My favorite dinosaur-themed gift

I have never really had bookends because I usually have so many books stuffed in my bookcases there's no need for them. But if I did need some bookends, I'd buy these.

They're not cheap--$65 from Etsy, but they are unique and playful and they are perfect for the dino-lover/book lover in your life.

A picture is worth a thousand words

My mother was a commercial artist with a degree in fine art, and so our home was filled with art--paintings she'd done, paintings and prints she picked up  on her travels, pieces of sculpture, objects she prized for their intrinsic beauty (shells and rocks and pretty pieces of crockery). When I first started fournishing my own apartment, I did what every 20-something did and bought posters. (One of which, a stunning 1978 poster for AIDA is now out of print.  YOu can buy it for $1200 on Instadibs.  I sooo wish I still had that poster, which went missing during one of my moves.)

But one day I stumbled across an arts fair in a park near my apartment and discovered I could buy ORIGINAL ART for the same price (or even less) than a copy of the Picasso Don Quixote print (you know the one) or the reproduction of Ansel Adams "Moonrise over Hernandez, New Mexico (you also know that one, and did you know the bidding started at more than half a million when a print was auctioned by Sotheby's in 2006).
Then eBay came along and suddenly you could buy art from all over the world. It wasn't necessarily cheap--I paid $500 for a painting by a Vermont artist who signed her paintings VERTE--but the works were original and I wasn't going to see them in every corporate waiting room and low-end motel in the city.
Then I discovered Red Bubble. And Etsy. And well, let's just say that I now choose my living quarters by how much available wall space there is.

Art is a great gift to give people but it's so very, very personal that unless you know someone REALLY well, the best thing to do is buy a greeting card that's an art piece you like and then enclose a gift card for a site your friend might enjoy browsing.

On Redbubble, posters begin in the $12 range and go up, depending on size. You can get something like one of Tanyashatseva's dreamy, spacetime inspired glitter-infused acrylic paintings called "Nahdezhda Nebula") as everything from a sticker to a phone case to a t-shirt to a greeting card if you don't have room for a poster.)  You can even get the image on leggings!

Other sites with original art for sale are:

Artfinder
Artshow
Etsy
Minted
UGallery

Root Division (a gallery in San Francisco) also has terrific art in the $200-$500 range, but it's only available for local pickup. That's a shame because there's a piece by Eva Enriquez that calls to me.

Life needs to be beautiful. Do your part. (And remember, no matter how awesome Georgia O'Keefe is, friends don't let friends hang posters of her bones and flowers.

Gifts for the slightly skewed...

You can start off with this *tweaked* Christmas card from Etsy. If you order it now, you still have time to mail it or to tuck it into a gift box.

Maybe you know someone who missed out on the velvet skulls Target was selling for Halloween (they were awesome and by the time I heard about them they were completely sold out.

But that same friend might adore a pair of velvet skull leggings, also on Etsy. (Seriously, Etsy is everything and to prove it,  you can get this really cool skull soap that can be customized for color and fragrance).

Because a good meme is timeless!

When the "Nevertheless, she persisted" meme first showed up, it was in honor of Elizabeth Warren. But as it turns out, there have been a number of times when it is applicable. Ansaldo Design Group has taken the phrase and adapted it to a series of graphic totes featuring feminist icons ranging from Joan of Arc to Queen Elizabeth I to Harriet Tubman to Junko Tabei (a Japanese mountaineer and the first woman to summit Everest). Some designs are also available on t-shirts. Check them all out here.

Summer of Shakespeare is Coming!!

Summer of Shakespeare took the summer off last year, but this year it'll be back, commenting on all things Shakespearean for three solid months. (Along with other items of interest and bookish things.) Get in the mood by wearing your "upstart crow" t-shirt, available on Etsy. The phrase "upstart crow" is attributed to Robert Greene, one of Shakespeare's contemporaries, who was throwing shade on the bard in his own work, A Groats-Worth of Wit. Greene died young (he was only 34), so maybe it's not fair to judge him on his body of work but honestly--just on titles alone, how memorable is A Groats- Worth of Wit, bought with a Million in Repentance? It sounds like required reading from a particularly humorless Sunday School teacher.

I do like the phrase, "Upstart Crow," though.

