Why I love Etsy...

Or

Reason number one against saving your credit card details on a website...

I've always loved the sheer range of things for sale on Etsy and the fact that they are all either handmade or vintage. In fact my wedding dress even came from Etsy!

Hard to see in photo but was gorgeous in real life

It is such a nice website to browse but therein lies the danger. You find so many things you like, and when doing a 3am feed, in your sleep-deprived state you suddenly realise just how much you *need* them. And to make it even more dangerous it remembers your credit card details so to buy something all I now need to do is put it in my basket and then click "Buy". Arghhhh how easy is that? FAR too easy on an iPhone at stupid o'clock on the morning :)

But despite that I LOVE every single one of my recent purchases and because of that I thought I'd share them with you. So in case you've never looked at Etsy you can see what a wide range of great products they have. And if you're a regular Etsy-goer then they might give you some new inspiration :)

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So this is what I've bought in the last 7 weeks since Iz was born (hoping Mr MFDS doesn't read this or he might confiscate my credit cards...!)

1. Silver handprint/footprint bracelet

Tbf this was not an impulse buy - I'd wanted something like this for ages!

This was made by Sarah at LittleImpJewellery (see her Etsy shop here) and it has D's handprint and Iz' footprint on it, with their initials on the other side. It was a slight challenge (for us anyway!) to get good prints from the kids but that was part of the fun. And I love the end result :) 

Sarah was so nice to work with, happy to talk about what different options there were, what would and wouldn't work etc and in the end created a beautiful unique-to-me bracelet. I would definitely reorder from her or recommend her to anyone wanting this sort of beautiful jewellery.

Time from order to delivery: 4 weeks (but 2 weeks of that was me faffing getting prints from the kids!)

2. Star name picture & Twinkle twinkle print

So pretty

These were both by Maria from AlfieWinn (see her Etsy shop here). Another one of her designs got retweeted into my timeline and when I looked at her store I instantly fell on love with the personalised name star. And them when I looked further also the "twinkle twinkle little star" print. The quality is exceptional and both will look totally gorgeous hanging up in Iz's room (once she has one!).

Maria was so helpful, creating a special custom order when I asked for things not displayed and even though the name star is hand drawn and coloured (you can see small differences between the pictures as it obviously depends on the name size etc) it was super speedy and they were delivered only a few days later. These will definitely be my "go to" presents when a friend has a new baby. 

Time from order to delivery: 4 days 

3. Rainbow teddy

Love the colours :)

I can't remember where I first saw this teddy by Meryl at MerryPeridot (see her Etsy shop here) but it was love at first sight. Each teddy is slightly different due to the variegated wool but that just adds to their uniqueness. Again Meryl was lovely to deal with, was happy to start with whichever colours I preferred and made the teddy super quickly.

Time from order to delivery: 4 days

4. Awesome rolling pin

Need a better excuse to make cookies?!

So this is the best example of something I really don't need and never knew I wanted... until I saw it. And then I couldn't stop thinking about it. And so on the next sleep-deprived night feed it somehow ended up in my shopping basket and then checkout...

But check out these amazing rolling pins made by Zuzia at ValekRollingPins (see her Etsy shop here). How cool are they? You can get animals or patterns or even one personalised with your name or a message! I chose the one with dinosaurs on (everyone loves mini dinosaurs!) and can't wait to next make cookies with Doof. I also got the dog one for my dog-mad brother's birthday present. Let's just hope I manage to give it to him before he reads this...

Time from order to delivery: ordered 5 days ago and they've been dispatched. So currently somewhere between Poland and here :)

5. Knitted beret & booties

Iz modelling her hat. And her big head ;)

Funky knits were another company I first heard about on Twitter and apparently I was their first Twitter sale :) you can find their Etsy shop here. I ordered both deliberately large so they should last Iz through the winter. However her head is so big (I tell myself it's all brains...) that the '12 month' hat may well not - it fits pretty perfectly now and she's only 2 months! My advice - if you're buying a hat for your super-big-headed child then measure their head and tell the lovely owners of Funky knits what the measurement is. That way they can make sure the hat is the perfect size :)

Time from order to delivery: 4 days

6. Vintage dress

Love it. But need smaller boobs :(

This beautiful dress came from cutxpaste (see her Etsy shop here). I love it and it should've fitted perfectly... except breastfeeding has increased my bra size 3 cups ON TOP OF the increase I had with D. So will have to save this for post-BF when boob shrinkage has occurred!

