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Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 5 Favorites - 2024
Posted October 22, 2024
Where does hte time go? It 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 63 days (a bit more than 2 months!!!) before the the reindeer driving man clothed in red and white arrives once again. With the rapidly approaching holiday season, Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions comtimue to host a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2024 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, 33 handmade / designed items from 11 artists were shared in the wide-ranging gift collection: jewelry of all different styles, photo albums, art prinrs, note cards, throw pillows, keychains, decal sets, lampwork beads, baby gifts and more. Remember this motto: SHOP EARLY and SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support a small indie business.
Each week during the 12 week Countdown, I will pick a favorite item from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog. Here are my favorites for Week 5:
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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!
Make It a Handmade Mothers Day - Artisan Gifts - Week 4
Posted March 26, 2024
It's hard to believe that Week 4 of the Countdown to Mother's Day 2024 Week 4 has come . . . and gone so quickly! We're near the end of March with Easter next Sunday, March 31. But the Countdown to Mother's Day 2024 doesn't take a break! The fun Countdown, hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, is the place where artisans come together and share three of their unique items. This week 13 artists shared a total of 38 lovely items - each one a perfect gift for Mother’s Day. Since Mom'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, grandmother, aunties and other much loved women. Be sure to browse all the wonderful handmade / designed shares for Week 4, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy a unique beauty that was artisan made from the heart. This year, definitely Make it a Handmade Mother's Day!
Make It a Handmade Mothers Day - Artisan Gifts - Week 3
Posted March 19, 2024
Week 3 of the Countdown to Mother’s Day 2024 seem to have blown right on by (where do the days go???). Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makes blog, 36 unique handmade items from 12 artists were shared on the Countdown - each beauty a wonderful gift for Mom in her bug day. Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it - on May 12 - this is the perfect time to start thinking about and buying a gift(s) for your mom, grandmother, favorite auntie or other much loved woman. Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 3, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your mom a unique gift that was artisan handmade from the heart. Be sure to buy handmade this Mother's Day and support a small indie business!
A Fantasia of Flowers - Artisan Handmade Floral Gifts
Posted February 27, 2024
Here in the Desert Southwest, you can feel that spring is not far off. The days are getting longer and warmer, the winds are getting . . . . well . . . . windier, and, despite not having much rain in the last several months, flowers are beginning to stir and put on buds, a prelude to their much anticipated appearance before the heat sets in. I saw the first swallows of the season yesterday, soaring and dipping through the arroyo that butts up against our back yard. Other bird migrants will soon be here - some will pass on through and some will stay to nest. Hummingbirds are greatly anticipated as are the butterflies, bees and wasps, all of which I hope will make good use of the new pollinator flower bed that has been a long, slow process in the making. Life is good.
Thinking about flowers reminds me of a favorite floral quote by the Impressionist painter, Claude Monet, who painted many amazing floral landscapes and cultivated large flower gardens at Giverny:
“I MUST HAVE FLOWERS, ALWAYS, AND ALWAYS”
I TOTALLY agree with him!
The flowers shared below blossomed in the creative minds, hearts and souls of each artist featured. I hope you enjoy browsing all these cheerful artisan handmade / designed spring beauties. And be sure to visit the shops of the artisans featured for even more to choose from. After all, Easter and Mother’s Day will quickly be here!
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 9, 2023
Posted November 22, 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 blog, is 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 5, 2023
Posted October 25, 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:
Happy Halloween - Spooky Artisan Handmade Goodies - 2023
Posted September 17, 2023
Halloween will soon be here, only about five weeks away! Halloween is a favorite day / evening / night for many, with a steady stream of trick or treaters in a variety of cute or creepy costumes. Decorations are aplenty: Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins, grinning skulls, eerie ghosts and other infamous creaturess. 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 / Day of the Dead / Autumn-inspired items - whether symbolic or filled with traditional colors or both. You’ll see a wide variety of spine-tingling jewelry, eye-catching photography, fun baby gifts, 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 spine-tingling and some not!
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 7
Posted April 25, 2023
Week 7 of the Countdown to Mothers Day 2023 zoomed right on by . . . and in it's wake, 30 handmade items were left on the link-up by ten talented artists. The Countdown is hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Each unique item will make a memorable gift for Mom on her day. Since Mother's Day will be here in about three weeks, on May 14, this is the perfect time to purchase a gift(s) for your Mom - and, perhaps, for other loved ones and 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. And, when you purcahse from these shops, you are supporting small indie businesses!
