*In Miss Piggie voice* SHOPPING! Also, heroin.

Ok, so, today

! (did you like how my punctuation matched that graphic? Pretty good, eh?) It is, sadly, getting to be the time of year when we start thinking about Christmas. Or at least, I do, because I'm a little obsessed with making stuff for people. But anyway, I always try to do all my Christmas shopping/crafting without going to the mall, and this year I decided to go the extra mile by taking the handmade pledge. I won't go on and on about how meaningful handmade stuff is. We've all read Albert Borgmann, right? We know the drill. So, on to the links!

Etsy is a wonderful, wonderful place to shop. Everything there is handmade, much of it is awesome, and some of it has sequins. Here are a few of my favourite etsy stores to get you started. Also, there's this blog called Etsy's most wonderful things, I can't really understand what it's all about, but.... oh never mind. Indiefixx is another blog that blogs indie design.

Recently I've been collecting links to affordable art projects. Art makes a great gift, especially when you know your purchase means a lot to the artist. In addition to Etsy, where there are lots of arts to be had: Tiny Showcase and pretty:darn:swell both sell limited-edition prints, and part of the purchase price goes to support the charity of the artist's choice. 20x200, which has been getting a lot of press lately, is another art store that focuses on affordability. It's like the art equivalent of a gateway drug.

(OK, side note: what exactly is a gateway drug? I mean, I know what the definition is, but is there really such a thing? I know SO MANY people who have smoked pot but never done any other drugs, so I don't think pot is a gateway drug. You know what is a gateway drug? HEROIN. Think about it.)

Every year, I try to give at least a few charitable donations in the names of my loved ones as Christmas gifts. The World Vision Gift Catalogue is great for this, because you can choose gifts like olive trees or bunnies (yum!) I would also be honoured to receive a donation in my name to one of my favourite organizations, like the Electronic Frontier Foundation or even Wikipedia (Which is in the midst of a fundraising drive). Or Save a Film in the name of someone you love. I may be a weirdo, but I'd be touched. (OK, so the charity stuff is not exactly handmade, but I think we could fudge on it and it would be OK.)

Oh, and for stalking stuffers (ok, so I actually meant, "stocking stuffers," but I wrote that automatically and it is so much funnier) two words: noney.

Yours in avoiding the mall,
Jocelyn