We can minimize our fossil fuel use and support makers near us by buying more from local makers (and a lot less from big stores). I want to keep highlighting amazing makers in the US, and I feel like my Etsy links can get caught in the more mainstream shuffle. So let's look at some of the best stuff together. 

It's a new year, and the new you is totally going to be crafty. Or you are just ready to devote some of your time to creativity and new ideas, instead of sticking to the same old stuff.

Want to learn a new skill? Make all of your holiday presents over the course of the year? Etsy has got you covered. And it is all just so dang cute. Etsy does cute better than anyone, and one you get the hang of it, you can step away from kits and just do it yourself.

So these are our favorite Etsy stores to get you inspired and making this year! I can actually feel you getting more adorable as you read this!

Hoffelt and Hooper Co

If you are looking for a gift for the very bossy blogger you love, I seriously want one of these DIY embroidery kits. I have long wanted to learn more about embroidery. I learned a few stitches a few years back, and I just couldn't love this style more. And they have so many kits for beginner fools like me!

Becozi

Are you a defunct former knitter? Want to make everyone's new favorite blanket? Take up supersize knitting. Like you are making potholders for giants. But honestly, I think these blankets are super pretty, and I could totally take up this hobby. Becozi sells the things you need to make your cartoon blanket.

FeltedSky

Have you ever wanted to try felting? I feel like this is a calming hobby that anyone could do. You could learn now with Felted Sky projects, and have all your holiday presents done by June. And this rainbow is the cutest.

UrbanCheesecraft

Your new hobby doesn't have to make something that twee- learn to make cheese! Don't you think this would be a dang cool thing to know? Beer brewing be damned, no one is going to be mad if you give them mozzarella. I have recommended this gem of a store multiple times, because it is just too good to ignore.

EdsSimpleSolutions

You can make your own personalized ukelele from a kit from Hawaii-based store EdsSimpleSolutions. What a strange and wonderful world we live in!


Have other DIY dreams? I have more stores for you! Check out GinnyPenny, StitchyLittleFox, Perrenialstl, DelilahIris, StringoftheArt, PopShopAmerica, and SandhillShores



Have a favorite etsy shop that didn't make the list? Point me there! Want even more eco-friendly and local shopping inspiration? Check out my Giant List of Ethical and Eco-Friendly Shopping Lists. 

We have been talking a lot about Christmas shopping on this blog, and I have pointed to tons of amazing recycled, Made in America, and fair trade gift options, but there is another side of this story. I recognize a lot of these gifts are a little more expensive (the cost of ethical labor), but I don't think you have to break your budget! There are two other things we can all do this Christmas season that help the environment and our budget- buy used and make it ourself!

I can only say so much about buying used- you can always check Amazon for open box options, but the real way to do this is to go to your local consignment shops and see what's there (and while you are out, go buy some gifts from local shops so you are putting money right back into the local economy- stop sending your money far away). You can also look on Buy Nothing (if you haven't joined one yet, let me just mention again it is the bomb).

The other option, making it yourself, has so many benefits- you give a gift that you have really put your time and heart into, you give someone a gift that you know was ethically made, you can make a bunch of gifts in one shot, and you can save a bunch of money. I think it's the perfect way to give those smaller gifts to friends without it being a stress or a Walmart impulse buy. Pinterest offers about a million options, so you can browse and find an idea you like, but I thought I would highlight a few ideas I thought were especially cool.

from Cleverly Simple

1. Painted Kitchen Utensils- I think these are so simple and gorgeous, and Cleverly Simple takes you through the process perfectly. You could take a simple Epicurean utensil and use this to make them really special. Might be perfect for someone in a new apartment, and certainly more affordable than buying a similar set which may have been made from less ethical utensils!

2. Laundry Soap- This may sound crazy, but this is the idea I am most excited about! I would really like to stop using store-bought soap. It is so expensive in comparison to homemade, and even if you buy in bulk, it creates a ton of plastic waste. Boo! It's not necessary, so it is one of those areas I am changing course, because it just makes sense on all fronts. That being said, I can't imagine a better gift than someone giving us a big batch of soap so I don't have to make quite as much.

 It is such a practical gift, but if you make some that smells good, it would be a treat, and you can make so much in one go that you can cut out a BUNCH of Tide bottles from your loved one's plastic consumption. There are a bunch of options for soap recipes, so you can pick what works for you. Aprons and Pearls has a recipe that looks a lot like the one we bought off Etsy (for our trial run at homemade detergent).  This Hippy Homemaker one looks promising, and you can grate some soap into it for pretty smells. This one looks pretty simple. Dwelling Happiness makes a liquid and chemical-free version that you can do pretty quickly.




3. Christmas Ornaments- For the last three years, we have made Christmas ornaments for family members as a gift. It makes me feel less nervous about doing just one thing, and we have something that costs very little but we do put our heart and time into. My Grammy Binmore made ornaments that are basically icons in our whole family- just some felt and sequins, with a whole bunch of amazing in them. You can do this too! Just pinterest DIY Christmas ornament and get started! Need some inspiration? Start with these Space Invader ones!

from eHow

4. Birdseed Ornaments- This would be a great project to do with kids, and you know anyone can enjoy feeding a bird in their yard. Anyone with outside space could appreciate this gift, and eHow offers a simple tutorial on how to make them. Also a perfect opportunity to re-use straws!

from A Beautiful Mess

5. Sharpie Mugs- I feel like we have all seen this idea now, but it could still make a great gift, especially if you have beautiful penmanship. A Beautiful Mess does a full demo that can be really helpful. You just write with Sharpie on a mug and bake it at 350 for 30 minutes. My suggestion to make this even better? Go find mugs at Goodwill or another consignment shop! You can probably give a gift for less than 3 dollars a piece, and it really doesn't take much time. Perfect for grandparents or people just starting out in new homes! Put it in pinterest, and you can find all sorts of ideas.

