Do you sell things that could be Christmas Presents?

Thanksgiving is coming (here in the US) and the day after that is "Black Friday"--the day when people all remember that Christmas is coming and--since they have the day off--go hunting for things to buy. And, of course, big businesses go out of the way to take that money by offering all sorts of sales.

There's also "Small Business Saturday"--which was made as a way to remind people to buy from small businesses. I like that. BUT, I like even more the idea of supporting other permies!

If I'm going to buy a present, I'd love for it to be from a fellow permie. We all have to make a living somehow, and it's nice to do so as ethically as possible. I think selling things we make is one of the more ethical ways to make money.

If you have something you make or sell that a permie might be interested in buying as a Christmas/holiday present, post it here!

I currently don't make anything to sell, but am really excited to see what permies folks have to offer.

I'm a permie here in Michigan and make end grain hardwood cutting boards. All the wood has been locally harvested, cured and processed. Some of them are available at a consignment shop called Eyrie in Depot town Ypsilanti MI.  I also have a bunch here with me at home here in northern Michigan.  

Hit me up if you're interested in one.
Thanks!
Rich

I always wanted to change the time honored gifting of cigars when a person has a child born.

How silly, "Here, let's celebrate the birth of a human being that only happens a very few times in a person's life by giving you something that will make you all smelly and fill your lungs with cancer."

I always thought a parent giving away tree seedlings or wooden pens would be a great way to give a meaningful, artistic present rather then a token gift that gets snubbed out in a nasty ash tray. But the tradition never has caught on.

If anyone sells tree seedlings or makes wooden pens, by all means run with the idea if you wish.

I do not have time to do this any more (it takes about a week to make a wooden model and a case), but I used to get orders to make these for people. This is a Lobster Boat for a lobstermen, but I did tractors, trucks, heavy equipment and trains for people. Most of the time it was of models of THEIR equipment.

i sell a lot of my own craft work, and so this is my busy time, been doing some craft markets...

currently have mostly bead work...but i go through different grooves and sometimes pick back up some of my other crafts...

my Etsy shop ---> https://www.etsy.com/shop/leilahamaya

i am also selling on ebay --->  https://www.ebay.com/sch/lanihamaya/m.html ~ lani hamaya on ebay

Leila, I LOVE your beaded creations! I think some of them might just be perfect for my mother-in-law. I'll have to ask my husband what he thinks.

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I make dragons and fairies (and even miniature Paul and Jocelyn figures). I makes them out of all natural materials, and really enjoy making custom orders of fairies and tiny dragons. I sell them here on permies . I can make the dragons pose-able with wires inside, or without any wires inside (the wool is a bit pose-able by itself, and it's kind of fun to move them up and down and make their wings flap ).

Fairies



Needle-Felted Chickens



Tiny Dragons

Travis Johnson wrote:I do not have time to do this any more (it takes about a week to make a wooden model and a case), but I used to get orders to make these for people. This is a Lobster Boat for a lobstermen, but I did tractors, trucks, heavy equipment and trains for people. Most of the time it was of models of THEIR equipment.

Travis, is there any chance that sometime you might be able to make a very simple (toy-grade, without the case) model of the Edmund Fitzgerald?



Two years ago, my sister-in-law bought my son a picture book about the Edmund Fitzgerals (she probably thought it was a nice fun story about a ship, as she's from Russia...), and my son has been obsesses with it for years. He's watched multiple documentaries, read the story dozens of times, reenacts it with his bath toys, makes up songs about it, makes models of it out of legos, etc. Needless to say, he's all about the Edmund Fitzgerald!

I make custom Cheyenne/Sioux style canvas Tipis, sizes 12', 14', 15', 16', 17', 18'.
(Also canvas tarps.)

Info at www.sweetwatertipi.com

Presents are not just for Christmas time:
I collect seeds that I give away to friends. The packaging is a box you put party favors in. 2" cube for little seeds and 3"X 2"X 1" for the big ones squash, melons, pumpkins and big beans.

In the spring, I always make too many sweet potato slips so I have plenty to give away.

In the fall, sweet potatoes are a big hit. I had purple ones and Asian sweet potatoes. I prefer those to the orange ones we have at Thanksgiving. These are never stringy.

I made a dessert for a dish to pass at the Farmer's Union event: purple sweet potatoes, coconut milk thickened with 1 1/2 Tbsp. of corn starch. These sweet potatoes are really sweet, so only 2 Tbsp sugar is all that is needed for the entire dish [8"X 8" Pyrex pan]. On top, you can sprinkle roasted sesame seeds. [I opted for ground peanuts because I didn't have the sesame seeds handy. Not too sweet but colorful, and healthy. It all went pretty fast. It is extremely filling too, so if you have a big crowd... Of if you have picky kids who don't want to eat their veggies...

