Present Professor » handmade

I Savor Little Prayer For You

carli — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 04:52:43 +0000

Last year, when I was looking for items to feature on Present Professor, I came across an Etsy seller named Lisa who makes fabulous handmade soaps and puts spells on people where they want to keep buying the soap to the point that if someone handed them a bar of Zest or Irish Spring they would probably cry and then continue to cry.

Since then, Savor has been one of my go-to places for gifts. My sister and mother love her unique créme fraîche–whipped soaps that will make you want to disown body wash forever– while I’m partial to the bars. Lisa draws much of her inspiration from food, and with scents such as a chocolate peanut butter cappuccino bar, blueberry boy bait, and tamarind marmalade, you won’t know whether to wash up or chow down. No, that’s silly. You’ll know, because soap and food are two different things and you’re not stupid.

Soaps, body butter, and body mist from $4.25-$12.50 at Savor. Take advantage of flat-rate shipping and stock up for the holidays—Lisa’s soaps are great little gifts for friends, relatives, co-workers, teachers, and people who smell.

‘Night, Monster

carli — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 03:11:05 +0000

Remember that dream your friend had where she was stuck in an elevator on the 85th floor of the Sears Tower with a chihuahua that had Corey Feldman’s head and the song Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows played over and over again?

Remember how annoyed you were to have to listen to this person talk and talk and talk and then have that horrible, horrible song stuck in your head? Next time, give that friend the Nightmare Snatcher Journal by Spiderbite, where she can write down all her worst night frights in the pages of a fuzzy notebook with eyes and a mouth.

You might also want to give her the name of a good psychotherapist. ‘Cause anyone who dreams about Corey Feldman is probably in a very dark place.

From $25, on Etsy.com

Oompa (No Loompa)

carli — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:02:44 +0000

Oompa.com is an online purveyor of fine European toys aimed at children age 6 and under with a policy of “no batteries, no blinking lights, no cartoon-themed toys.”

Oompa has a huge selection of gift items you won’t find at major retailers or even smaller specialty shops. And while these types of toys can cost a pretty penny, there’s an ample selection of great gifts under $25. (I especially like this Soft Puppy Stacking Toy by Rich Frog, $21.99.) The site also offers very reasonable shipping rates: $5 flat-rate shipping, with orders over $65 delivered for free.

A great site for anyone looking to escape the clutches of Hannah Montana and Optimus Prime–who, by the way, I hear are dating.

Woodn’t It Be Nice?

carli — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:16:42 +0000

Is there anything as classic as a set of hand-crafted wood building blocks? No bells, whistles, batteries, LEDs, CFLs, or PAM*s required. Just an imagination and a desire to build things. And then to knock them down and build again.

The set of 24 blocks in walnut, maplele, and cherry comes boxed and ready to give. And as with every purchase made from Little Sapling Toys, a tree will be planted for every purchase made. Your day to water it is Tuesday.

Block set from Little Sapling Toys, $20+ shipping.

*Parental assembly meltdown