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Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 10 Favorites - 2025
Posted November 18, 2025
Wow! It's pretty amazing that we are already at Week 10 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 with only 2 more weeks to go! Time sure can fly by. The ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock doesn’t let up: only 36 more days until Santa and his herd of flying reindeer make a nighttime visit to leave welcome gifts or lumps of coal. Since the holiday gift giving season is lurking just around the corner, Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions are once again hosting a twelve-week Countdown of artisan handmade / designed items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. The Countdown is the place for artists to share three of their beautiful (often one of a kind) creations. This week eleven artists shared 33 items, a wide range of wonderful gift ideas: many styles of jewelry, Christmas ornaments, lampwork beads, Christmas notecards, art prints, photo albums, keychains, and many other unique items. If you need a perfect start or end to your holiday shopping, please shop the Countdown to Christmas; browse and purchase that special piece for that special person! An excellent rule of thumb to follow this holiday season: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small, independent artisan shops!
In addition to promoting each handmade item from the Countdown collection to my "Countdown to a Handmade Christmas 2025" Pinterest board and on my Twitter feed, I decided to share one item from each of the artists who participated this week. Here are my "favorites" picks of the items - hard to chose! I hope you enjoy these unique items!
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Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 8 Favorites - 2025
Posted November 4, 2025
The weeks are going by so, so fast! Week 8 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 has already come and gone, with only four more weeks remaining! The ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock doesn’t let up - according to it, Santa and his flying reindeer will start their journey in only 50 days! Yikes!!!! Need a perfect place to start / finish your Christmas shopping? The Countdown - a place for artists to come together and share three of their unique gifts - is the just the place to do that holiday shopping! Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions are hosting the twelve-week Countdown to Christmas of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog (where you can also see the first seven Countdowns). This week, 30 items, many which are one of a kind designs, from 10 artists are featured. The artists shared a wide range of handmade gift ideas: jewelry, lampwork beads, art prints, throw pillows, home decor, keychains, baby gifts, and much, much more. A wonderful motto to follow: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support hard working indie artists!
In addition to promoting each handmade item from the Countdown collection to my "Countdown to a Handmade Christmas 2025" Pinterest board and on my Twitter feed, I decided to share one item from each of the artists who participated this week.
Make It an Artisans Mothers Day - Week 1 Gifts - 2025
Posted April 8, 2025
Julie and the Handsome Harry Florida Dog of Blue Morning Expressions are again hosting the wildly popular “Mother's Day Countdown.” Last year's Countdown was a resounding success . . . so the 2025 version is up and running. Check out the Mother’s Day Countdown 2025 Week 1 on Julie and Harry's Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it - on May 11 - this is the perfect time to start thinking about buying a gift(s) for your mom, grandmom, aunts and/ or other beloved women. Browse all the wonderful shares, visit the shops of the artists featured in this week's Countdown and buy your mother a beauty that was handmade / designed from the heart. When you do so, you support a small, independent business (which makes us do a happy dance)! #ShopSmall for Mother's Day this year! Here is a favorite from each artist who shared their work on the Countdown this past weekend:
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 12 Favorites - 2024
Posted December 10, 2024
Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick. According to the Your Christmas Countdown Clock there is only 14 days (two weeks!!!) until Christmas is here! It’s hard to believe that 12 weeks have already gone by since the Countdown to Christmas 2024 started. The Countdown has been graciously hosted all these weeks (and many years) by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Yes, Week 12 has come and gone and 30 artisan handmade / designed items from ten artists were left in its wake. Any of the beauties will be perfect for a Christmas gift, one that was carefully created from the heart. Support independent artists by helping Santa make it a HANDMADE CHRISTMAS this year!
In addition to promoting each handmade item from the Countdown collection to my "Countdown to a Handmade Christmas 2024" Pinterest board and to my Twitter feed, I share one item from each of the artists who participated this week. Here are my "favorites" picks of the items - it's always hard to choose! I hope you enjoy these unique items.
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 10 Favorites - 2024
Posted November 26, 2024
Wow! Christmas will be here in only 28 days, less than a month away! And there are only two more weeks left in the Countdown to Christmas 2024! The ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock doesn’t let up and keeps ticking down those seconds until Santa and his herd of flying reindeer make a nighttime visit to leave welcome gifts or lumps of coal. Since the holiday gift giving season is lurking just around the corner, Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions are once again hosting a twelve-week Countdown of artisan handmade / designed items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. The Countdown is the place for handmade artists to share three of their beautiful (often one of a kind) creations. This week ten artists shared 30 items, a wide range of wonderful gift ideas: many styles of jewelry, decorative thimbles, art t-shirts, art prints, keychains, gift card holders, crocheted baby gifts and many other unique items. Need a perfect start or end to your holiday shopping? Shop the Countdown to Christmas; browse and purchase that special piece for that special person! An excellent rule of thumb to follow this holiday season: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small, independent artisan shops!
