deep thoughts and etsy

i've been browsing etsy lately- both for the eye candy aspect and for inspiration. i love etsy! the idea of a collaborative place of so much creativity and hard work is exciting to me. here are some things catching my eye:

the green cow dress by bayan hippo first seen here.
when i wondered aloud about where that fantastic fabric was from my daughter said, "oh, can't we just buy it?"
alright...point taken.




rosie's bears and bitty creatures has the cutest little amigurumi dolls. you can buy either the pattern or the doll. and for just $10 you can customize the doll to your standards. i ordered 2 kitties this week! i can't wait to get them!





i love the fabric collections put together by fabricworm ! she takes all the guess work out of online fabric shopping for me by putting colors and patterns together that actually work.









a beautiful vase by cocoa marie to hold all of my fresh cut garden flowers this summer!

and lastly, the beautiful paintings by coriD . this one in particular reminds me so much of my moonpie (who rescued a baby mourning dove this weekend).

i've been thinking a lot lately (along with everyone else) about what i can do during this hard economic time in our country. what i can't do is spend a lot of money. but the money i spend, i can choose to whom it goes to. and i think the most responsible, compassionate thing i can do in a time like this is support individuals. how we spend our money speaks volumes about what we care about. i am deciding today to be even more proactive about supporting small businesses in my community, small farms around me, and to buy handmade whenever possible.

will you join me?