I started making my own sketch book(s). I have a list of updates for the next version, but the one pictured hasn't been filled yet. I call it a Davin Device. It is sorcery - where money and ideas meet. No dollars are hurt in the production. A custom mandala is on the front cover, and the owner places their name on the first page inside - to be seen through the front cover. The number of pages can be customized. The exterior is water proofed with transparent tape. The pages, elastic band, and ribbon are woven into the body with white thread. The back cover has a thickness and appropriate voids to accept a smart phone - with touch face and camera functions. Later versions will have charger and headphone accessibility. The body is made of second-hand card stock, dollars, gold leaf, "foam sheets," and 3M transparent tape. Later versions will also have a pocket toward the back (similar to moleskine notebooks) for miscellaneous items.

Nicole, I'm sure you've heard of the Gordon Lightfoot song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Has your son listened to this? He seems a little young for this fascination. I always leave the radio going whenever that one comes on. My uncle died of exposure in Lake Huron in 74.
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Speaking of model boats and gifts, when my 31 year old daughter was in grade one, I cut up a bunch of my scrap lumber into pieces that assembled to make model boats. I took them to her school and every kid in her class got to glue together their own model boat. Two weeks ago, I met a girl who was in her class. She was wearing a t-shirt that identified her as being from the Native Reserve that made up a good portion of the class. She still has her boat, 25 years later. She also remembered assembling wooden airplanes. About 10 years ago I met 3 of the boys from that class, and two of them still had their airplane.

If I had just given each of them an airplane or a boat, I doubt that these kids would have kept it. I got everybody to come to the front and pick out one of this piece and one of that piece and two of those, then I assembled mine in front of them, and they copied. The kids with more experience building things, critiqued the assembly made by others, and in the end they all looked pretty much like they were supposed to. During their next art class, they painted them. So each kid had their own unique thing that they had a hand in making.

Dale Hodgins wrote:Nicole, I'm sure you've heard of the Gordon Lightfoot song, The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Has your son listened to this? He seems a little young for this fascination. I always leave the radio going whenever that one comes on. My uncle died of exposure in Lake Huron in 74.

My son was given this book when he was four.



I'm nearly positive that my sister-in-law did not know what the book was about when she gave it to him. He latched on to it. The book has quotes from the song, and chronicles where the Edmund Fitzgerald traveled and how far away the Arthur McAnderson was from it, and quotes exchanges between both boats, and maps out how far away the Edmund Fitzgerald was from the safety of Whitefish Point before it went off the radar. It details how the bell was brought up and how on the anniversary (November 10th), the bell rings 30 times, 29 times for the 29 sailors who died that day, and one for all others who have lost their lives at sea. It does not gloss around the edges of tragedy that was the loss of their lives.

I didn't have to look up any of the facts in the previous paragraph. I've read the book so many times now. He asks for it most every day. Today at bath time, he had two bowls--one was the Edmund Fitzgerald and the other was the Arthur McAnderson.

I rather wish he had a different fascination than this. Being born in the mid 80's, I had never heard of the Edmund Fitzgerald until we got this book. It's a sad story and a huge mystery. My son is interested in lots of things, but he's been interested in Edmund Fitzgerald far more than most any other subject.

Edit: looking at the reviews of this book, it was actually written for the k-3 audience, and there's a lot of 4-8 year olds that are very interested in this ship.

I make glass beads (and jewellery)- I'm in the UK so I'm probably not very useful for most folks christmas presents though!

Nicole Alderman wrote:

Travis Johnson wrote:I do not have time to do this any more (it takes about a week to make a wooden model and a case), but I used to get orders to make these for people. This is a Lobster Boat for a lobstermen, but I did tractors, trucks, heavy equipment and trains for people. Most of the time it was of models of THEIR equipment.

Travis, is there any chance that sometime you might be able to make a very simple (toy-grade, without the case) model of the Edmund Fitzgerald?



Two years ago, my sister-in-law bought my son a picture book about the Edmund Fitzgerals (she probably thought it was a nice fun story about a ship, as she's from Russia...), and my son has been obsesses with it for years. He's watched multiple documentaries, read the story dozens of times, reenacts it with his bath toys, makes up songs about it, makes models of it out of legos, etc. Needless to say, he's all about the Edmund Fitzgerald!

I could do a toy version for you, but a SAFE toy version would just be very boring. They kind of have to be so that your child does not trip or something while playing with it, and they fall onto antenna or something and impale themselves. But yes, I have the time to do a wooden toy of this.

I know about that ship and the song as well.

I often show a picture of me holding up a HUGE lobster on here, but what people do not know is, on that trip, several hundred miles away, 4 of my friends were fishing when their scallop net hit ledge on the bottom, and ripped their boat apart. All four of my friends died. Only the EPIRB was found...