Joe Kenda Mug

I don't need any more mugs.
No one I know needs any more mugs. Between the one you got free when you opened an account at that new bank and the one you got from a coworker on your last birthday, and the cute one you bought online one night when you were cruising Etsy instead of sleeping--you're covered on the mug situation. And yet...this one calls me. Probably because I can hear Joe Kenda's voice in my head when I look at the words. And possibly because I know a couple of people who have crazy boyfriends--not in the homicidal kind of cray-cray way, but guys whose eccentricities make them less than endearing. (Note:  Crazy does not equal sexy. Just sayin'.)
If you have a Homicide Hunter fan on your Christmas list and they somehow don't have enough mugs in their kitchen, consider this one.

This Shop Has the Ugly Christmas Sweaters of Your Dreams!

Etsy Alert. Sweater Zoo out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, has more than 100 great sweaters, including many designs that will make your holidays cozy and bright. Prices on Sweater Zoo's wares are mostly in the $20-$30 range, and there are sweater vests priced at $18. Order now to get your ugly Christmas sweaters early!

30 Days of Etsy--Sweaty Wisdom

Sweaty Wisdom is a small Etsy shop run by Chris Emmer. You can find #girlboss and #feminist items for sale including this sassy mug for $16. (Because really, who can't use another mug? If only to leave it in the break room and blow people's minds.) Check out her shop here. You'll be suporting a woman-owned business.

30 Days of Etsy--Skyline Vintage

There are a lot of reasons for buying vintage. For one thing, you can find a lot of clothes made in America--remember the old commercial, "Look for the Union label?"--and if you're trying to make a stand against some of the more unsavory practices that keep "fast-fashion" cheap, buying vintage is a great option. There are a bazillion fashion shops on Etsy. Skyline Vintage is one of the newer ones. It's only been in business since this year, but if your taste is boho or retro grunge, you should definitely check it out. Prices aren't quite as enticing as in some other shops, but as the holidays approach, almost all the sellers offer great deals. I wear a lot of black and white (who doesn't?), so I'm always looking for ways to jazz things up. I'm particularly fond of graphicly interesting cardigan sweaters like this one. The color makes it particularly interesting.

30 Days of Etsy--JNH5855

So the holidays are coming up, but so is colder weather, unless you live in California, where you are still sweating out the long, hot summer. I've been stocking up on warm clothes via Etsy and found this awesome shop run by Jamilla Harris, jnh5855. Sweaters? She's got them, in sizes ranging fromextra small to 2X, and men's clothing as well.

She also has a large array of cool accessories and more than 1600 reviews with a 5--star rating. Her prices are excellent. And check out this (so on trend) mustard yellow baby doll coat that's only $20.. I couldn't get my big toe into it, but I have about six items "in the cart" waiting for me.

The shop  also features lots and lots of really cute bathing suits, belts, and purses. She also has hats, both summery and wintry. All in all, she has nearly 3000 items for sale and there's something there you WILL want. I love this adorable cardinal-embellished jacket (just $13). There are also a lot of different shoes, mostly size 6.5. Check out the shop here.

Shakespeare Earrings

The last time I browsed Cafe Press it was all about the clothing--t-shirts and hats and tote bags and such. Also mugs. I didn't realize they'd gotten into Etsy territory with hand-made jewelry items until I saw these earrings for sale. You can buy them here, but be warned, they come with a warning that the earrings are not for sale to, or use by, anyone under 12.  I'm not sure why that is. I can see they'd be a choking hazard for very young children but surely kids grow out of that phase by the time they start going to school?

the Book Purse

It's almost time for the fourth annual Kattomic Energy holiday gift guide, but here's a preview. The BOOK PURSE!  Crafted by Etsy artisan Novel Creations, these are whimsical purses upcycled from leather-cound and hardback books. See them here.

Shakespeare fans--the Etsy Shop of Your Dreams!

I have mentioned before my love for Etsy, and I've run across a shop called IMMORTAL LONGINGS

that produces Shakespeare-themed items that are ... exquisite. I have half a dozen parked in my shopping cart (Just 17 more days until my birthday!) and will definitely return to it for my annual Holiday Gift Guide. check it out!

Shakespeare Swag

Is this bracelet cool or what? I snagged it from the RareJewelbyKathy shop and it's just perfect for the promotion I'll be doing of my Shakespeare Noir collection (out this fall)!  And right now, if you pin three items from the shop, and send her the link, she'll give you a coupon. So it's awin/win. (And really, you should have a Shakespeare board on Pinterest.)

