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Make It a Handmade Mothers Day - Artisan Gifts - Week 1

 

 

Julie and the always Handsome Harry the Florida Dog of Blue Morning Expressions are again hosting the wildly popular “Countdown to Mother’s Day.” Last year's Mother's Day Countdown was a resounding success . . . so the 2024 version is up and running:  Countdown to Mother’s Day 2024 Week 1 on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog.. Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it - on May 12 - 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 handmade 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)!  Here is a favorite from each artist who shared their work from this past weekend:  

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 11, 2023

 

 

It's hard to believe that Week 11 of the Countdown to Christmas 2023 has already come and gone . . . . and there is only ONE more week left of the promotion!  When the Countdown starts, the end of the twelve weeks seems a looooong way off. Then - BAM! - here it is!  With Christmas just 18 days away, where does the time go? The ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock doesn’t let up - those seconds just keep ticking down until the jolly man in red and white arrives.  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 to Christmas 2023 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 beautiful gift ideas:  jewelry of all styles, ornaments, gift card holders, sweatshirts gearheads, lampwork glass beads, watercolor art prints 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 2023" 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!

 

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 9, 2023

 

 

Christmas is barreling down on us like a runaway freight train!  It will be here very soon.  Week 9 of the Countdown to Christmas 2023 has come and gone and the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock doesn’t let up.  According to what the clock says today, Santa and his traveling buddies will start their journey in only 32 days, just a bit over four weeks from now!  The Countdown is a place for handmade artists to come together and share three of their beautiful (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 blogis the perfect place to start / end to your Christmas shopping - find those special gifts for a loved one!  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 2023" 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, in an order determined by drawing numbers from my trusty numbers bowl.  I hope you enjoy these unique items! 

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 2, 2023

 

 

Week 2 of the Countdown to Christmas 2023 has already come . . . and gone,  No worries because unique artisan handmade / designed items were left in its wake.  According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 81 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 2023 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 30 shares by 10 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 items from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog.  These are my favorites for Week 2:   

 

 

 

Artisan Handmade Gifts - Thank You

 

 

Recently, I asked several artisan friends to aprticipate in a "Christmas in July - Artisan Handmade Gifts - 2023" blog promotion, involving leaving two items on an InLinkz.  Once the InLinkz ended, I pulled together a blog featuring the wonderful items.  All items from the InLinkz and the blog were to be promoted on at least two social media sites.  That's the usual deal for the many years we have been promoting each others items.  Twelve friends participated, making a total of thirteen counting me.  To thank the seven artists who took the time to stop by and leave a blog comment (as of writing this, Wednesday morning the 19th), I decided to pull together an "Artisan Handmade Gifts - Thank You" blog.  From each shop, I chose an item that immediately caught my eye and shared them here in the order of the comments left.  I hope you visit the shops of these wonderful artists.  And remember to SHOP SMALL and to SHOP HANDMADE.  

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - 2022 - Week 11

 

 

It's hard to believe that Week 11 of the Countdown to Christmas 2022 has already come and gone . . . . and there is only one more week left of the promotion!  When the Countdown starts, the end of the twelve weeks seems a looooong way off. Then - BAM! - here it is!  With Christmas just 3 1/2 weeks away - 25 days, where does the time go? The ever ticking Christmas clock doesn’t let up - those seconds just keep ticking down until the jolly man in red and white leaves wonderful gifts or lumps of coal under the tree.  Just what is the Countdown? It’s a place for handmade artists to share three of their beautiful (often one of a kind) creations. Need a perfect start (or finish) to your Christmas shopping?  Shop the Countdown to Christmas and purchase that special piece for that special person! An excellent motto to follow this holiday season: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses! 

 

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - 2022 - Week 3

 

 

It's amazing how quickly Week 3 of the Countdown to Christmas 2022 flew right on by.  In its wake, a wide variety of gorgeous artisan handmade / designed gifts were shared.  According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, there are only 81 days until Christmas is here . . . once again. 

 

With the rapidly approaching gift giving season, Julie of Blue Morning Expressions along with her handsome sidekick, Hurricane Harry, are hosting a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2022 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog.  The twelve week time period was chosen to correspond with the pervasive holiday carol, "The Twelve Days of Christmas''. This week, there were 36 shares by 12 artists.  The shared gifts include:  jewelry of all sorts, polymer clay beads, lampwork beads, party stickers / tags, christmas ornaments, photographic art and digital art.  Shopping the Countdown to Christmas is the perfect place to start your holiday gift gathering!  An excellent motto to follow is: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN.  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses!

 

 

 

Halloween - Spooky Artisan Handmade Goodies - 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!

 

 

Animalia - Handmade Animal Inspired Gifts

 

 

As most of my friends know, I adore animals - always have and always will - in all their glorious shapes and sizes and colors life story.  Well, ttruthfully, I’m not too fond of mosquitos and ticks, despite their important role on this earth.  Besides dogs and horses, it’s hard for me to pick out a favorite animal.  I'm fascinated by all of them.  How about you?  

 

But just what is the term “animalia?”  ANIMALIAa taxonomic kingdom comprising all multicellular living and extinct animals - also called “metazoa.”

 

According to the Animal Diversity Web, it estimated that around 9 to 10 million species of animals inhabit the earth.  Metazoa range in size from no more than a few cells - such as the parasitic orthonectids - to organisms weighing many tons - such as blue whales and giant squid.  By far, insects make up the most species in animalia, with approximately 5.5 million species. 

 

Having such a life-long love of (most) animals, I decided that a blog based on “Animalia” would be fun to pull together.  I invited artist friends to share two handmade items that were based on animals.  What a wide variety of beauties were shared, many one of a kind designs.  If something catches your eye, please make sure to either click the photo or the link below the picture for more information.  I hope you enjoy this showcase of animal art!

 

 

Make It A Handmade Mothers Day - Week 7

 

 

Week 7 of the Countdown to Mothers Day 2021 flew right on by . . . and in it's wake, 33 handmade items were left from eleven talented artists.  The Countdown is hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their the Blu Print blog.  Each unique tem will make a memorable gift for Mom on her day.  Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it, this is the perfect time to start thinking about and buying a gift(s) for your Mom - and, perhaps, for yourself!  These items go quick, and, since many are one of a kind, don't miss out.  Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 7, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beautiful gift that was handmade from the heart.

 

 

 

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