Champagne Friday: A Toast to Small Business (featuring Beth's Wild Side)

Cheers! It's Champagne Friday and less than a week until Thanksgiving! Grab a glass of grog, a turkey leg, and your Monsters of Rock CD. Or...perhaps, if you're us, your flannel pjs, a mug of kahlua hot cocoa, and the last season of West Wing. Regardless...

It's Friiiiiiiiiiiiday!

So, in honor of that, let's talk shop...or, really, shopping. I've decided to feature a small business near and dear to me every Friday until Christmas. I don't want to send anyone into cardiovascular distress...but that's only 33 days away. I'm sorry...BREATHE! I won't judge you for not having started your Christmas shopping yet if you don't judge me for putting up my Christmas tree last weekend (I had a valid reason...our Big Lots pre-lit tree was no longer pre-lit so I had to de-light a 6' pre-strung tree. De-light is nothing like delight.) 

First up (because each ornament is handmade and thus she needs time to work) is Beth. Full disclosure: I've known Beth for a really long time. Like youth group lock-in long time. Like I was in the band long time. Like my parents still lunch with her parents every Sunday long time. But the reason I've known her for so long is because she is a genuine soul with a generous heart and several crafty bones. Last Christmas, she began offering knitted animals through Facebook. Being the creepy giraffe lover that I am, I ordered this guy immediately for my Blue's tree:

And, in all honesty, pictures do not do this little guy justice. 

For gifts, I also ordered a pig...

a cow...

and a badger (which I gifted as a "honey badger" because who really knows the difference anyway?)

If you need just a moment to recover from the cuteness, I will completely understand. These little darlings make perfect ornaments or toys and come with either plastic eyes (ages 3+) or embroidered eyes (for the Blue age group...the ones who see a cigarette butt in a parking lot and decide that is worth a lick). Since I don't generally let Blue play with any of the ornaments on his tree, we go with the googly eyes, but both types are cute as pig's tails. (Related: I'm very much looking forward to a less orally fixated Blue.)

For Blue's tree this year, I'm torn between all of these guys...

 

the horse (after his first trip to Keeneland this year)...

the zebra (one of our favorites at the Louisville Zoo)...

the lion (considering Blue is a Leo)...

and all of these guys, but leaning heavily toward the sheep and the moose...

If you would like to cast a vote in the comments section, I could certainly use the help in choosing!

Beth uses patterns from Jellybum on Etsy, but she has made some changes on a few of the designs to add detail. She also accepts custom orders for an additional $2.00 per ornament. The animals available in her shop currently include:

dog                hedgehog         hippo             crocodile
cat                 sheep                rhino              otter
rabbit            pig                    zebra              meerkat
badger           cow                  kangaroo
fox                horse                elephant
bear               goat                  tiger
wolf              donkey              lion
squirrel         moose               giraffe
raccoon         camel                monkey

Beth is also currently working up a prototype for a sewn bear that she plans to launch after Thanksgiving. And, for the Not a Knitter folks in the crowd (like this girl here), she is available to make your Pinterest Pin Now, Learn How to Knit/Crochet Later board a reality. You give her the pattern and the colors you want to use, she whipstitches it right up. (It's not whipstitch for knitting is it? I am totally sticking to jewelry terms in the future). Your cost would be for the yarn and her time. Not bad as far as turning dreams into reality goes. 

As for the the little guys listed above, they are $18 a piece and will be completed on a first come, first served basis. She can get orders submitted today and within the next couple of days completed by Christmas. 

And now for the important part...how to reach her. To place all orders, email Beth at bsb529@twc.com and she will get right back to you. 

Easy peasy. Handmade Christmas is the best Christmas! 

I hope y'all have a lovely weekend and best of luck at the grocery. Our Kroger was out of fresh cranberries, light brown sugar and cinnamon. And these are things I use in everyday cooking. It's a caffeine-soaked madhouse at there. I'll see you on the flip side!