Time from order to delivery: came from America - can't remember exactly but about a week

Just as an aside - be aware if you order things from abroad they can attract a customs charge (with a hefty post office "handling fee" on top). It can add another 20-30% on top of what you've already paid...

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Sneak preview - come back in a month as by then I will have opened my own Etsy shop :)

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Which double buggy is best??

Double the trouble... 

EDIT:
I wrote this post when Iz was still pretty little and D was about 2. Since then both of them have (obviously!) got a lot bigger and we quickly ran into problems as the tandem buggies are much harder to manoeuvre on/off buses etc - essential for me doing day trips with them as I don't drive in London. So when Iz was about 4 months old we sold this one and bought a Phil-n-Teds Navigator 2.0 and still to this day love it. So much easier to push/lift etc. Still similar downside of too little basket space, but otherwise wish we'd just bought this one to start with!

So this summer we had the unenviable task of choosing a double buggy - suitable for a newborn and a nearly-2-year-old. Living in London means space is a massive premium but so is ease-of-use as I use public transport a lot and like to be out and about. 

There are a LOT of doubles out there - front/back, side/ side, top/bottom - and any other crazy combination of these combined. In the end we took the simple way out with a visit to Kiddicare and choosing their newest (and handily cheapest!) double - Kiddicare Codi Tandem Pixel Olive (click here to view).

But for what was a pretty impulsive buy, I couldn't be happier. It has ended up being perfect for what we need. Here's why:

1. It's narrow

As the seats are behind each other it is the same width as a single buggy. So no problems with getting it through doors, in/out of shops, fitting on the bus etc. And don't you always feel really sorry for the "underneath" child in the stacked buggies like Phil'n'Teds with their bottom scraping on the kerb?! Or for the "on top" child once the underneath one realises they can kick upwards... no problems like that with this buggy :)

2. The toddler likes it

D is now vocal enough that we would know if something did not get his seal of approval... Luckily this one does. 

Perfect for firing a bubble gun from :)

 

3. The baby is well-protected

Iz lies at the back, nearest to me and well covered from the elements. It's almost like a little cocoon which is definitely a plus when trying not to over-stimulate a baby!

And you don't need to buy all the other "extras" that seem mandatory with other brands - carrycots, cocoons, adapters etc - as it lies flat and has a padded insert included. You just need the buggy :)

Snug as a bug in a rug :)

4. The "spy holes"

There are 2 transparent windows - one for me and one for the toddler. D can turn around and spy through his to see what his little sister is doing (but without the ability to poke her!) - he loves reporting to me "ssshhhhhhush" when she's sleeping! And I have one in the hood of the back seat so I can check on Iz without having to stop pushing the buggy and peer in from the front. Even better - my one is covered with a black canvas flap so it doesn't let light in on the baby unless you lift it up.

5. It's not garishly designed

Some people love crazily coloured buggies. I don't. So the simple colouring appeals. And I can even tell myself that the black/white check design is helping stimulate Iz's visual development... bonus!

6. The in-built toddler handle

I have to confess I did not discover this - my toddler found it himself and just started holding it. Not sure if that reflects positively on him or negatively on me! 

Clever toddler!

7. It's very easy to fold up and open

No more to really say here - it's an umbrella fold.

8. It is one of the cheapest options out there

Enough said - babies are expensive enough!!

9. And lastly, it's a physical workout

Ok so some might see the fact that it is heavy and front-heavy when the toddler is in situ as a negative, but I beg to differ. It's the perfect workout to burn off all the extra chocolate-calories that I consume daily during breastfeeding marathons. And much cheaper than the gym :)

And it has passed the all-important test. I am able to get on and off a London bus on my own with it. Perfect. 

Successfully all on a bus :)

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So are there any cons?

If I'm being picky my three complaints are:

- the basket is pretty small (the rain cover takes up about a third of the space)

- the canopy covering the baby does not fully cover her so the sun can hit her face - but that easily solved by draping a muslin over :)

- the toddler front seat doesn't recline at all. But if it did then the baby would be crushed... So sorry D but your little sister takes priority on that one!

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PS I didn't receive anything for writing this review - Kiddicare don't even know I've written it. We are just really pleased with it :)