After a weekend of back-end updates and migration, etsy is back in its brand-new v2 incarnation! The site has been overhauled and reorganized in a million different ways — I won’t try to cover all the changes, but here’s a thread with some info and a comparison chart if you’re interested.

I love etsy, but unless I’m looking for one specific thing, I get so overwhelmed browsing the thousands and thousands of things for sale… so if you feel like taking a spin around the new site, how about trying the sampler option on the home page? It automatically pulls up 100 random sellers and shows you a page of handy little thumbnails to look through, and you can just click on any that look intriguing. If nothing grabs you, just refresh to try again.

And if you’re already thinking holiday gifts, may I suggest the Indie Craft Documentary etsy shop? Faythe Levine has gathered cool handmade donations from artists and crafters coast to coast to help finance her Indie Craft Documentary project.

There are a few dozen lovely things to choose from, with more added all the time — like the ICD t-shirt, a grab bag from Art Star Gallery, crocheted circle pillow covers from Adorn, and (shameless crossover alert, sorry) one of my susanstars a-line skirt kits. All the money goes directly to the film project, so don’t forget, you’re shopping for a very good cause! (And if you’d like to donate something you made, e-mail Faythe at indiecraftdocumentary@gmail.com.)

Faythe and her partner-in-film Micaela O’Herlihy will be criss-crossing the country going to craft fairs and events for the next few months — you can keep up with them on their blog, and if you’re interested in hearing more about the project, I recently got to interview Faythe about it, too.