If you want to do something a little different, you could also make these chalkboard mugs that they demo on wit and whistle! Seriously, cute. We have no room for more mugs, and I still want this mug.

from Sunset

6. Food Mixes in a Bottle- I love these mixes in jars, but I sometimes think the treat aspect is a bummer when you slide right into New Year's guilt season. I like the idea of doing a bread mix instead (did someone say pumpkin bread? Man I love some pumpkin bread). This mix from Sunset Magazine is low key but still thoughtful (and you could put it in some Made in America Ball jars!). Putting one of your favorite recipes into a gift is such a fun idea, shares a little bit of yourself (and a good idea, and can look really pretty! Win win win.

7. Art- Some of our favorite gifts we have ever received is art from loved ones. Last year, we got a drawing by our nephew which hangs on our wall everyday. We love it. Have a ton of art your elementary schooler made? Put it in a matted frame (I love these ones from Rustic and Refined Design, and for larger art you could buy one from Frame USA), and it will look polished enough to hang on any wall. A pretty small investment for a gift someone will treasure forever.

from Peanut Butter Fingers

You don't have spawn to make art for you to peddle off? Also, no artistic talent to speak of? You can still use this idea! Peanut Butter Fingers has a super cool DIY map project that they suggest for a first anniversary, but I think you could do a variation that would work for anyone (maps make great art, and you can get old atlases for nearly nothing).  All you have to do is put it in a matted frame, and it will look professional!

"And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, 'Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.'" - Luke 3:10-11

I have still been thinking about/ praying for the students in Kenya (and their families) who were massacred for being Christian. It is clear that it is becoming more and more dangerous to believe in Christ in certain parts of the world, and it feels like we should be able to do more to help. When The Boy and I went on our honeymoon in Kenya, we were so moved by our family's church where faith and cross-cultural understanding seemed so strong. It breaks my heart to think those people have to live in fear daily for themselves and for their children because of the threat of violence.

I feel like the only way to fight this hatred is with love and hope, and organizations like Open Doors are doing just that. You can read for specific prayer requests, volunteer to create cross-denominational coalitions to support these millions of people, write world leaders to urge them to do more against these dangerous organizations like Isis, and donate money to help Open Doors with its wide-reaching cause. Maybe you will feel like me that we can do more to help our brothers and sisters around the world, and this is a good platform to do so.

https://www.opendoorsusa.org/home/

We have to support the people there and those who are ministering to them even though it puts them in danger every day.

From schwingeninswitzerland.wordpress.com

 This project is a little time consuming, but it is also very low cost. To make it, you need:

1 piece of black paper per plane (you need to measure to decide how many you need- I had 8 for mine). Make sure it is black, because it needs to block the light. It is about 99 cents per sheet.
An Exacto knife
Thin black tape (Again! Black is important)
A sharpie
Measuring tape or a yardstick
Sheets of tissue paper- You can just buy the stuff people put in gift bags at target. They even have groupings of tissues for like 5 bucks. I used leftover wedding tissue paper (haunted for the rest of my life!) and blue and green that I bought in a pack. If you want to be historically accurate, lean toward blues and greens which they made the most.

 First, you need to make the points for the tops. These points were important for guiding the eye upwards, basically like an arrow up to the ceiling. Find the center of your sheet with the measuring tape and mark it off. From there, draw a light diagonal line from the point to the corner. Then, you need to put a little more curve on it and cut it out. Once you have one side done, use it as the stencil for all of the other top parts. This way, they should all be about symmetrical.

Important! Most of these posters have stickers on them. Make sure to draw your design on that side, so the part showing will be really clean. Also, even if you make a mistake, just draw a line over it, don't turn the paper over it.

 Once you have all the pieces you need to fit the space where you will put them (did I mention measure?), be sure to lay them all out so you can see the big picture. Once you are pleased with the shape, you can start drawing in your design with the sharpie.

No matter what, try to have at least a one inch border around the outside. Have all of your lines be about that thickness. It is only poster paper, so you need to have it hold up. You can make the design as complicated as you would like, though this step is the hardest and longest, so beware.

If you want to do my diamond pattern, these are the steps:

First, draw out your one inch border around the outside. Once you have that, decide the dimensions of your diamonds. Mine were 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide. To get that stretching to the ceiling effect, you want them to be tall and thin. Measuring the width of your paper so it works out is also important.

Draw your markings out, starting from the bottom on the wide part. measure out four inch widths and then one inch lines. Do this the whole way across. Then, at the midpoint of each 4 inch width, measure up 3 inches. Your first drawings will be triangles.

For the next bunch, you can measure up from the bottom. Repeat this until the whole paper is filled with diamonds drawn out.



 Trace the stencil on the tissue paper you have. You need even more than you think, so I would estimate and then overshoot it. You can cut the paper out with scissors, and it still works pretty well. By the time you are done, you should have a huge pile of these little window diamonds.

Finally, use the black tape to tape these to the back of the window panes. Be sure to use a lot of tape, because when it hangs you don't want them to droop. Use painters tape or black tape to tape them onto the windows and blamo! You have some real gothic fancypantsness.