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Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 1 Favorites - 2024
Posted September 24, 2024
How mind boggling is it where it seems like Christmas was here just a few short months ago?!? The ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown clock says there are only 91 days (as of today) before Christmas is here! With that in mind, it's definitely not too early to start thinking about all those people on your Christmas shopping list. Where to start???? What should you get for them??? A perfect place to shop (and hopefully buy) is the 12 week Countdown to Christmas 2024 collections. Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, the collections will be filled with a wide variety of artisan handmade / designed gifts. A new collection will be added each Friday through the beginning of December. On week 1 of the Countdown to Christmas, there were 30 shares from 10 artists: unique jewelry, Halloween gifts, lampwork beads, party invitations / stickers / kits, Christmas ornaments, baby gifts, home decor and more. A good motto to follow through these weeks leading up to Christmas is: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie sellers!
Here are favorites from Week 1 of the Countdown to Christmas:
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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!
Fun in the Hot Hot Sun - Make it an Artisan Handmade Summer
Posted June 8, 2023
The official start of summer will soon be here. I takes place at 8:57 a.m. on June 21 here in El Paso, where the day will be 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 beach or tropical theme or 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 Fun in the Hot Hot Sun - Make It an Artisan Handmade Summer 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!
Buy Artisan Handmade for Mothers Day 2023 - Week 5
Posted April 11, 2023
Another week of the Countdown to Mother's Day 2023 has come and gone. Week 5, 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 14, this is the perfect time to thinking about and start buying a gift(s) for your Mom (and, perhaps, for yourself). Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 5, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beautiful gift that was handmade from the heart. For this year's Mother's Day: PLEASE BUY HANDMADE and support small, indie businesses!
Halloween - Spooky Artisan Handmade Goodies - 2022
Posted September 11, 2022
Halloween will soon be here, a little more than six weeks away! It’s a favorite day / evening for many with a steady stream of trick or treaters in creepy or cute costumes, grinning skulls, Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins, spooky ghosts and other notorious beasts. During the weeks before October 31, it’s fun to wear spooky accessories or decorate the home for Halloween. With that in mind, handmade artist friends were invited to share two Halloween-type items - whether symbolic or filled with the traditional colors or both. You’ll see a wide variety of spine-tingling jewelry, eye-catching photography, fun party items, a cute baby gift set, an orange cat print, unique lampwork glass beads and your choice of sugar skull pincushions. Each one of these handmade beauties, many of which are one of a kind pieces, are perfect to help celebrate that supernatural day of the year. I hope you enjoy these choices and will visit the shops of the talented artists featured for more amazing handmade beauties, some shuddersome and some not!
Hot, Hot, Hot Dogs Days of Summer - Artisan Handmade
Posted July 11, 2019
The dog days of summer are here and the temperatures have gotten hot, hot, hot. It seems heat records have been shattered worldwide, especially in places that normally don’t get that hot. Weird weather all over. Climate change is real, folks!
So, just how did the term "Dog Days of Summer" come about? Depending on latitude and longitude, the Dog Days usually start the beginning of July and end the beginning of September in the Northern Hemisphere and between early January to early March in the Southern Hemisphere. Most people believe the phrase "dog days" developed by observing domestic dogs (such as our Seamus) laying around in shady areas during hot days. Another old myth, first attributed to Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist, stated in his Natural History that rabid dogs are supposed to be more common during this time of the year because the heat drives them mad. He advised feeding dogs chicken manure to curb the tendency!!!
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.
Handmade Jewelry - New Necklaces and Earrings by Shadow Dog Designs
Posted May 30, 2019
Spring is pretty much behind us here in the Desert Southwest. Although it has been a very mild spring (YAY!) with below average heat with morning still cool enough that a light jacket is sometimes needed. But all of us who live here know that summer is just around the corner bringing some triple digit temperatures in June. The the summer monsoons arrive (hopefully) in July, August and September bringing cooler temperatures again (but also the dreaded humidity) and a sense of rejuvenation.
So many of my new jewelry designs deal with summer-y type things, whether the designs feature flowers, summer colors, the sun or other beauties. And don’t forget your dogs or cats! I hope you enjoy the newest earrings (and one necklace) designs that can be found in my Shadow Dog Designs jewelry shop:
