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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:  

 

 

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.   

 

 

 

Handmade Valentines Day Gift Ideas

 

 

On February 14 each year, candy, flowers cards and gifts are exchanged between loved ones not only here in the United States but also in other countries all around the world to celebrate Valentine's Day.  The Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately 1 billion Valentine's Day cards are exchanged each year, the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas (about 2.6 billion cards).  How did Valentine's Day develop?  Here's a short history:

Summer Fun - Artisan Handmade

 

 

Even though summer has not officially arrived - the Summer Solstice will show up on Thursday, June 21 at 4:07 a.m. Mountain Time here in the Borderlands - thermometers tell another story.  June is the month for triple digits here with a high UV index. Then the temperatures cool down when the monsoon season arrives with its amazing lightning displays and much needed rain.  Despite the June heat, we go about our daily lives enjoying the out of doors, albeit in the mornings and evenings mostly: gardening, cooking on the grill, hiking, star gazing, birding, etc. With an altitude of 3740’, we still have gloriously cool mornings and evenings to enjoy being outside.

Have a Heart for Valentines Day - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

 

 

Valentine’s Day is only a week away.  There is still time to order a perfect handmade gift for your loved one(s).  The theme of today’s blog is Have a Heart for Valentine’s Day.  All of the beauties featured today have hearts as part of their design component.  All are artisan handmade and most are one of a kind items.  Give your sweetie a Valentine’s Day gift that contains a bit of the heart and soul of of the artist who created it.  

 

MAKE IT A HANDMADE VALENTINE’S DAY!

Make it a Handmade Valentine's Day!

 

 

Every February 14, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones in several countries, all in the name of St. Valentine. The history of Valentine’s Day contains remnants of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions.  The patron saint himself is shrouded in mystery.  Who is this mysterious Valentine?  Where did traditions associated with Valentine’s Day come from?  Being of inquiring mind, I did some research and decided to share my findings, along with a whole host of artisan handmade items, each one a perfect Valentine’s Day gift for a loved one:

Bohemian Rhapsody - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

 

 

It’s amazing how often my blogs are inspired by music.  As you have probably noticed, music is, and always has been, a huge part of my life.  For some reason, I have been listening quite a bit to the complete soundtrack to the Lord of the Rings movies.  Heroic music for an awesome trilogy!  It ended (for the umpteenth time) and I switched to my Pandora station.  And . . . Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen started the mix of music.  The song, which was released in 1975, instantly took me back to a time at university when several friends and I developed a Bohemian Rhapsody skit . . . and performed it at a university talent show!  Am sure the skit was absolutely, undeniably horrible.  But whenever I hear the song, it takes me back to all the hard work and laughter as we pulled the antics of the skit together.  Am sure there is a photo or two around, but I have no idea where they are.  

She Comes in Colors Everywhere - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

 

 

 

 

Roses are red and violets are blue and rainbows have seven colors.  Most people live in a colorful world.  As humans, our color vision influences everything from our art and poetry to the colors we paint our homes and the clothing we buy.  But why do we see (or not see) color?  Being of an inquiring mind (and remembering some of what I learned in science), here is the low down in an encapsulated form:

Circles of Our Lives - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

 

 

 

 

Sometimes the most mundane of things in life suddenly captures my imagination.  The other day, when I was outside with Seamus, the very handsome Shadow Dog, I started thinking about circles (yes, my brain does shoot off on a tangent sometimes!).  You see circles everywhere: most door knobs, most coins, the sun and moon, the pupil of most animal's eyes and the wheel, just to name a few.  Most people don't give them a second thought unless you're a mathematician, an architect or an artist.  As a gardener and an avid observer of nature, I daily feel the circle of life all around me on a more cosmological scale: day/night, phases of the moon, seasons, life/death.  And then I remembered a Wendell Berry poem, called "Circles of Our Lives", which I will share at the end of this post. This led me to do some reading about circles (inquiring minds want to know!) and copious note taking.

A Sense of Fun - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

 

 

This week’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade blog post is called A Sense of Fun.  According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the definition of “fun” is “that which provides amusement or enjoyment.”  I am often delighted and amused at the creativity of my artist friends and ALWAYS enjoy browsing their shops.  And since Mother’s Day is almost upon us, any of these picks will make wonderful gifts.  Buy Handmade - buy a gift that was made from the heart.

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