Happy Christmas!

Happy Winter... Treasury!

'Happy Winter!' by melissabastian

Celebrate the joys of winter with the Vegan Etsy Team!

Aqua Quartz Necklace aimeedars $28.00	Winter's Night - fo... ContinuumDesig... $8.00	Gothic victorian style ... bewittched $45.00	Swarovski Crystal Sterl... DaisyWares $36.00
White/Aqua Striped Coff... KnitsByNat $10.00	Holiday Card Skating Pe... MyZoetrope $5.00	Owl Holiday Pin by Vega... Vegancraftasti... $2.00	Wish - 10 x 6 inch Sign... darkfaerie $20.00
organic bay rum bath th... twigandleafbot... $23.00	Luxury hand and body cr... LondonCity $11.50	Vegan classic mug in co... VeganDish $22.00	A Mother's Love Sil... ladiesblend $25.00
Cat Bed green and white... lunasapawtheca... $35.00	Made To Order AnY CoLoR... RadicalFringeX $14.00	The Owl Necklace, upcyc... RareTeeClothin... $16.00	Flower pendant pinkbubble $1.50

Treasury tool by Red Row Studio.

Happy Solstice - Happy Winter!

Happy (first night of) Hanukkah!

Congratulations AMANDA - you've won the Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway!!

Three cheers to commenter Amanda, who - by random selection - has won our Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway! Amanda told us that this vegan pendant from For the Animals is a great way to help donate to animal causes, this handmade brooch from Dark Fairie will proudly proclaim her veganism, and that she'd love to receive a Pansy Maiden bag for the holidays!

Thanks for your awesome entry Amanda, and thanks to everyone who entered and who supports us the whole year through. We couldn't do it without you!

The Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway: have YOU entered yet??

We've heard now and then that y'all think we're awesome. (Aw, shucks, we love you too!) Well, The Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway gives you, our dear readers, a chance to win a fabulous prize pack full of handmade items from VET sellers like Neva Jewelry and Art, Starrlight Jewelry, Johnson Family Zoo, and more! This contest lets VET fans show us just what they love about Vegan Etsy. Check out some of the awesome items that contestants have told us they love:

Vegan Wheekers loves this Peace for Pigs pin from Eat your VegTees:


Culturebalance thinks these catnip toys from Luna's Apawthecary are adorable:


And Amanda would love nothing more than this Pansy Maiden backpack for Christmas!


So what do you love about Vegan Etsy? Check out the Giveaway and tell us all about it, and you just may have a pack of goodies headed your way this holiday season! ;D

Vegan Etsy Team Members Give Back

As the holiday season rolls around, a number of Vegan Etsy team members are donating a portion of sales to charities again.

Katie at Luna's Apawthecary is donating 20% of all sales to C & W Rustic Hollow Shelter for cats in Iowa. Check out her shop for fluffy cat beds for that special kitty.

Rachel from The Feathered Snail is donating 10% of sales to Mobilization for Animals pet store and educational outreach. She has you covered for all your jewelry nest needs.

Panda With Cookie is donating 10% of all zine and personalized cat and dog ornament sales to Brother Wolf Animal Rescue. Check out the Tofu Pirate Comic Adventure and get an ornament made to look like your kitty.

It's Back: The Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway!

This giveaway is now CLOSED!! Thanks so much to everyone who participated, and keep your eyes peeled for the next one!

***It's the Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway!***

Hello friends! In this season of thanks and giving, we here at the Vegan Etsy Team would like to do some giving of our own... with The Great Vegan Etsy Giveaway! You'll enter by telling us about some of your favorite Vegan Etsy Team shops. If you win, you'll receive a Vegan Etsy Team prize pack full of items hand-crafted by our members! It's been a while since we've done one, and we have some terrific new items from amazing new team members in the prize pack.

So how do you enter? It's as easy as 1, 2, 3...

In a comment to this blog post, please:

1. Name a Vegan Etsy Team shop which donates a percentage of its proceeds to an animal cause, and tell us about your favorite item in that shop;

2. Name a Vegan Etsy Team shop which makes items that help you proudly proclaim your veganity to the world, and describe your favorite item in that shop; and

3. Name a Vegan Etsy Team shop which you think has great gifts, and describe an item in that shop that you would like to give (or recieve!).

