Friday Favorites: rikrak

In the midst of all this Black Friday mayhem/madness, I thought it appropriate to write about some bright handmade goodness. This Friday, my favorite Etsy shop is rikrak. Brimming with modern motifs and creative accessories, it's perfect for holiday shopping or any-old-day shopping. Plus, I love her little signature rick-rack tags.

Above, a few of my favorites. Here's all of rikrak's products.

Barbie Stuff

Pictures of doll clothes I just added to the shop.

I just found out that an article I wrote for Wikihow awhile ago on How to Sew a Barbie Outfit is going to be a Spotlight article! Very exciting (sorry about that link overload). I've been working on perfecting it, so if you have any suggestions of how to improve it, please tell me.

Strange Superheroes

If you're looking for something goofy to do online, check out Marvel's Create Your Own Superhero. These are a few of the characters my sister and I came up with. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them (if you really want to).

Send me pictures of the characters you make!

My Top 5 Christmas Gift Ideas

1. Homemade truffles
This year, I'm really into gifts that can be eaten and then done with. I mean, who really needs more stuff? This also solves the conundrum of what to get for the guys in my life, because I know they all like truffles.

2. Tote bags
That link is to the book that has the tote patterns I use. These are so handy, and they're endlessly personalize-able.

3. Zipper pouches
This is the best zipper pouch tutorial in existence. The result looks so professional. Add a few gel pens and some candy, and you've got a great Christmas gift.

4. Doll clothes
Okay, that link is a a personal plug for my shop, so if you'd rather not sew doll clothes for all your little cousins, siblings, nieces, etc. you can buy them there :). Or you can make your own, which would be even cooler and more personal.

5. Anything from Etsy.com
There's so many amazing gift possibilities at Etsy. And half of them come in packaging that already looks like gift-wrapping. And you'll be supporting independent artists. What more could you ask? Here's a link to my favorites to get you started.

I'll be posting pics of more of my gift-wrapping ideas soon, and maybe some pictures of the actual gifts (if I can keep my friends/family away) so stay tuned!

Double Feature

-thrifted scarf

-Raulph Lauren tee

-Merona sweater

-thrifted skirt

-Danskin tights

Esprit boots

My mom high-lighted my hair this week. You can't see it in this picture, but the gold is pretty chunky. I'm just getting used to it. I tried to convince her to give me one white stripe in the front like Rogue, but that was a no-go :).

Handmade Christmas (at least the wrappings)

I've finally gotten into the swing of Christmas present-making, after having adjusted to the fact that Christmas is a little more than a month away. It's seemed to sneak up on me these past few years. Last year I made all my Christmas presents, and I really loved it, so I'm doing the same this December.

I made these little gifts for two of my friends. I don't want to ruin the surprise by posting pictures of what I made, but here's the wrappings. I grabbed a couple paper bags that I'd spray-painted for a craft show last year, punched holes in the tops and finished them off with green ribbons, round tags, and lollipops.

I love cheap, unconventional, and personal gift wrappings, so I was pretty pleased with these! One of my friends and I play piano together, so I used paper printed with music notes for her tag.

Yum!