Shakespeare rubber stamp on Etsy

When I was a kid I loved rubber stamps and wax seals and all those things you could use to decorate letters. (I'm one of the last hold-outs when it comes to written communications. I don't do e-cards, usually, and I always send hand-written thank you notes.) I saw this very cool item on Etsy today and once again reflected that Etsy is a wonderful website that not only connects artisans to buyers (enabling buyers to feed their fantasies of being patrons of the arts) but also an excellent place to while away an hour or two (or three).

Shakespeare portrait by Heather Galler

I've been cruising Etsy of late, looking for swag to buy in advance of the October book fair in Sedona where Dark Valentine Press will have a table. And is my wont, I was looking around to see if there was anything new in the Shakespeare section. I found this very cool portrait by Heather Galler and I'm about to go snap it up. Because I deserve a little more art in my life.

E is also for Etsy

Books and Bling.  It seems to be becoming a thing with me these days.

I have a YA book coming out this summer, a science fiction romance and for the giveaway, I want a particular thing--a piece of jewelry that looks a bit futuristic but is still something you could wear in your everyday life.  I had found the perfect thing (PERFECT) on Etsy but for reasons I don't remember, I didn't snap it right up.  And when I came back to the site--somebody had bought MY piece of jewelry.  I was ... QUITE annoyed.

I like this item from Red Ava Designs. It looks sort of like something an alien ambassador to earth might wear in a Star Trek movie.  I like that it's copper, which always seems warmer than silver to me. I like the sleek industrial design of it. My heroine (Luz) runs a farm on a planet called Frontier, and even though things are automated and she's not out there digging in the dirt herself, I don't think she gets dressed up much, so this might be the thing.

but I keep coming back to it.  And I'm thinking if that slow-paying client who aggravates me so much actually tops up my PayPal account over the weekend, I should take it as a SIGN that this is meant to be the piece of swag I give away when I'm ready to promote the book.

B is for Bling

I like jewelry, I always have. I used to sell and buy (or really buy and buy) jewelry on eBay and I ended up with a really nice collection of Matisse copper and enamel jewelry to go with the pieces I inherited from my mother and grandmother. But once I stopped working in an office, I got rid of most of my bling because it felt kind of silly to be sitting around in a t-shirt, bicycle shorts and a silver charm bracelet. But I still love looking.  And I especially love looking at Etsy, where you can now buy vintage stuff as well as hand-crafted items.  And the way I justify buying things is that I'm looking for swag I can use to promote my writing. (Yes, I can justify anything.)
Yesterday, on Twitter, one of the Etsy shops I like put up a lot of four vintage (60s) rose brooches for a really good price. And the moment I saw them, I thought of Fairy Story, one of the short stories I used to have up on Amazon.
I've taken the story down to rework it into something longer and I've been thinking about what I might offer in the way of promotions. And then I saw the ad for the four roses and KNEW.  It was destiny. It was kismet. It was a really good reason for cruising Etsy. so I bought the roses and when Fairy Story is rebooted, there will be promos.  The roses came from a shop called Grand Vintage Finery. Check it out.

Best Book Promo Item Ever!

I'm always looking for items I can use as promotional tools for my fiction and for the release of Whipping Boy (due out in February from my alter-ego Kat Parrish), I snagged this fantastic Police Line Do Not Cross scarf from Barbara Perelman of "Blazing Needles" on Etsy. (Find her shop here.) I like this scarf so much that I really, really wish it got cold here. (It's been in the 80s this week and if I started wearing a scarf I'd look like one of those eccentric old ladies who wears three layers of sweaters in the middle of the summer.


Barbara provides customized knits, crochet cacti and novelty knits.
And in case you were wondering what a crocheted cactus looks like--here's one. (There are several varieties.) Isn't it adorable?

Noir Bling from Red Hot Kitten

It's no secret that I am all about the Etsy. This year I discovered a shop called Red Hot Kitten run by artisan/jewelry maker Michelle Tichota, whose motto is, "Takin' over the world, one bad-ass Bettie at a time."
I love her store. She creates great jewelry out of images of pulp novels (noir, sci fi, fantasy) and sells it for a very nice price.
I am particularly fond of the stretch bracelet I bought myself made out of old mystery novel covers for $8. (See picture.) Seriously, if you have a love for pop culture, whether atomic-era design or bad-ass noir, you need to check this woman's shop out here.