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• Help me pick a Mother's Day gift (still)

  Thanks to everyone that weighed in here about what would make a good mother's day gift for the wife. Since I still haven't gotten anything, I thought I'd keep asking. Lots of options out there, of course, including this one that Redsy mentioned. Here are a couple of others: Read More... Posted May 01 2008, 03:30 PM by Brett Singer with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: gifts, holidays, ebay, etsy, supermom, pajamas, help, Brett Singer, mothers day

• It's a Shopping Revolution!

  Whether you are gathering gifts at the mall or even at thrift stores, it’s getting more difficult to dodge and weave all the lead, recalled parts and choking hazards all in the quest to fill your little ones stockings. That and the growing movement to buy local and stop acting as consumerist sheep has inspired folks at  Etsy, Craftster, Indiepublic, Craft Magazine, Interweave Press, Burdastyle, The Austin Craft Mafia, Design Sponge, and The American Craft Council to band together and pledge to only buy handmade gifts this holiday season, and you can take the pledge too! Look here for more reasons why, and sign up today. Then, check out at any of the great sites above for gift ideas and one-of-a-kind items, or take a peek at our very own handmade section of the Babble Holiday Gift Guide where you will see that handmade is not just for hippies anymore. - April Peveteaux Posted Dec 10 2007, 02:43 PM by editors with | with no comments Filed under: etsy, handmade gifts, Babble Holiday Gift Guide, Pledge to buy Handmade

• Say Aww: Baby Halloween Costume Contest Winners

  The winners are in  for the costume contest I co-judged over at Etsy! It's thrilling to see so many creative parents, and tough to pick a winner. But the above costume, Max and Wild Thing, took the grand prize. I'll be posting more about the contest in Droolicious -- in the meantime, second and third place winners are after the jump. Prepare to squeal. Read More... Posted Oct 31 2007, 05:53 PM by Gwynne Watkins with | with no comments Filed under: contest, etsy, Halloween, halloween costumes

• Crafty: Enter the Etsy Costume Contest!

  Are you a genius at whipping up clever Halloween costumes? Think you can compete with the deviled egg at right? If so, you should definitely set up shop in the Etsy Costume Contest, to be judged by the folks at Etsy and some very nice website editors (including yours truly). Here's how it works: you make a costume, then put it up for sale on Etsy and tag it "costumecon." All the official rules are here, and you can browse current entries here. Categories include Green, Pet, Kid & Baby, T-Shirt Costume, Sci-Fi, Green, and General Awesomeness. The winner of the Kid & Baby category will have their costume and Etsy store featured on Babble. Go forth and sew something! Posted Oct 10 2007, 12:00 PM by Gwynne Watkins with | with no comments Filed under: etsy, crafty, Halloween, costume contest, deviled egg

• Avoid Lead By Making (or Buying) Homemade Toys

  We gave you a pretty long list the other day of great toys you can buy that don't contain lead and aren't made in China, but what about making your own? Or, failing that, buying toys someone else made? I have some ideas about both. First, if I can learn to knit so can you. And what if your first projects were 1.) easy, 2.) pretty quick to make, and 3.) resulted in actual toys your actual kids would actually like to play with? A winner, huh? Then get this book. Don't be put off by the title; so what if it's a kid's book? That's the beauty of it! I learned to knit from this book and so can you, plus with it you can make a horse or a pig or a lion. Read More... Posted Aug 27 2007, 12:32 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: sewing, crafts, toys, etsy, knitting, handmade toys

• Mother's Day Showcase at Etsy

  My favorite Mother's Day gift is something handmade by my kids. My second favorite? Something handmade by someone else, like the items in the Mother's Day Showcase at Etsy.com. Like Susan Thornton's Kinetic Earrings, shown at right, or myjennywren's felted wristlet purse. Outside the showcase, I also covet the funny, clever jewelry by elloh,  and this crazy cocktail ring by katinkapinka would look sooooo good next to my Fire King mixing bowls. And instead of a bouquet from Trader Joe's, I'd love to wake up to this Bouquet of Funky Flowers by stellabelladesigns. These items aren't made by someone who loves you, but they're still made with love. And not enough things are made with love nowadays, so I'm going to support it where I can find it.     Posted Apr 24 2007, 02:02 PM by Patti with | with no comments Filed under: crafts, jewelry, etsy, Mother's Day, mother's day gift idea, handmade gifts, accessories

• B is for Beer that's Good Enough for Me

  A lot of my good friends are either currently pregnant or just had a baby. Most of the time I think I am so glad I will never have to be pregnant again, but every once in a while I will see something that makes me want another baby. Here is one of those things. It's a B is for Beer t-shirt! It is as if it was made just for my children. Sadly, the largest size is 24-36 months, so while my kids must go without, if you are one of my pregnant friends you know what to expect for your shower gift. She Twisted Twee stuff they sell at Baby Dagny is pricey, but really cool. If you are on a tighter budget, but you still want all of the other parents on the playground to know about your love for alcoholic beverages, you can get this great martini onesie from Etsy. This one is only $10. Buy this stuff while your kids are little people. Once they get to be two or so they fight you and they get to decide what to wear. It is much tougher to be subtly ironic when your kid is wearing something with Dora on it.    Posted Apr 23 2007, 06:14 PM by Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: drinking, beer, clothes, cute, baby clothes, etsy, Baby Dagny, onesies, cocktails

• Mother's Day: Retro Gifts for the Modern Day Mrs. Cleaver

  Still stumped about what to get "Mom" (whomever that may be for you) for Mother's Day? Several online retailers have fabu offerings for moms who are into the retro-vintage-mid-century thing. Fred Flare offers up sweet recipe journals and tins, swan lake sunglasses that would make Mary Tyler Moore proud, and a pink breakfast in bed tray (my kids are huge fans of breakfast in bed as Mother's/Father's Day presents.) Sweet moms with a sweet tooth might enjoy this sugar-laden gift box filled with four pounds of retro candy including Necco Wafers, candy cigarettes (who doesn't love those?), and Pixy Stix. If you are sure your wife won't smack you over the head with it, you can give her a lovely retro apron to wear while she's cooking and serving your meals. (Or to wear for some saucy role-playing...) Finally, no vintage gift would be complete without a card that calls to mind crinolines and pearl chokers.  Get shopping!  Posted Apr 21 2007, 03:09 PM by Stefania Pomponi Butler (CityMama) with | with no comments Filed under: products, gift ideas, gifts, etsy, candy, Mother's Day, fred flare, vintage, retro

• Buying Art With (and for) Kids

  If you've ever taken your kids to an art museum, you've seen firsthand how enthralling art can be to a child. But including them in the process of buying art for your own personal collection? Z Recommends thinks you should. They start by interviewing art expert Lisa Hunter, getting the scoop on how to mix original works with reproductions and how to encourage the development of an artistic eye in a young child. Then, Z Recommends offers a selection of original works in various media and various price ranges. Some are direct from the artist or Etsy.com, some through galleries, and all were chosen with an eye toward child-friendliness: this is the type of art a parent would consider hanging in a nursery. If you're more the type to choose your art by how well it fits in the space over the couch (don't look at me, my walls are covered with self-portraits of my four-year-old), it's never too late to learn, and what better excuse to start cultivating an interest in art than by seeing it through the eyes of your children? Posted Mar 14 2007, 08:10 AM by Patti with | with no comments Filed under: children, art, z recommends, etsy