sew. Or drink coffee.

I made all these fun iron-ons of superheroes - admittedly, I stole all the images off of the internet - and put them on t-shirts for my kid. Just like his super cool Thomas cape, he cries his face off if I try to put the shirts on him. Here’s an example. I put this shirt on him, he wears it all the time. Then, he looked down and saw Aquaman.

But I’m working on some new stuff. I’ve been making these cool little bags…I may even get around to putting some in the Etsy shop I opened 20 years ago. I also finished a little table topper convergence quilt (from a Ricky Timms book) and I’m over halfway done with the hand quilting on my snake charmer quilt.

Some new and excellent web finds for the crafty:

• Feeling Stitchy - embroidery galore
• Redwork in Germany - check out that log cabin quilt!
• Doggedknits’ quilts on Flickr - beautifully crafted AND photographed. I aspire to this.

This month’s Real Simple had these cute little cocktail napkins that had fortunes on them. I went to the website, and it turns out it was an Etsy shop - Avril Loreti! How awesome is that. A national magazine - great press for all Etsy sellers because even though only one product was highlighted, how could a shopper turn away from all the rest of that handmade goodness?

By the way, her ideas on coctail napkins and heat transfers are super creative and wonderful. I will be copying them (for personal use, of course) very soon.

If you’re not shopping on Etsy yet, you’re missing out.

That’s my kind of politics! Who knew I was part of a movement? I’m always trying to be part of movements, and here, I already am!

Read This.

Crafters Unite! I want a union :)