FOUND :: shop local, part 1

I found myself writing a post of near-epic proportions concerning my opinion on buying local, fair trade, secondhand, or handmade, and decided that it would need more revisions than I feel like writing at present and was more suited to a Friday essay post than a Tuesday handmade finds post.  So I'm sparing you the tedious verbosity and I'll be blabbering about one of my favorite Etsy features instead.  I've found some pretty neat things using this feature, and I think you'll like it, too.  My bridesmaids in my wedding all got these adorable slippers that I found, made by a local (to where I lived at the time/plan to live soon!) knitter, Casey of Clamors.

I found her using the Shop Local feature on Etsy.  It's on the homepage, left side, right below the "pounce" feature, and I love it.  When you put in your city's name, it'll pull up the one hundred most recently updated shops on your area, along with a few items from each, and you can browse your way through local makers.  Buying these slippers from Casey meant that first, I supported a local crafter, and second, I saved money on the shipping, since it only went through the post offices in my city.  If you felt comfortable with it, you could even arrange to meet someone locally* (provided you follow some basic safety tips), or pick something up from a craft fair, instead of ordering online.  This feature lets local buyers connect with local makers.  You may be surprised at what you find is going on right where you live! 

This is what's going on in my hometown...

{coffee mug cozy by then there's this}

{falling leaves brooch or necklace by Zia's Cottage Industry,

from both my home state of WI

and my hometown of Louisville! 

Oh, how small the world is}

{vintage shoe printer's block by fisherville studios}

Have you found anything interesting in your area lately?  

*Please note: if you ever meet someone in person that you originally met online, meet them in a very public place, with friends along, and absolutely do not go anywhere private with them.  Most people in the handmade online community are cool and safe, from what I've learned, but you should always watch out for your safety. 

The Nitpicky English Major's Guide to Grammar :: i, t, and s

It's raining today.  It's miserable.  The sun is hiding its face from us all.

We use that funny little combination of i, t, and s every day.  It's short and easy to say and write.  But in writing, it gets mixed up constantly.  It also gives me a headache--okay, maybe not, but if I see i-t-s (referring to either it's or its, depending on the context) used incorrectly, I have a hard time concentrating on anything else.  How nerdy is that?  I once didn't buy a t-shirt that I otherwise loved because someone used the wrong i-t-s.  I am that far gone into the land of nitpicky English degree holders.

Anyway, I could go in depth and talk about all the different times to use and not to use an apostrophe, but I'll save that for another day and break it apart into contractions, possessives, and the like.  For today, I'm just going to talk about i-t-s, and when you need an apostrophe and when you don't.  It's very simple, really.  There is one governing principle: if you could replace i-t-s with "it is," then you need an apostrophe.  Here's your example:

It's horrible outside today.

It is horrible outside today.

Both of those make sense, right?  Think of the apostrophe as a replacement for the i in "is."

Now, if you're using i-t-s to talk about something belonging to it, then you forget the apostrophe.  For example, if you were saying that your dog has a tail and keeps chasing it, you would write this:

My dog keeps chasing its tail.

You can make sure you don't need that apostrophe if you replace "its" with "it is," like so:

My dog keeps chasing it is tail.

That doesn't make sense, does it?  No, it makes no sense at all, so you can see here that you don't need that apostrophe.  

Let's recap: if you could replace the i-t-s with "it is," you need an apostrophe.  If you can't use "it is" instead, then you do not need and should not use an apostrophe.  It's that easy!  

(slightly belated) weekend links

Good morning!  I'm back from the land of golden retrievers, playing Lego Star Wars, building obstacle courses in the back yard, and green milk (April Fool's Day + food coloring).  We had fun, and I hope the kids weren't too bored with me.

{by Binary Ape on Flickr}

Anyway, here are some links for you to visit this weekend.  Laura of Live.Laugh.Photograph. left a comment on my blog last week, and I visited hers in return, where I spotted this post.  Imagine, never having painted, and then creating just the thing you were looking for.  After you read that, then sneak over to Amy's Treasures and have a laugh at these nine words women use.  Normally, I object to these sorts of things--"all men do this" and "all women do that" because a) they're often not true of me or a lot of men or women I know, b) I hate reinforcing stereotypes because people are all so unique and different that stereotypes often don't fit, and c) I feel like they limit getting to know people.  That said, I laughed at this article because it is actually true of me, except the five minutes one.  I usually just say one minute and then take five, and I don't keep my husband from watching sports.

{by Rev Stan on Flickr}

Well, that was rather verbose for just a few links, wasn't it?  Here's a few more.  Kat posted this link on facebook last week and it looks really fun.  Maybe I'll try it in a guest room sometime, since we already have a headboard.  This giveaway from anna allen of wildflowers :: pretty ends at eight p.m. tonight, so go take a look real quick, and then browse the Shabby Apple and imagine yourself in their dresses.  This family lives in a 120-year-old home, which sounds both really fun and potentially obnoxious (drafts, repairs, etc.) to me.  Then you should look at Man Made DIY just to see someone change up the usual gender connotations of this crafty blogosphere.  I particularly like this post on printing on fabric (it links to a post on Poppytalk Handmade).  I've dabbled a bit in making and using stencils, but I plan to do more when I can work on things in my parents' garage or basement (aka places with no carpet to ruin).  Sound good?  Oh yes.  Maybe I'll make some samurai sword push pins, too.

Have a lovely remainder of your weekend, and don't think too hard about tomorrow being Monday.

The sun has finally come out today, but that image of spring rain was too pretty not to share.  I think I prefer the lightness in the second one, though, don't you?  We're supposed to finally have nice weather after tomorrow.  Hooray!