5 Fun Gift Ideas from the Online Seller Etsy

Etsy is a website for the sale of handmade and rare vintage items. It’s also my new favorite place to shop for presents and items for my home. I’ll share here my experience with Etsy and all of my purchases made through the site. My purchases were made for holiday gifts, birthday presents and gifts for myself. It’s important to once in awhile, “Treat yo self.”

When adopting my new kitten, I wanted to get him an individualized tag that expressed his personality while also displaying pertinent contact information. I visited the various tag sites online and chain store options and was not impressed by what seems like nothing but the neon metal options with typewriter font, until I found Etsy. I was impressed by the beautiful options in metals, fonts, sizes and colors not to mention the professional looking designs. I finally chose a round nickel/silver tag with a copper heart soldered on the front. It had a design that was custom made for me based on my choices with a heart stamp and my kittens name on front, lovingly named Tyrion, and my address and phone number on the back.

You can check out their shop at Thermadstampers. They make handmade stamped metal products, which includes these cute and awesomely custom pet tags.

When it came to my sister’s birthday present, I wanted to get her something that reflects her personality but also something she can use. When I visited Bryant Park in New York City over the holiday week and there was a tent with handmade items created from old vinyl records. I loved this idea but had no idea where to begin when searching for it online until I thought about the tag I recently purchased for my new pet. I found a seller that made wall clocks, and other various items, out of authentic vinyl records. This seller had many options between different artists and I decided on David Bowie’s "Let's Dance" album from 1983. The hour and minute hand are metallic gold and the second hand is bright red with the four numbers around the clock matching the metallic design. It’s a simple concept that would add a bit of flare to any person’s home layout especially for those music lovers. I was conveniently able to have it sent direct to her in California with nice packaging and a personalized note. The seller was more than accommodating.

You can check out their shop at RecordsAndStuff. They make record clocks, bowls, coasters and more. They also tout the fact that their items are all original.

After all of the items purchased for others, it was time to give a little gift to myself (or rather, my furry friend). It was my new kittens first Christmas and I wanted a personalized stocking with his name on it. I found this clever item, a stocking that is made from a paw instead of a foot, shaped like a paw with a giant paw print in the front. There were various colors to choose from but I decided on traditional red with white fur. I was pleasantly surprised when it came; it was high quality, packaged with extreme care and included some information about the seller. I enjoyed hanging this handmade piece on my mantle as it added a nice vintage feel to the holiday celebration. I would definitely buy from this seller again and even recommended him to family members seeking similar items for their pets.

You can check out their shop at Pawsitively1precious. They make pet and pet lover gifts and tout themselves as the Pawsitively Precious Gifts shop.

Christmas approached quickly last year and I needed a gift for another pet lover in my family, my stepmother who has four cats in her home. These animals are considered her children and so I knew I wanted to get something special related to her furry friends. I decided on something customizable and came across this listing in the Christmas ideas section of Etsy for Pets. What caught my eye was the amazing craftsmanship and artistic skill that went into the creation of the ornament in the main photo of the shop.

I immediately clicked to enter the store and was impressed by the seller’s items, all custom and based on photographs that the buyers sent to the seller of their actual pet. I knew this was the gift that would blow my step-mom away. I easily pulled some photos from her Facebook profile (of course, her profile photos are flooded with pictures of her babies) and sent an e-mail to the seller. She created a customer listing just for me and gave me a two-week completion date for 5 ornaments. I actually decided to buy a 5^th ornament for my boyfriend’s mother for her dog.

When they arrived, I was overcome with joy to how well they turned out. They were all hand painted beautifully onto the color ornaments that I chose with cute little Santa hats on each. The packaging was even impressive for these items, each in individual sized boxes with the pets name inscribed on the outside.

My husband noticed how excited I was about them and actually secretly ordered an ornament for me with my cat's face painted on with the cute little santa hat. The photo of my ornament is below. It's now a treasured addition to our tree every year.

You can check out their shop at lorrihilldesigns. They specialize in custom and hand painted glassware.

By the time the ornaments came, I was raving to my boyfriend about Etsy. I even started compiling items I was interested in buying into my wish list. So, for Christmas that year, he signed into my Etsy account and chose one of my added items to surprise me. He decided on the item above, a handmade crocheted beanie hat based on the popular BBC television show Doctor Who.

I was excited when it arrived and pleasantly surprised at the beautiful packaging and even customer made tag for the seller’s store stating the stores motto, “For every hand made item someone buys, the seller plants a tree with The Nature Conservancy.” A silver tree stamped charm on the inside of the crown commemorates the new rainforest tree planted with this hat. The hat is made with Recycled Eco Yarn and there is also a nice steam-punk watch brass clock charm sewed into the fabric of the hat.

You can check out their shop at KnitsForLife. They specialize in crochet accessories, décor and patterns.

Full Item Name on Esty: Sci-Fi Crochet Beanie, TARDIS Doctor Who Inspired Accessory, Upcycled Recycled Clothing, Charity Donation, Blue White Fantasy Geekery

The creators are the sellers on Etsy and so ordering is easy, quick and customizable. It’s always a nice surprise when the items arrive because the packaging for the items always have delicate details and reflect the creativity of the seller. If you shop at Etsy for a gift for that special someone, you won’t be disappointed. I was really impressed with the professionalism of the site and its sellers and recommend it highly.