Enjoy

*** FREE SHIPPING ***

(USPS Ground Advantage - U.S. only)

 

Blog entry

Countdown to Christmas - Artisan Gift Favorites - Week 2, 2026

Posted September 29, 2026

 

 

Week 2 of the Countdown to Christmas 2026 has already come . . . and gone!  No worries, however, because many unique artisan handmade / designed items were left in its wake.  According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 86 days (as of the day this blog posted) until Christmas is here.  With the rapidly approaching gift giving season in mind, Julie and her wonderful four-footed sidekick, Harry, are hosting a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, part of their Blue Morning Expressions Shopify shop.  The twelve week time period was chosen to correspond with the ubiquitous Christmas carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas''. This week, there were 24 shares by 8 artists featuring a wide range of gift ideas: unique jewelry, lampwork beads, art prints, garden banners, journals, table linens and a host of other beauties.  If you need a perfect start to your Christmas shopping, the Countdown is the place to do just that!  An excellent motto to follow is: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN.  And, most of all, SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE to support indie businesses!  We will absolutely thank you!

 

Each week during the Countdown, I pick a favorite item from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog. Here are my favorites for Week 2:   

 

 

 

» Read more
» 8 Comments
» Tagged: bass clef, blue sky jasper, Christmas, Christmas gifts, Christmas gifts for women, Countdown to Christmas, flag, floral journal, garden, Gasparilla, Halloween garden banner, handmade, handmade Christmas gifts, handmade earrings, handmade gifts, handmade necklace, Hanukkah, hardcover journal, holiday gifts, holidays, lampwork beads, lampwork bracelet beads, leaf pendant, menorah napkins, menorah table linens, music note necklace, personalized, pirate ship, ranunculus, red lampwork, Shadow Dog Designs, ShadowDogDesigns, statement necklace, watercolor print

Beautiful Flowers - Artisan Handmade for Spring

Posted February 25, 2021

                                                         Photo by James J. Shaw

 

 

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,

With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

 

 

Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair . . . 

Susan Polis Schutz

» Read more
» 14 Comments
» Tagged: applique, bag, Beautiful Flowers, blue, boho, bouquet, bracelet, charm, coasters, colorful, daisy, denim, dumortierite, earrings, enamel, felted, floral, flowers, garden, garnet, gemstones, green, handbag, handmade, iris, knitted, lampwork, laser cut, lotus, magnolia, necklace, note cards, orange, pewter, photo albums, pillow, pincushion flower, pink, poly clay, polymer clay beads, Portuguese cork, pouch, roses, Shadow Dog Designs, ShadowDogDesigns, sky blue, Swarovski crystals, tree spirit, upcycled, watercolor print, wood, yellow

Summer Fun - Artisan Handmade Gifts

Posted June 13, 2019

 

 

The first day of summer will be here before we know it.  This year, the first day of summer starts here in the Borderlands at 9:54 a.m. MDT on Friday, June 21.  Although, by that time, we’ll surely have had several days near triple digits or some 100+ degrees. But it’s a dry heat and doesn’t keep me from doing much outside as long as I have a wide brimmed hat on my head and plenty of water with me.

» Read more
» 12 Comments
» Tagged: baby dress, beach, beach bag, bracelets, cards, Celtic, clock, coral, crochet, dragonfly, earrings, enamel, flamingo, Florida, flowers, garden, gemstones, gifts, gifts for her, goddess, handmade, jewelry, Just Beachy, knitting, lampwork, nautilus, necklaces, ocean, ocean jasper, orange, pillow case, polymer clay, quilling, romper, sand dunes, seed bead, shells, Shiva shell, summer, Summer Fun, sun, sundress, sunflowers, sunrise, surf, Swarovski crystals, watercolor, wire wrapped

Flower Earrings - Artisan Handmade by Shadow Dog Designs

Posted February 20, 2019

 

 

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower.  I want them to see it whether they want to or not. Georgia O'Keeffe

 

 

One of my all time favorite artists is Georgia O’Keeffe.  Whenever I’m in Santa Fe, I'm always drawn to the museum named after her.  While there, I almost go into a meditative state while contemplating her paintings.  Her flower paintings are dear to my heart.

 

All through my life, I have had flower gardens, some rather grand and some on a much smaller scale, such as the one here in the Desert Southwest.  I cannot imagine life without the beauty and cheerfulness of flowers (or dogs, for that matter!). Life would be so bland with out them.  Because of that, flowers designs can always be found in my handmade jewelry, especially the earrings.  For this blog post, I chose 10 pairs of earrings, some new and some that have been in my shop a while, to feature. There are many others in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS shop.  I hope you will stop by and take a look . . . and maybe buy a pair for yourself or a loved one.

» Read more
» 1 Comment
» Tagged: amethyst, aqua, butterflies, copper, Czech glass, daisies, daisy, earrings, flower, flower earrings, flower garden, flowers, fuchsia, garden, handmade, hearts, jewelry, lampwork Swarovski crystals, lotus, Mykonos, pewter, polymer clay, poppies, poppy, purple, red, red roses, roses, Shadow Dog Designs, ShadowDogDesigns, sterling silver, turquoise
Syndicate content