Pimp My Pals

I love handmade stuff. It's far more personal than anything mass produced in China. Now, I'm not the handiest of people. My one do-it-yourself talent is knitting, but even that has its limitations. First of all, I tend to knit mostly scarves. They're easy, just one long rectangle. And they're even easier to give away, assuming any of my friends want a hand-knitted scarf for our oh-so-frigid Georgia winters. (And even if they don't, it's too hard to turn it down once I hand it to them with that hopeful, please take it look on my face.) At one point, after a bit of yarn overload, I think I had a good ten, twelve scarves just languishing by the coat rack, hoping in vain someone would take pity on them and try them on for a spin. I was so obsessed with knitting at one point, I actually knitted in public. I eventually graduated up from mere scarves - I can now do hats (knitted on double pointed needles, no less!), wristbands (nothing says "I'm cool" at the gym than a knitted yarn wristband, but I upped the classy factor by adding designs) and ponchos (okay, this I actually am a little proud of... my mom wears hers all the time!) I'm sure I'll get back into knitting at some point, but as for now, I need a craft I can complete one-handed with a baby in the other arm.

But enough about me. This post is about all the far more talented and creative friends I have (especially those friends who let me reap the bounty of their DIY-ness). I envy their ability with the pen, the paint brush, the needle... Even more, I envy their ability to turn their craft into a lucrative little side business. Oh, if only someone wanted to buy one of my scarves! Better yet, if only someone wanted to publish my novel! But again, enough about me. Check out these fabulous offerings from people I'm lucky enough to say I know personally...

Amanda and I met in high school. We would go on to become college roommates. Our senior year, it took something insane like three weeks for the cable company to switch on our cable. So we had to find other ways of entertaining ourselves. Amanda's solution was to teach us all to paint and I still remember those hot August days, spread out on the living room floor, the radio whistling in the background, as we colored the world. Unfortunately, I lack the talent. Amanda, on the other hand, does not.

She wrote, illustrated and published this amazing book, starring a little bulldog who wants to grow up to become someone great. Violet received an autographed copy before she was born and I know she'll treasure it as soon as she's old enough to understand the significance of Red and Black. Seriously, this book is stunning. It's filled with wall to wall full-color pages of one hopeful little bulldog in scenes familiar to anyone who has spent time in Athens. The Arch, the tree that owns itself, Sanford Stadium, they all make an appearance within. I'm enormously proud of Amanda, who has sold a ton of copies in bookstores across Athens and even has book signings (sweet Lord, help me!) and slightly jealous of her as well.

Then there's Natalie, another one of my accomplished artistic friends. Natalie makes and sells the most beautiful notecards in her Etsy shop. I love snail mail, both the sending and receiving of it. And when the mail comes in the form of a beautiful piece of stationary, it's even better. I once made it a New Year's resolution to write one hand-written letter a month, and these notecards helped me accomplish the goal. This is currently my favorite.

Natalie was so sweet and gave me some of these Mama and Baby Bird notecards as part of a baby shower present. Only problem is, they are too beautiful to use! Sigh. I'll just have to order myself an 8x10 to frame and keep forever.

And finally, there's my pal Keight, who just took the plunge and opened her own Etsy store. Because being a mom, getting pregnant again and holding down a job wasn't challenging enough for her. Tell me, how cute is this?!

Now, I can't vouch for the awesomeness of this plush puppy, as I have not seen it in person (massive HINT HINT) but Keight doesn't do anything half-assed. What I do know is, it would look great hanging out in Violet's pack n' play with her. In fact, Keight, since I know you're reading, I hereby volunteer to be your official product tester/reviewer, if you need one.

So there you have it. Some amazing people who make amazing things. I'm jealous. Sigh. At least I'll always have my scarves. In fact, if you know someone who wants one...!