In addition to promoting each handmade item from the Countdown collection to my "Countdown to a Handmade Christmas 2024" Pinterest board and on my Twitter feed, I decided to share one item from each of the artists who participated this week. Here are my "favorites" picks of the items - hard to chose! I hope you enjoy these unique items!
Christmas in July 2024 - Artisan Handmade Gifts - Week 4
Posted July 18, 2024
Well, here we are a bit more than halfway through July and Week 4 of the Christmas in July 2024 is posted. It’s never too early to start shopping for unique holiday gifts for a loved one since Santa and his reindeer will be here sooner than we think right now. There are only 159 days to the big day (from when this blog was posted) according to the ever ticking CHRISTMAS CLOCK.
Artist friends were asked to participate in a “Christmas in July” promotion, sharing three of their favorite items - one that was “Christmasy” (in design or colors, etc.) and two others that didn’t have to be. The first week was only Christmas items - the weeks since have been a mixture. There is only one more week to go, Week 5. Since many of these beauties are one of a kind, be sure to shop early (and often) so you don’t miss out. And please visit the shops of the artists for even more wonderful items that are handmade or designed from the heart. Hopefully items featured here or in the shops will make it into your shopping basket. Buy for a loved one . . . and be sure to treat yourself! Remember: SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE!
Christmas in July 2024 - Artisan Handmade Gifts - Week 3
Posted July 11, 2024
It’s a bit over halfway through the year and Christmas will be here before we know (just like in years past!). Because of this, it’s never too early to start shopping for unique holiday gifts for a loved one! Santa will be clattering around with his herd of reindeer in about 5 ½ months - actually 166 days (from when this blog was posted) according to the ever ticking CHRISTMAS CLOCK.
Artist friends were asked to participate in a “Christmas in July” promotion, sharing three items - one that was “Christmasy” (in design or colors, etc.) and two others that didn’t have to be. Last week, Christmas items were showcased in a new blog. This week the items are a mixture of Christmas and non-Christmas creations. Since many of these beauties are one of a kind, be sure to shop early (and often) so you don’t miss out. And please visit the shops of the artists for even more wonderful items that are handmade or designed from the heart. Hopefully items featured here or in the shops will make it into your shopping basket. Buy for a loved one . . . and be sure to treat yourself! Remember: SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE!
Hot Fun Under the Summer Sun - Artisan Handmade Gifts - 2024
Posted June 6, 2024
The official start of summer will soon be here. It takes place here in El Paso on June 20 at 2:50 p.m, Officially June 20 will have 12 hours, 8 minutes and 59 seconds of sunlight, about 4 hours and 9 minutes longer than on the shortest day in December. To celebrate the hot, hot summer days, I asked artist friends to share two items that represent “hot summer fun” - something with hot colors, a sun, beach or tropical theme, sunflowers and the like. Some items shared are more on the blazing summer side and some represent a more mellow, cool summer. However, ALL are artisan handmade / designed and many are one of a kind pieces. So if something catches your eye on this Hot Fun Under the Summer Sun - Artisan Handmade Gifts - 2024 blog, please click the photo or the link below the photo for more information and pictures of the individual item. Hopefully one or more will make it into your shopping basket - treat yourself or someone else to a unique artisan beauty! And remember: SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE! Small artisan shops will THANK YOU!
Make It a Handmade Mothers Day 2024 - Artisan Gifts - Week 9
Posted April 30, 2024
Watch out! Mother’s Day will be here very, very soon - in fact, in less than 2 weeks, on Sunday, May 12. It’s still not too late to order a handmade gift (do it now!) from the beauties shared this week on the Countdown to Mother's Day 2024 Week 9. The Countdown was hosted again this year by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Hard to believe this is the last week of the Countdown - time sure flies by! Despite that, 11 handmade artisans shared a total of 33 wonderfully unique items, some of them one of a kind designs. Browse the wide range of eye catching shares for this week, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom, Grandmother, aunties (or yourself!) something that was HANDMADE from the heart! By shopping small, you'll also support a small indie business (and for that, we are eternally grateful!). Featured below are my favorites from the Countdown:
Make It a Handmade Mothers Day 2024 - Artisan Gifts - Week 5
Posted April 2, 2024
Another week of the Countdown to Mother's Day 2024 has come and gone. Hard to believe we're over 1/2 way through the promotion! Week 5 of the Countdown, as all the weeks have been and will be, was hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Thirty-three unique handmade / designed items were shared from eleven artists. Many are one of a kind and each will make a memorable gift for Mom on her big day. Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it, on May 12, this is the perfect time to think about and start buying a gift(s) for your Mom, grandmom, aunts . . . and, perhaps, for yourself. Browse all the wonderful handmade shares on the Countdown - Week 5, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beautiful gift that came from the heart. For this year's Mother's Day: PLEASE BUY HANDMADE and help support small, indie businesses!
