10 Summer Essentials (and Not-So-Essentials) on Etsy
Summertime, and the living is easy... or is that cheesy? When picking out the perfect summer accessories on Etsy, that online emporium of all things craft-tastic (and occasionally crap-tastic), sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.
Take a peep at these 10 warm-weather accoutrements available for sale on the site and decide for yourself: Which ones are summer-survival must-haves, and which are nothing but silly, dog-days doodads?
Every summer comes with its own flash-in-the-pan fashion trend. (Remember Daisy Dukes and gladiator sandals?) Might 2012 be the Summer of the Bejeweled Leg? Considering the nationwide heat wave we've been enduring and how much we dislike the thought of hot metal scorching first-degree burns onto our gams, we're going to guess not.
Still hoping to land a summer gig churning butter in Colonial Williamsburg, or milking cows at an Amish dairy farm? Congrats -- here's the perfect outfit to wear to a job interview, or just to your everyday, run-of-the-mill Civil War reenactment. Otherwise, all those layers upon layers seem about as warm-weather comfy as the aforementioned thigh chain.
The only two places we would ever consider donning a "dress" like this are a) at a nude beach, and b) in line for Spider-Man tickets, where all the comic-book nerds would drool all over us.
A bona fide barbie made from upcycled wheel rims, brake discs and horseshoes -- how cool is that? Can also be used as a fire pit, perfect for roasting S'mores. This one's a definite get.
This summer's already brought us record numbers of bee swarms, derechos and zombie-like face-eating episodes. Do we really need to be messing with black magic that comes in a jar?
This item could qualify as a must-buy. Just one question, though: Are the flip flops easily removable from the wreath? Because we are always losing our flops and usually wind up going barefoot through most of August. So this could save us many trips to the dollar store for more seasonal footwear.
7. Lorax dress
You can find lots of kid-sized Lorax dresses for sale on Etsy, but very few for adults. Does the thought of a grown woman wearing a Dr. Seuss-themed dress strike you as lame or awesome? Well, unlike the Lorax, we can't speak for the trees, but we're going to go ahead and say that it's awesome.
You know what's missing from most summer picnics? Practical jokes. Which is why we get a kick out of this trompe-l'oeil picnic cloth. Now you can fool your friends and the ants!
Show us the dog that would be more comfortable wearing clothes atop its sweltering summer fur coat and we will show you a lying and/or masochistic dog.
A cute, stylish "book" bag perfect for toting around that trashy summer novel? That's a "totes" in our "book."