All About Etsy ...

After looking at so many of the great give-aways yesterday offered through The Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway, I realized there are a ton of great Etsy shops out there! And frankly, I don't know about so many of these great places!
I've also learned that despite there being so many great Etsy stores, there are still plenty of people who don't know what Etsy is!

I like to think of Etsy as an on-line craft show! I go to them occassionally - local churches and schools tend to hold them. And you walk around and you get to see lots of goodies made by the people sitting at each table! And there might be 4 jewelry sellers there, but that's okay, because each person is selling unique items that they have made themselves! And there is usually someone selling tie-dye clothes, and usually a few blanket sellers, and several sellers of nice hair things. Then there are the woodworkers, who sell from simple little signs to hang on your walls, to big peices that you would set in your yard. It's common to also see people selling their photography and other forms of art work.

I love going to craft fairs. It's nice to walk around, have so many things to pick from, and I like to support the people who are there - instead of always buying from the big companies (which don't get me wrong, I love my Target dearly, but it is nice to not shop from the big stores or the big companies too!)

Anyway, to me Etsy is like a big on-line craft fair! Things sold on Etsy are handmade by the person(s) selling them to you. Each seller has his/her own store that you can order from. And the variety of things you can buy - photographs, clothes, jewelry, lotions, soaps, cards, hair accessories, home decor, baby items, art work ... well the list goes on and on! It is so much fun to go there and browse and shop! Once you set up an account, you can start picking favorite sellers and favorite items, which is SO much fun. The best part for me? That you can get really great items and support someone who is so talented! People like me, who stay at home but are looking for a way to bring in a little extra. Or someone who's full-time job is working at an office, but their passion is really making these fun little cards so they do it on the side! Well, you can find a whole host of different stories for the sellers on Etsy! It is such fun =)

I'm thinking, since I'm getting a lot of traffic around these parts (thanks to Shannon!) that it would be fun, if you have an Etsy shop, leave the link here! I'm hoping this works because I've done a Mister Linky before! Anyway, like I said, leave a link here to your store. If you want to leave a description of your store, feel free to add it in the comments section! And hey, tell all your etsy friends to come and leave a link too! I know I will have fun looking through everyone's stores and hopefully others will have fun too!