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Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 5, 2023

 

 

Time seems to go by more and more quickly each week - week 5 of the Countdown to Christmas has already come and gone!  According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 60 days (2 months!!!) before the ho-ho-ho'ing, reindeer driving man clothes in red and white arrives once again. With the rapidly approaching holiday season in mind, Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions comtimue to host a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2023 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Now is the perfect time to start your holiday shopping and the Countdown is the perfect place to begin that!  This week, 36 handmade/designed items from 12 artists were shared in the wide-ranging gift collection: jewelry of different styles, Christmas ornaments, throw pillows,nurse hoodie, a wire kippah. lampwork beadsand more.  Remember this motto: SHOP EARLY and SHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses.

 

Each week during the 12 week Countdown, I pick a favorite item from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog.  These are my favorites for Week 5:  

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - 2022 - Week 8

 

 

 

It’s all going so, so fast:  week 8 of the Countdown to Christmas 2022 has already come and gone, with only four more weeks remaining!  The Countdown is a chance for artists to come together and share three of their beautiful gift ideas, each one a perfect gift for a loved one.  The ever ticking Christmas clock doesn’t let up - according to it, Santa and his flying reindeer will start their journey in only 46 days!  Need a perfect place to start / finish your Christmas shopping? The Countdown is the place to do just that!  A good motto to follow: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support hard working indie artists

 

 

 

Animalia - Handmade Animal Inspired Gifts

 

 

As most of my friends know, I adore animals - always have and always will - in all their glorious shapes and sizes and colors life story.  Well, ttruthfully, I’m not too fond of mosquitos and ticks, despite their important role on this earth.  Besides dogs and horses, it’s hard for me to pick out a favorite animal.  I'm fascinated by all of them.  How about you?  

 

But just what is the term “animalia?”  ANIMALIAa taxonomic kingdom comprising all multicellular living and extinct animals - also called “metazoa.”

 

According to the Animal Diversity Web, it estimated that around 9 to 10 million species of animals inhabit the earth.  Metazoa range in size from no more than a few cells - such as the parasitic orthonectids - to organisms weighing many tons - such as blue whales and giant squid.  By far, insects make up the most species in animalia, with approximately 5.5 million species. 

 

Having such a life-long love of (most) animals, I decided that a blog based on “Animalia” would be fun to pull together.  I invited artist friends to share two handmade items that were based on animals.  What a wide variety of beauties were shared, many one of a kind designs.  If something catches your eye, please make sure to either click the photo or the link below the picture for more information.  I hope you enjoy this showcase of animal art!

 

 

Animalia - Animal Themed Artisan Handmade Gifts

 

 

If you would like to participate in this promotional link-up, please leave two of your handmade items that are animal themed.  The shares can be domestic animals, wild animals, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, etc.  I'll include both items on an Animalia blog that will be finished and posted (hopefully) by the end of next week.  The one rule is:  you must promote all the items to at least two social media platforms and also promote the blog.  I'll be promoting from here (tweeting and pinning) AND then tweet again and pin to new boards when the blog is posted.  The blog will also be shared to Facebook.  If you tweet, please use the hashtag #Animalia2022 to make the tweets easy to find for retweeting.  The InLinkz will close Tuesday, February 15 at 3:00 p.m. Mountain Time.  I look forward to seeing your shares! 

 

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Menagerie - Animal Inspired Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

Menagerie:  a collection of animals, frequently exotic, kept for display.  The term was first used in 17th-century France, in reference to the management of household or domestic stock.

 

 

Anyone who knows me knows I love animals in all shapes and sizes - always have, always will.   So I wanted to share a collection of animal jewelry with you that can be found in my Shadow Dog Designs handmade jewelry shop.  Even though these animals found on these earrings and necklaces are not alive, they can definitely be termed a menagerie since there is a wide variety, from exotic animals, such as tigers and giraffes, to domestic animals, like dogs and cats.  If something catches your eye and you want to see more photos and information, please click on the photo or the link below the picture to be taken directly to the item.  I hope you enjoy this menagerie of one of a kind jewelry!

 

 

 

Awesome Animals - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

 

 

Anyone who knows me knows I love animals, always have and always will.  No-footed, two-footed, four-footed, six footed or more (except, to tell the truth, female mosquitoes and ticks - uck!).  I love animals of all sizes, from huge ones to wee, tiny ones - from blue whales, the largest mammal on earth, to Kitti's hog-nosed bat (or bumblebee bat) the world's smallest mammal at just over 1” long.  And I’m always amazed at how animals have evolved to survive. Just think of the Griffon’s vulture which is recorded as the highest flying bird at 37,000 feet to deep sea creatures which live in harsh conditions thousands of feet in the ocean where light doesn’t reach.  Amazing!

 

When I was mulling around what the theme of this week's Three for Thursday blog, I decided on animals.  Three animal related items from three handmade artists are featured.  The artists are:  Linda of VictorianStyleTreasures; Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  I hope you enjoy this collection of animal themed items.  Be sure to visit the shops to find even more beauties.

Flora and Fauna - Artisan Handmade

 

 

The Earth is such a beautiful place to live on, if we just take the time to look and observe.  No matter where we go, unique plants and animals can be found, two very important parts of any ecosystem.  I’ve been lucky to have lived in many places and many different ecosystems, from Central Texas to North Carolina, from near Georgian Bay in Canada to a forest in Northern Virginia, from North Texas to an island in South Carolina.  Now I live in the gorgeous Desert Southwest.  The flora and fauna of each place was awe-inspiring - some the same but, most often, very different.  Since I love what Mother Nature has to offer, I find it all VERY, VERY interesting and want to keep on learning about how our wonderful Earth functions . . . and what we need to do to heal it.   

 

 

 

'Twas the Thursday Before Christmas - Three for Thursday - Handmade

 

 

Here it is, the Thursday before Christmas with one more weekend to do holiday shopping.   Shopping online is still doable if you order now and have the package sent out by USPS Priority Mail.  The deadline for Priority Mail shipping is December 21, this Saturday. To help you with those last minute purchases, I wanted to share three unique items from three handmade artists:  Mary of PrettyGonzo; Jacki of Christie Cottage; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy the items chosen today. 

Christmas Art

 

 

 

More than usual this year, I have been drawn to Christmas / Yule art, especially those pieces with an Old World feeling and those with animals.  It's even better when St. Nick or and angle has an animals with him/her! I have pinned quite a few Christmas beauties on a couple of my Pinterest boards.  After browsing them, I decided to share a few with you. I’ve included the artist’s name and/or link - only fair. I hope you enjoy these and that they put you in an even more festive frame of mind.  MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY YULE!

 

For the Love of Dogs!

 

 

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore dogs and horses . . . and all animal's really.  It's unfortunate that our back yard is too small to have a horse.  But it is plenty big enough for Seamus, our handsome rescue dog, to patrol against the pesky squirrel and those sunbathing lizards who have the audacity to enter the yard.  And Seamus will sometimes run under the bid feeder just to see the birds explode up into the sky.  All done with a huge grin on his face!

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