Sadly I haven't had time to do the daily Ridiculously Awesome posts since I started my new job, but here's a itty bitty taste of some of the ridiculous awesomeness that is the Etsy handmade market!

Check it out... it's a "one of a kind" Baby Raccoon by SteviT!

Made out of 100% alpaca fiber and it's jointed. Be sure to visit the listing page so you can see the other adorable pictures. This is certainly one raccoon that won't be eating out of your garbage!

Hey Kids!

I know I mentioned a post or two ago about how I had no internet. Well, I still don't have any internet, and I haven't for several weeks now. Boooooo. I might have it by next week, but there won't be regular updates until I do actually have it.

I look forward to future ridiculously awesome... ness.
Cheers!
Vanessa

So I just got a kitten. Woooo! I'll have to make a post about him with pictures when I get them up onto Flickr. But the point of mentioning that is that he loves to play with his toys, which made me want to go searching Etsy for some of the most ridiculously awesome cat toys, and I found a lot of winners! I'll post a few entries over the next few days with the results of my epic Etsy search.

First up on the list are these adorable "Stuffed Rat Toys" from scrivenerferret's shop, which is full of toys for ferrets and cats. Rats are near and dear to my heart because I used to have two as pets (may they rest in peace - I seem to be moving up the food chain in pets aren't I?).

It may be a little morbid giving one to my cat to play with after having rats as pets in the past, but these are so cute who could resist? And these are made with anti-pill fleece, and you can get them with rattle, squeakers or bells for ultimate kitty playtime fun! But I'm not sure whether the eye x's are because they're dead, drunk or have x-ray vision (I prefer the third option)

Also highly adorable is scrivenerferret's "Scrumptious Steak Fleece Toy!"

Hello everyone!

I kid you not when I say that I actually searched for "ridiculous" when looking for today's ridiculously awesome item. Needless to say, that search led me to this "hot mess" as described by the creator, polygnome.

"I Didn't Know When to Stop" is a one of a kind wristlet clutch embellished to the extreme. It's got a lot on it but it's still very cohesive and all the components work very well together. And it's all sectioned off on the inside for credit cards and cash and whatnot!

And if you like this one, you'll also love its sister clutch!

I think it's the whole "back to school" deal that's got me looking at sweaters on Etsy these days. But hey, it's never too early to start your fall shopping! And since I'm a sucker for sweaters and anything gray, this cashmere sweater by movieboyproductions was an easy choice.

This "Asymmetrical Mosaic Couture Cashmere Sweater" is one of many sweaters in the shop handmade from different pieces of cashmere. They have interesting style lines, hand embroidered details, and lots of movement. Movie Boy has sweaters in lots of different colors and styles. Each one is detailed and one of a kind, meaning you're getting a very unique, ridiculously awesome piece!

Get out your tiny pencil for today's super adorable item! It's a tiny book from the Etsy shop of RuthBleakley who carries many hand bound books and works of art in her shop.

Now I know pretty much nada about book binding, but I can imagine that trying to put together something so tiny when you're used to working in much larger sizes is quite the task! Plus the goldfish in "Two Fish Talking" are so fun!

Ruth's accordian books, also found in her shop are so well done, as well as her pocket journals, like this Kyoto-Higashiyama one. Definitely worth a look around the shop!

So I moved to Brooklyn a few weeks ago (woo!) Which was pretty hectic, hence the lack of updating. But in celebration of me now living in the Big Apple I am posting a ridiculously awesome item inspired by Brooklyn, that is also made by a Brooklyn artist!

And that artist is resurface. She does ridiculously awesome things like printing photographs onto lampshades. This one, called "HI-LIGHT Pendant Lamp" features some of Brooklyn urban graffiti, as does many of her other lamps. And trust me, you can never run out of inspiration when it comes to graffiti in New York.

Resurface has successfully turned seemingly grungy Brooklyn graffiti into an urban-chic lampshade. And there are many, many other ridiculously awesome shades where this one came from!

Oh, just a quick note before I start. If you're reading this because you're considering bidding on one of my ad boxes for Project Wonderful, please note that I am out of town and do not have very frequent computer access, so it may take some time to approve your ad, so please be patient!

So I know I dropped off the face of the earth for a while. Basically, my computer broke, and I randomly decided to move to NYC, which will be happening in a couple weeks (hopefully). In the meantime I am busy busy and also out of town, but will try to get updates in here ASAP! Sadly though, the Etsy shops will have to be closed down for the time being until I get my affairs in order and get all set up in Brooklyn, then my Etsy shops (TuttiFruttiDesign and VanessaMichelle) will be back up and even better than ever!!

Yesterday on Etsy, this thread got me looking for bacon-themed items. And in the process I found these "BLT Earrings" created by the miniature-foodist fairchildart.

BLTs are fantastic. Sadly, I will never have one again considering I went vegetarian a couple months ago. There's vegetarian bacon, but it just doesn't measure up. In any case, these earrings are certainly not made out of meat (I hope...) so that makes me feel a lot better.

And they do look very realistic, much like the other handcrafted food jewelry in fairchild's shop. I mean, come on, she had to have used real brie for this "Soft Cheese and Crackers." And check out these "Cinnamon Bun Earrings."

