More paper love, and a few more Etsy goodies.

I had **five** shower hostesses (lucky me!), including my maid of honor, Melissa; her mom, Connie; my other high-school-friend bridesmaid, Christine (Chrissy); close family friend Ellie; and my one and only aunt, Merle. Of course, I wanted to get them hostess gifts they'd all like... but practically speaking, trying to find five super-personalized gifts was going to be really time-consuming. However, I did want to make each gift at least slightly individual. I got each of them a set of personalized stationery made by Stephanie, who graciously (as always) agreed to make these rather last-minute:

Melissa is the only one who didn't get her last name on hers - 

she's getting married in April and is changing her name, 

so I thought ahead (just in case she doesn't use them all by then)! :-D

Then, I got each of the "grown-up" ladies some of these gorgeous soaps from Amethyst Soaps:

I gave Ellie the amethyst because it's her birthstone, 

and she has a stunning amethyst ring I've always loved. 

Connie got an assortment of turquoise, and 

Merle received the dahlia plus a few small turquoise soaps.

Chrissy isn't a big coffee drinker, but that doesn't stop her from loving a walk down the streets of Madison with a hot drink. Melissa, like me, is a total addict. I got each of them one of these re-usable "java jackets" from CupKozy:

I wish I'd ordered one for myself - they roll up, 

attach to your keychain, and are SO lightweight. Love it. 

Chrissy's is gray flannel, and Melissa's is black - like her coffee. :-)

If I could find my &$^(* camera cable, I'd post pictures of my cute wrapping job: multi-colored tissue paper, bright yellow bags, and brown kraft paper crinkles. I was very excited about how pretty they looked. If/WHEN I find the stupid freakin' charger, I'll add pictures to this post.

I love finding such clever and creative things on Etsy. Whenever I talk to someone who hasn't heard of it, I start proselytizing. All hail Etsy. Do you have any Etsy secrets?