Obsessing Over Etsy & Pinterest

It may come as no surprise to you that I am obsessed with Etsy and Pinterest. The past few weeks I have been searching Pinterest and Etsy for incredible ways to package up gifts, which I can translate into wrapping for snail mail.

I honestly had no idea what incredibly fascinating items could be used for gift-wrapping. Everything from garlands made from baker's twine and hand-punched book pages, to colorful layers of intertwined washi and fabric tape. Beautiful tags made from recycled cards. Lovely printed names cut from pretty paper. Fabric scraps to hold everything together.

Can you picture all the phenomenal possibilities? Can you see how much gift-wrapping has grown over the years? Can you imagine how much more it can grow?

I ordered lots of items from Etsy over the past several weeks. Here is my list of artisans from the U.S.A. whose work and products I truly adore (and yes, they're ALL worth checking out!):

PinkiesPalace (lots of cute stickers)

PaperDozen (fun tags, cards, envelopes, stickers, and die cuts)

greenearthgoodies (gorgeous stickers)

chickydoddle (washi tape)

ThePackageHouse (everything from washi tape and stickers to bags and boxes, and more!)

inkkit (beautiful wrapping supplies, stickers, and clothespins)

PaperAndPresent (everything from washi tape and stickers to bags and boxes, and more!)

frogfeathers (lace and ribbon and flowers)

LuckyLadyPaperCrafts (ribbon, embellishments, and much more!)

kawaiigoodies (stamps, ink, bags, washi tape, and so much more!)

matdi123 (garlands)

smileywileys (garlands)

KatiesScrapNSupplies (tags and fibers)

Now, as much as I would encourage you all to support these artisans, I do have to bring up the negative side, which is the fact that the holidays are coming up! Negative? Yes, because it means you need to order from them sooner than later to get their epic goodies before the holiday rush!

But no, seriously. Negatively speaking, the problem with this whole gift-wrapping snail mail idea is I have to double package everything to protect what is inside, and now to protect what is outside. This means more weight (not a big deal if it's less than thirteen ounces), more bulky bits (the post office near me is notorious for tearing apart items that aren't bubble-wrapped), and more time spent wrapping (which to some like me isn't a big deal, but I know not everyone works well under pressure like I do).

Okay, I've rambled on long enough. Expect a follow-up post in a few weeks with a bunch of photos of the goodies I've ordered!

(Feel free to follow my snail mail board on Pinterest here.)