On Small Business Saturday, here are some fantastic small businesses that shared their favorite items from their store:

Kerry Quinn’s Kitsch:

Hand-made Greeting Cards 

Old Fashioned Cocktail Christmas Card: Retro Santa, Watercolor Holiday

All designs have been hand drawn, scanned, and printed digitally onto 80lb card stock. All cards are blank inside. Kraft envelope is included with every card purchase. Single cards are packaged individually in clear sleeves. Sets of 8 are packaged in clear boxes.

Link to buy is here: etsy.com/shop/kerryquinnskitsch/?etsrc=sdt

 Beetle Glass:

IG: @alliluhmann 

 Artist-made Green Glass Oak Leaf Ornament

$26

The fused glass oak leaf ornament is perfect for holiday decor or given as a gift. Inspired by heirloom glass, Beetle Glass ornament collections are created to be part of a treasured holiday display year-after-year.  

-measures approximately 5-3/8″ x 3-3/4″ *due to the handmade nature of the item, slight variations can occur

–The ornament is created to have a gentle bend.

The link to the item is here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1833396701/handmade-fused-glass-green-oak-leaf?ref=shop_home_active_12&pro=1&frs=1&logging_key=0524a2c12cfe2cd11adb8d0819f78bf757396543%3A1833396701

SHIPPING DEADLINE: Order by Friday, December 12th, to guarantee arrival before Christmas Eve/Christmas Day

PROMO: Free shipping on all items in Etsy shop. Purchase 2 or more & save 10%, Purchase 3 or more & save 15%, Purchase 4+ and save 15%

*discounts calculated in cart

VCR of Death:

Website: https://vcrofdeath.bigcartel.com/

Instagram: @vcrofdeath 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vcrofdeath/

The VCR of Death 10th Anniversary Tee

VCR of Death has been around for ten years now. This shirt celebrates that milestone by bringing together a collection of some of the best weirdos that have been featured on the page over the past decade. It also features the VCR of Death logo in blue across the back. It’s a beauty.

The link to buy is here: https://vcrofdeath.bigcartel.com/product/vcr-of-death-10th-anniversary-t-shirt

“Shipping details:
I don’t print the shirts one at a time on demand. Instead, my shop prints and ships in big batches. The next big batch will ship out in the second week of December, so get your orders in before then if you want your shirts before the holidays!”

LUNCHMEAT:

Lunchmeat Home Video Horror Calendar 2026 (preorder- Calendars will arrive early January 2026):

“The most rewind-radical calendar ever created! HVH celebrates the most incredible, influential, and awesome horror movies ever to haunt video store shelves!”- @Lunchmeat

The link to buy is here: https://lunchmeatvhs.com/collections/featured-products/products/home-video-horrors-2026-calendar

There is also more amazing stuff on their website here: https://lunchmeatvhs.com/

NIGHTFLIGHT:

Where would I be without the magic that is NightFlight? I would be very sad, actually, so I felt that it was necessary to share this fantastic offer from them:

Just make sure when you sign up, use the promocode: BLACKFRIDAY25

The link is here to start: https://www.nightflightplus.com/signup

Greenwich Letterpress:

NOEL SHINY BRIGHT SET OF 6- $18.00:

The Link is here: https://greenwichletterpress.com/products/noel-box-set?variant=50254156988663

Free domestic Shipping on orders that are $50.00 or more.

One of my favorite stores ever, honestly, anything you buy here is a great item!

Le Puzz-

Too-Da-Loo- 500 Piece Puzzle- https://lepuzz.com/products/too-da-loo-a-500-piece-jigsaw-puzzle-by-lepuzz

Free Shipping over $100.00

I am such a fan of these great puzzle designs. They have a unique design, and each puzzle piece is genuinely designed to challenge you.

Left Bank Books:

Instagram: @leftbankbooksny

Website: https://www.leftbankbooksny.com/

If you are a fan of vintage books, then this is the place to be! They have a great selection of books online, and they are truly one-of-a-kind.

Atomic Books:

This is one of my favorite book stores EVER!!! Currently, I am about to start this gem of a book about Ed Wood by Will Sloan.

The link to buy is here: https://atomicbooks.com/collections/new-books/products/ed-wood-made-in-hollywood-usa

The link to the Atomic book website is here: https://atomicbooks.com/

Honorable mentions of other great small businesses:

Eternal Family: https://eternal.tv/

Vinegar Syndrome: https://vinegarsyndrome.com/

Hello all, Small Businesses!

I am planning to write my annual small-business gift-giving blog this year!

These are the following guidelines to follow if you would like to participate:

1. You must be a small and amazing business!
2. Name of the small business, website, and any social media handles. and any shipping deadlines.
3. One fantastic item from your store: a picture of the item, a short description, and the link.
4. Any sales you will have during that time, or any promo codes.
5. Everything must be turned in to cnajera1@gmail.com by November 25, 2025.

I will take the first ten small businesses that will email me to be included this year.

THANK YOU!!!!!!!

Clarissa

This week’s contributor Spotlight is from the amazing @stickfirmations!

