Chrissi B! pick a color ....

Today's etsy chat is about etsy itself. Many of you tell me how much you love etsy but you do not know what to look for....Everything!, springs to my mind, but I understand. When visiting etsy you many know that you would like a felted bag, but you do not want to look at pages of felted bags.

Other considerations may be that you simply want to purchase something handmade, yet you are not sure just what, so you would like to browse, but not through thousands of pages of items. I understand. I can help.

The etsy website offers some nice features to make browsing easier. On the left side of the etsy page there is a column marked "ways to shop". Here you will find a color wheel, (love this feature), treasury, gift guides and more options. Let's chat color wheel, shall we?

I adore the color wheel feature. Some days simply find me in need of something red, yet I am not sure of what. Or I need a gift for someone who loves greens, and I need inspiration. This is the feature that will inspire, with one click of the wheel, you will be asked to pick a color and when you click that color, a photo of some wonder will appear. Click the hot pink dot and hot pink slippers may be found, click the green and some note cards will appear. If you are simply looking for a bit of color inspiration and play, this is a fun feature. If you are trying to browse with a toddler on your lap, this can be a fun way to keep them interested, while you get some shopping done too.

My green click brought me to this lovely collage created by doll face design. Filled with paper art, wearables and cards, doll face design offers a nice bit of collage work with an antique bend. Great gift and simply fun. Check our her blog too for a look at her new work first.

The treasury feature lets you click to items where time is running out. There are lots of good finds here and many may not be re listed, pending the shopkeeper. Shop quickly....your choice may be gone.

I also love the ability to shop locally, simply pop in a city and listings from artists in your area will appear. How cool is it to support local artists? I also pop in places and cities where I love to shop, thinking that I may find something fun ...Never fails.

etsy houses over 170,000 shops ...enjoy!