i’m really excited to be blogging about this particular piece of information (i’ve been meaning to do it for a few weeks now..) and i hope you’ll find it beneficial.

christen has started an etsy store.

over at babybyrds.etsy.com, christen has created a really great store that features, generally speaking, children’s print items such as custom wall prints and custom diaper bag tags. as a parent of two little girls, i can attest to the fact that there are a lot of seriously cheesy children’s products. i can also attest to the fact that christen’s stuff falls well outside the realm of cheesy. 🙂

don’t know etsy? i will have to either ritualistically cane you…or…i could welcome you into the world of awesome. let’s go with option #2…

on etsy’s about page, here’s the response to the question, what is etsy?:

Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.

Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice:

Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.

here’s an accompanying video that expands the definition by giving you a fairly specific vibe as to the people who are generally buying and selling via etsy.

so, in essence, it’s a really cool online platform for people who make things to sell their things to and be in community with people who like to buy things that people make. simple enough. 🙂

that brings us back to christen and her baby byrds shop. you can go check it all out by clicking here, but i thought i would show you a couple things here.

here’s a couple of her custom wall prints. these can be customized to any letter in the alphabet, any color combinations, any name and additional options such as birth date, weight and height.

one of the coolest things about her stuff is that some of it functions as both creative pieces and functional pieces. her diaper bag tags are a product of her direct experience of both having children who go to daycare and keeping other peoples’ children in daycare. there was either not a convenient place to include notes about their childs’ needs or parents simply gave no instructions at all. so, the diaper bag tags solve the problem. here’s how christen describes them:

One side has your child’s name, the other side has interchangeable cards containing your child’s routine and important information for that day and time. This is a helpful way to let your caregivers know that your little one is potty-training, or needs her pacifier to go to sleep. Just switch the cards depending on when and where you are.

here are some samples:

so, head over to the site and take some time to peruse. whether you have children, grandchildren, nephews and nieces or even if you’re one of those creepy dog people who buys human stuff for your pets…there’s probably a reason to buy something. and, if you need another reason, just think about lucy and olive’s poor little shivering bodies in the chill of the winter when mommy and daddy have to look down at their sunken-in little faces and tell them, ‘sorry children, but we can’t buy you those winter coats you need. daddy’s blog readers wouldn’t cough up 16 bucks for a wall print.’ you don’t want that on your conscience, do you?? 🙂

see you on etsy!