Southern Protocol

I lose hours of my day stumbling around on Etsy.com. I can never get over how MANY sellers, boutiques, categories, etc there are – it’s unbelievable! And everything is gorgeous. We refer all of our brides to the site for little day-of details: signs, escort cards, fascinators, birdcage veils, cake toppers… and now we can send all of you looking for little non-wedding gifts there, too!

Courtesy of one of our lovely graphic designers, I found KcSoapsNmore – obviously, she makes soaps. The deceiving part, is you’d think that her soaps were delicious little desserts! How CUTE are these?! Soaps in the shape of all kinds of sweets! Talk about the perfect favor for a bridal or baby shower, or a unique addition to a little girl’s bathroom sink. Just make sure you tell the receiver that it is indeed soap (do people still punish children by washing mouths out with soap? This would’ve made that much easier, eh?)

I can’t even imagine the time and patience that goes into these little soaps; store “owner” Kasey considers herself more of an artist, and we have to agree. Head over to her etsy store, and then don’t blame us when the website sucks you in!

As if there weren’t enough cool things going on this weekend, what with Spoleto being in town and gorgeous weather on the forecast, I have another thing to add to your Saturday To-Do List: The first ever Lowcountry Artist Market.

Inspired by artsy and addicting website Etsy (the “place to buy and sell all things handmade and vintage”), The Lowcountry Artist Market will feature handmade vintage and local items. Charleston artists will be selling handmade jewelry, vintage clothing, stationary, children’s clothing, custom hair accessories, art, and much more! How wonderful does this sound? You will walk away with amazingly unique purchases, knowing that you helped support more than 40 of Charleston’s own creative minds.

The market will be held at the Music Farm downtown from 10:30 am until 5:00 pm. And just in case you need a little extra incentive, the Music Farm’s bar will indeed be open. Be sure to pop in for a minute or two while strolling around tomorrow afternoon!

Music Farm is located at 32 Ann Street. 843.577.6969. For more information on the market, please email kristen@musicfarm.com.

I love how every year right around mid-April all of a sudden EVERYONE is all about Earth Day. Obviously I think it’s just fabulous to raise awareness about preserving our beautiful planet, but it always makes me laugh when people are bandwagon advocates just for one silly day.

That being said, I am going to hop on said bandwagon in order to help all of you fellow passengers find a great little hostess gift in the spirit of being green: handmade recycled glasses made from reclaimed wine bottles and recycled glass beer bottles! We stumbled across the unique product on Etsy – a site that can easily draw us in for hours on end.

While the glasses would be perfect when used as they are intended – for your fun adult beverages – they’d also be great to use for vases and centerpieces. Their fresh green color would add a perfect touch to any patio party. Head over to the bodhicitta shop on the crafty website to peruse her earth-friendly gifts.