And now, the fine print...

*You must complete ALL THREE STEPS to qualify for entry!

*Please INCLUDE LINKS to the items that you choose.

*Please make sure we know how to get in touch with you! You can't win if we can't find you. ;)

*You can find Vegan Etsy Team shops by checking out our Etsy Teams Page of Active Members!

*Winners will be chosen by random drawing.

*The giveaway starts NOW and ends at Midnight, Eastern Time, on Sunday December 11th. The winner will be announced on Monday, December 12th right here on this blog!

*As always, blog followers get double entry!

***Good luck, have fun, and Happy Holidays!***

* * * * * *

Example Entry:

1. Melissa Bastian's shop Melissa Bastian donates 10% of proceeds to Imaginary Animal Sanctuary. I love her painting of bunny rabbits because I have bunnies too! http://www.etsy.com/listing/74566476/september-hares-a-tale-of-three-rabbits
2. Melissa Bastian's shop Bright Design would help me show off my veganness with these cute "vegan" pins: http://www.etsy.com/listing/20700819/vegan-pins-show-your-veganity
3. I think Melissa Bastian's shop Libellule is the best gift shop ever, and I would love to receive this sparkly blue necklace: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74586654/on-the-town-some-enchanted-evening-a

Happy Thanksgiving - and Happy Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving to all here in the U.S., and to all of our readers around the world. This is a great day to give thanks and to celebrate animals. And who better to revere than the amazing Turkey? Fantastic senior team member Pippi Howard of Vegan Bliss shared this great video with the team, a PBS special called My Life as a Turkey. It is a perfect way to begin to appreciate the depth of these creatures. While wild turkeys are in fact very different from those being "raised for food", domesticated turkeys are just as complex and wonderful - as anyone at farm animal sanctuaries around the world can tell you. Enjoy!

Watch My Life as a Turkey on PBS. See more from NATURE.

Vegan Muffins on the Move

Tami Noyes and Celine Steen (of Vegan Appetite and Have Cake Will Travel, respectively) have launched a new project and blog this month. Vegan Muffins on the Move will have a new muffin recipe posted every month and they invite people to bake a batch of them or their own recipe and take them to the local library, yoga class, your mechanic, your job or any other place you frequent but might not usually take your baked goods. Spread the word of veganism through tasty, tasty muffins.

This month the cinnacrunch muffin recipe from American Vegan Kitchen is posted. I baked these last weekend and they are a huge hit. So go ahead, bake it up this weekend and surprise your Quidditch team with some delectable vegan baked goods. Then head over to their new blog and post about joining in the fun.

Support Vegan Businesses This Holiday Season!

In the vegan community, it's important to support each other - not only in word and in spirit, but also in action. We know all too well that money talks. So let's make it speak out for what we believe in this holiday season!

The amazing Herbivore Clothing Company recently posted these great images that will help us all remember why it's so important to support each other, now and always. Remember, buy vegan from vegans!

Celebrate Life by Celebrating Thanksgiving with Ching Farm Animal Rescue and Sanctuary!

On Saturday, November 12, Ching Farm Animal Rescue in Riverton, Utah will host its 13th annual Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner! The event features a silent auction, and raises funds to help the sanctuary operate throughout the year.

Of course there are many other ways to support Ching Sanctuary! Donations can easily be made through their website, and it's easy to see where the money goes:

• $30.00 will feed 3 Ostriches for 1 WEEK
• $25.00 will feed 20 cats for 1 WEEK
• $25.00 will feed 50 goats and sheep for 1 DAY
• $50.00 will feed the horses and cows for 1 DAY
• $17.00 will feed 1 potbellied pig for 1 MONTH
• $18.00 will feed 130 fowl and 12 emus for 1 DAY
• $70.00 will provide the older horses with the senior food they need, for 1 WEEK

You can also sponsor an animal for just $20 a month - you can choose to sponsor a turkey for Thanksgiving, but if you so choose you can also sponsor an emu, a llama, or a pot bellied pig!

