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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 9 Favorites - 2025
Posted November 11, 2025
Warning! Warning!!! Christmas is quickly barreling down on us! It's hard to believe it will be here soon. And the ever ticking Your Christmas Counrdown Clock let up: according to the clock, there are only 42 day (as of today) before Santa and his traveling reindeer buddies start their journey. And, also hard to believe is that week 9 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 has come and gone. The Countdown is where artists come together to share three of their unique (often one of a kind) creations and then promote each other. This week, eleven artists shared a total of 33 unique items. The twelve week Countdown to Christmas, hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, is the perfect place to start / end your holiday shopping. Find those special gifts for loved ones on the Countdown! An excellent motto to follow this holiday season is : SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support hardworking indie shop owners!
In addition to promoting each handmade item from the Countdown collection to my "Countdown to a Handmade Christmas 2025" Pinterest board (and others) and also on my Twitter feed, I share one item on my blog from each of the artists who participated this week. Here are my "favorites" picks of the items. I hope you enjoy these unique items!
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 6 Favorites - 2025
Posted October 21, 2025
It’s hard to believe that we’re already half-way finished with the twelve week Countdown to Christmas 2025! That means Christmas is bearing down on us and will soon be here. Yikes!!!! According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 64 days (as of today) until Santa and his merry herd of flying reindeer arrive once again. With the rapidly approaching holiday season in mind, Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions have for years now hosted a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2025 promotion of artisan handmade / designed items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Start your holiday shopping now on the Countdown - a perfect place to buy unique gifts! This week, 24 items from 8 artisans were shared in the wide-ranging gift collection: jewelry of different styles, note cards, Christmas stickers, Hannukah napkins, printable art, giclee prints and more! A wonderful motto to follow: SHOP EARLY and SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses.
In addition to sharing each handmade item from the 12 week Countdown collection to this Pinterest board and to my Twitter feed, I pick a favorite item from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog. Here are my favorites for Week 6:
Hot Summer Fun 2025 - Artisan Handmade - Week 3
Posted July 24, 2025
The last week of the “Hot Summer Fun 2025” promotion is here . . . the three weeks seem to fly by. ALL the beauties featured on the new “Hot Summer Fun - Week 3” blog are artisan handmade / designed and many are one of a kind pieces. So if something catches your eye, 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 a loved one (or yourself!) to a unique artisan gift! And remember: SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE! Small indie shops will definitely THANK YOU!
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 3 Favorites - 2024
Posted October 8, 2024
It's amazing just how quickly Week 3 of the Countdown to Christmas 2024 sped right on by . . . with a wide variety of gorgeous artisan handmade / designed items left in its wake. According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 77 days until jolly Santa Claus and his merry band of reindeer are delivering packages once again. 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 2024 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, part of their Blue Morning Expressions Shopify shop. This week, there were 36 shares by 12 artists featuring a wide range of truly unique gift ideas: jewelry of all types, coffee mugs, party tags, photographic and digital art, baby gifts, watercolors prints, 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 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. Here are my favorites for Week 3:
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 2 Favorites - 2024
Posted October 1, 2024
Week 2 of the Countdown to Christmas 2024 has already come . . . and gone! No worries, however, because unique artisan handmade / designed items were left in its wake. According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 84 days 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 2024 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, part of their of 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 39 shares by 13 artists featuring a wide range of gift ideas: unique jewelry, Christmas tags, watercolor art prints, an original book, photographic and digital art for the home, ornaments, key chains 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 HANDMADE to support small indie businesses!
Each week during the Countdown, I pick my a favorite item from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog. These are my favorites for Week 2:
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 2
Posted July 4, 2024
Christmas seems to arrive earlier and earlier each and every year. Because of this, it’s never too early to start shopping for those perfect holiday gifts for a loved one! Believe it or not, the jolly man in red and his reindeer show up in a little over 6 months - actually 173 days (from when this blog was posted) according to the ever ticking CHRISTMAS CLOCK.
Christmas in July has become a big thing in stores on line stores and all over social media, so I decided to host one here on my Shadow Dog Designs blog. I asked artist friends to share three items - one that is “Christmasy” (in design or colors, etc.) and two others that don’t have to be. Each week, one item will be showcased in a new blog, this being the first blog featuring a Christmasy item from each artist. 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 artisans featured for even more wonderful creations that are handmade / designed from the heart. Hopefully one or more items featured here, on the next two blogs or in the artisans’ shops will make it into your shopping basket. Buy for a loved one . . . and treat yourself! Remember this year: SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE!
New Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs
Posted June 18, 2024
The summer heat has settled on the land here in the Desert Southwest with lots of sun and a big blue sky with rarely any clouds. That means there is more creative time in my jewelry studio as opposed to creative time outside in the flower beds. So I wanted to share with you eleven of my newest creations, four necklaces and seven pairs of earrings, found in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS jewelry shop The handmade necklaces and earrings are one of a kind designs and will make unique gifts for a loved one . . . or, of course, yourself! If something catches your eye and you want to see more photos and details, please click either on the photo or on the short description under the photo. Thanks for looking. And remember to SHOP SMALL and to SHOP HANDMADE!