This piece has been around Etsy for a while now. I found it way back in my favorites, and I'm surprised it hasn't sold. Not only is this eco-friendly "Brand Identity Wearable Art Tags and Labels Jacket" created by undoneclothing totally awesome and wearable, but it would also make a fantastic art piece.

It was created from thousands of labels rescued from clothing, and done with a quilting stitch overtop that brings everything together. You'll definitely have to click the link above to go to the listing and see close up pics of this jacket.

Undone's shop is filled with fabulous whatnots that utilize unusual materials to create clothing and accessories like this pink tape measure coin purse.

Today's eco-friendly ridiculously awesome item comes to you from implexus. She offers yarn made from t-shirts in several colors in her shop.

This "Dusty Fuschia T-shirt Yarn" is 20 yards of continuously cut 50/50 poly cotton fabric that makes excellent yarn. And it's a jersey, so it's stretchy. It's a very easy and cost-effective way to stay green! Or, you know, Dusty Fuschia. But implexus does have green-colored green yarn!

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of spaghetti. I don't know why, it's just not my favorite pasta shape. But, it does look quite enticing in cake form, a la this spaghetti cake from the Baton Rouge bakery of cakesofgrace.

The meatballs are a fun touch. (Yay vegetarian meatballs!) And the sauce looks delicious. I can't help but wonder what the cake flavor is below all that fondant and icing... chocolate? Red velvet? And can I get the cake with alfredo and mushrooms?

In any case, it would make a really fun birthday cake, or perhaps a wedding cake if you will. So would this "Crawfish Boil Cake."

You can find all sorts of fantastic things on Etsy. Like handspun yarn! And nothing is more fun than the crazy novelty art yarn you find there, made up of all different kinds of fibers and textures. What I like even more than that is well photographed art yarn - like this yarn from LushMommy's shop.

This "Gypsy" yarn is a single ply yarn containing thread, fabric, wool, alpaca, glitz and so much more! Lush collected fibers and whatnots from lots of different Etsy sellers. And you can also buy crazy novelty batts or roving, with lots of different bits already mixed together you can spin from.

Novelty yarn is typically better for small, fun projects like neckwarmers, hats, clutches, or maybe even some mittens! Usually you can get enough of the same novelty yarn to do something like, a sweater, but you could collected different skeins of art yarn and make a crazy awesome sweater!

"TP is to be rolled over the top for a reason." It's true. Don't let me catch you with "underneath rolled" toilet paper!

I found LiciaBeads shop because she has been one of my PW advertisers! (How sweet is free advertising?) And I thought these beadwoven toilet paper charms were adorable. This one comes in the form of a pendant, but you can also get them on a necklace, or as earrings!

And you could be rebellious, and wear your tp charm the wrong way.... but don't let Licia see you! Remember, it's rolled over the top for a reason.

This very summer appropriate ridiculously awesome item is from UtopiaArmoury. And yes... it is a chainmail bikini top.

I know. It looks really heavy and uncomfortable - but it only weighs a half pound, and is made out of aluminum and rubber. And it's swim friendly! You can pair it with a matching bikini bottom and you're good to go!

Definitely a modern twist to the traditional super heavy metal links normally used for things like these. And blue and silver is a great color combination for this summer.

This fashion bonus track was designed by Australian student designer Carlos Bouman. He's been published in many online news articles recently because this ridiculously awesome eco-friendly dress won him the People's Choice Award at the DesignTech Powerhouse Museum student work exhibition.

The goal was to create a gown that was very haute couture, while still being eco conscious by using normal everyday items to create the dress.

It's hard to tell at first, but this dress is actually made from dishcloths, bedsheets, and mosquito netting. Carlos literally collected the dishcloths from friends and family members, so they're certainly not new and unused. The dishcloths were hand dyed (along with the other materials) and gathered and pleated to create texture. Folded and pleated bedsheets form the base of the dress, while the mosquite netting serves as a tulle substitute to give the dress volume.

Oh, and the bottom of the dress also unzips off to reveal a little cocktail dress. Click on the article link to see a picture of it!

Today's dose comes to you from heavensentcrafts. Her shop is full of notebooks - and not just made out of floppies, but also game boards, book covers and playing cards. I personally like the Monopoly ones.

This Turquoise Floppy Disk Notebook is great because it makes use of all those floppy disks that most of us don't use anymore, and that would otherwise go to waste. Plus, it's a pretty color. It's got a great metal binding, and is filled with white paper. So don't buy a new notebook when you can go to heavensent's shop and get all kinds of recycled notebook wonderfulness!

Today's daily dose comes to you from the very appropriately named imadeyouabeard. She gives girls (and some guys) everywhere the ability to have a beard. And you can get them in fun colors and styles, too!

One of my very favoritist things about her shop, other from the fact that she makes beards, is the fact that she's the model for her beards! This particular beard is called "Recluse Beard." It's made from cream colored wool roving. Some of her other beards involve yarn or felt, but this one will really make you look like an experienced fisherman.

Wear one to the office, to the park, to the grocery store. Wear one while walking your dog - they're appropriate virtually anywhere!