Vegan Craftivism

By Julia Feliz, longtime Vegan Etsy Team member and owner of J.F. Illustrations

Last year, a fellow Etsy teamie posted a link to a story with one of the most adorable pictures I had ever seen: a rescued hen wearing a knitted sweater. The news story highlighted the need for sweaters to keep featherless and beaten hens warm while they recuperated from barricaded lives inside abusive battery and “free-range” egg farms. At that moment, learning to knit got added to my bucket list. A few months ago I finally made that goal a reality.

I learned to knit, and a few weeks ago, made my first sweater for a hen. Knitting one sweater may not mean much or immediately change all those important issues that we, as vegans, strive to speak up against. But to the individual hen that gets my warm and cozy sweater, it will make all the difference in the world. I’ve realized that knitting (crocheting, sewing, etc.) can be quite empowering when it comes to changing the world, through the simple action of creation. As humans that strive to create change and stand up for those forgotten and without a voice, we can continue to create change on our own terms through our own hands and creation. While some may be able to donate money to causes, we crafters may be better able to help those less fortunate through making and donating items like handmade hen sweaters.

Sometimes we may feel like there’s so much wrong going on that we can’t fix at this moment, or may be daunted with the fact that there are so many animals that need help. We may even be the only vegan in a town and feel like we can’t do much for non-humans on our own, or feel that certain forms of activism are not our thing. Well, there’s another novel form of activism that you can take part in called “craftivism.” Through craftivism, we can take a stand to make a difference in our own communities (and in foreign ones), and reach out to individuals in the here and now by using our craft.

Although as a vegan I am passionate about non-human animals, I of course also take an interest in helping the human animals that could use a bit of warmth and cheer in their lives. I can’t help but think, “what if that was me?” As compassionate individuals, we should aspire to help all those in need. Our journey doesn’t just stop at what we eat, wear, or bathe with.

On my blog, Project Craftivism, I write about my own path through vegan craftivism with a goal to help both humans and non-humans. At the moment, I am knitting and collecting warm items (knitted, crocheted, or sewed) for a local homeless shelter that expects about 34 people on Christmas Eve. If you would like to help me with this project, have suggestions for future projects, or would like to share a story about your own craftivism or charity project, do get in touch!

Why not celebrate World Vegan Month by pledging to create for a non-human or human in need?

Celebrate Life: Adopt a Turkey!

In our house, turkey is still a major part of our Thanksgiving celebration. Or should I say, Turkeys!

Each year, we "adopt" two Turkeys from Farm Sanctuary through their Adopt-A-Turkey Project. Funds raised each fall help to house and care for the Sanctuary's current residents, and to advocate and educate. It's a wonderful way to simultaneously celebrate Thanksgiving and World Vegan Month.

And for you big wigs (or those conveniently located), you can even party with Farm Sanctuary at their annual Celebration For the Turkeys - feasts are provided for human and Turkey guests alike!

We display our Turkey Adoption Certificates proudly throughout the holiday season, and in the past have even used them as a centerpiece to our Thanksgiving table. So, who will you adopt? If you haven't already, make this your new holiday tradition!

Happy World Vegan Day!!

Don't forget, World Vegan Day is the kickoff for World Vegan Month, throughout the month of November! Stay tuned... and Go Vegans! :D

Celebrate Halloween Vegan Etsy Style

I love Halloween! It is quite possibly my favourite holiday. Today I bring you a few picks from Vegan Etsy team members to help you celebrate in style.

Check out the vegan Halloween caramels from Feed Your Face! Caramel-y and delicious.

 Greet your guests with a handmade 8x10 Samhain signed print from Dark Faerie Creations
on the door.

Get a set of skull stitch markers from Vegancraftastic so even your knitting can be in the spirit of the season.

Kitty can celebrate too on a pumpkin print cat blanket from Luns'a Apawthecary.

 A wee pirate ghost by Panda With Cookie can haunt your desk cubicle for fun.