“Hello! My name is Michael, and I’m the creator of Stickfirmations, a craft project where popsicle sticks meet pop culture along with mostly sincere positive affirmations. Let me tell you all about it and how it all started.

If you watched Nickelodeon in the ’90s, you might remember Stick Stickly, a popsicle-stick puppet with red googly eyes who hosted segments for Nick in the Afternoon. He held fast to my heart—maybe because his small size, sweetness, and nerves were comforting and relatable to a child facing a big, weird, and scary world. I also loved practical effects, puppetry, and miniatures—how lucky us ’90s kids were to grow up in such a tactile world! 

And so, inspired by this cute little guy and fully supplied by my local craft store, I started making my own stick people when I was about 10 years old. Two hundred of them over a three-year period, to be exact! I based them on myself, friends, family, people I saw on TV and in movies, or whoever popped into my imagination. I made a whole world, a whole community of people who smiled back at me and who made my friends and family smile. 

I continued making them until it wasn’t cool anymore (age 13), and for the next two decades they lived jumbled in a Ziploc bag buried in a desk drawer, until one day I reappreciated how cool they were and bought a toolchest, lined the drawers with green felt, and placed each stick safely in their new home, to be preserved for some unforeseen future purpose.

That purpose arrived in November 2024, when I was feeling despondent about the state of the world. I took a big gulp of nostalgia and thought, What if I photograph my stick people and pair them with positive affirmations? What if this made not only me but other people feel better? And maybe I can make some new stick people!

So that’s how Stickfirmations began. I’ve felt so much joy giving my old friends new life and crafting new ones, especially when they make other people chuckle. I love making my favorite film and TV characters: Beetlejuice, Pee-wee Herman, Elvira, the Log Lady from Twin Peaks, Jerri Blank from Strangers with Candy. It’s a fun challenge to recreate someone’s likeness on a tiny stick. The limitations of this small scale encourage my creativity, and I find it comforting and meditative to work with my hands at this level—despite the literal pain in my neck it sometimes causes! 

As for the actual crafting, I start by gluing on the eyes. Then I find the right nose—maybe a piece of popsicle stick, the end of a toothpick, a bead, or a tiny pom-pom. Then I make the mouth—most of the time I draw or paint it, or I might sculpt it out of clay (like I did for Jerri Blank in the photo below). This part is often the hardest, and I usually practice on another stick first. Once those basics of the face are done, I do the eyebrows, which requires a further steady hand and more breath-holding. 

Then I glue on the hair, which is almost always made of string. If the hair needs to be curly (like for Jerri again), I dip the string into watered-down glue, wrap it around a thin paintbrush or sculpting tool, and let it dry. Perfect curls each time! The clothes come last and wouldn’t happen with such fantastic variety were it not for a huge fabric store near me. Thank goodness for crafter heavens like this! 

I do all of this at my dining room table. My partner has been very patient with me throughout this process. 

For the photos, I use my phone, and I’ll either build a small set or backdrop, or I’ll take the stick person outside. Photographing in public always comes with some inquisitive looks. 

And finally I add the affirmation using Adobe Express. I’ll choose an affirmation based on a line of dialogue or a character trait from the show or movie the person is in, or it might be something more broad and sincere, like “You are enough” or “You are loved.” I always try to find the right balance between sincerity and irreverence, sweet and salty—my favorite combo.

One of the most rewarding parts of doing this has been the connections and interactions I’ve had with other people, both online and in person. I got to meet the super-nice owner of Marty McFly’s house in Back to the Future when I photographed stick Doc and Marty outside. 

Stick Pee-wee accompanied me to a screening of Pee-wee’s Big Adventure on the Warner Brother’s backlot, in celebration of the movie’s 40^th anniversary, and he helped me connect and laugh with other Pee-wee fans. 

Margaret Qualley reposted stick Monstro Elisasue from The Substance to her stories (Wow, the views and likes on that one! I was not prepared.), as did the director of the movie, Coralie Fargeat. Stick Log Lady had her day in the spotlight when the Instagram account for the documentary about Catherine Coulson’s life reposted her pic along with so many other great fan-made Log Lady art.   

I never expected (I hoped!) anyone to repost me or to even like what I was doing. But it’s been happening, and it feels really good. Not for the stats, but for the acknowledgement. For one creative person to see another creative person and say, “I like what you’re doing.” I think social media can be good for this—for connection with like-minded people, for moments of artistic inspiration and support. There’s still kindness out there! 

I hope my stick people bring you joy, and I hope they remind you—like Stick Stickly does for me—that small things matter. All of your dreams, your interests, your crafts and skills and hobbies matter, regardless of their scale or their scope, and despite what the world might say you should or shouldn’t do. Especially if you’re an adult. Your dreams matter as much now as they did when you were a kid. You are the maker of your dreams. Don’t stop making them! “

Michael Burge is a crafter, writer, proofreader, film lover, and nostalgic millennial living and dreaming in San Francisco, California. When he’s not making stick people, he’s probably watching Beetlejuice for about the 167^th time. His Instagram is @stickfirmations