Have a happy Handmade Christmas!

Last year around this time, I decided that I wanted to buy local for all of my Christmas shopping. I figured it would be easy enough, with all of the wonderful local shops and markets that showcase Vancouver designers and artists. But I left it all to the last minute and wasn't able to find something for everyone on my list, simply because I only gave myself a few good shopping days. In the end, I was not successful in my quest to give all locally handmade gifts; I am ashamed to say that I even ended up giving some very NON local gifts such as Future Shop gift certificates and mass produced clothing items from stores that will remain nameless. But this year will be different. This year, I will succeed in my quest to buy local. This year, I am armed with a much larger arsenal of markets, websites and resources for handmade, locally crafted items and I am going to share them with you in the hopes that you will take the same vow that I have, the vow to buy handmade.

I know what some of you may be thinking - "why the heck is she blogging about Christmas right now?? It's only October!" Well, yes it may be a tad early to be thinking about Christmas shopping, but again since I went through the whole ordeal last year and wasn't able to achieve my goal, I am starting now to ensure that it will not happen again. Also, since I will be sharing my resources with you all in the hopes that you'll also have a happy handmade Christmas, now is as good a time as any to start with

Tip #1: Check out etsy, "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade."
I have found and earmarked dozens of amazing items/sellers on there already, and I haven't even spent a lot of time on the site yet. In order to make sure that you are truly buying local, use the shop local option by plunking in your location to view the etsy sellers in your area.

I'll admit, the reason I originally checked out etsy was to sell my bags on there at a discount off of regular retail price (gotta get rid of some of my inventory to make room for the new line which will be coming out any day now=P), but I ended up finding a wonderful resource for my own shopping needs. I hope you'll do the same!