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Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 1, 2023

 

 

Amazing!!!  It seems like Christmas was here just a few months ago . . . especially when the Christmas Countdown Clock says there are only 88 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 them???  A perfect place to shop (and hopefully buy)) is the 12 week Countdown to Christmas 2023 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 second weekend of December.  On week 1 of the Countdown to Christmas, there were 36 shares from 12 handmade artists: unique jewelry, Halloween gifts, lampwork beads, party invitations / stickers / kits, tote bags, baby gifts, Christmas ornaments, home decor and more.  A good motto to follow through these weeks leading up to Christmas is:  SHOP EARLYSHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie sellers!

 

Here are favorites from Week 1 of the Countdown to Christmas:

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - 2022 - Week 5

 

 

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 Christmas clock, there are only 67 days (barely over 2 months) before Jolly Ol’ Santa and his roof-clattering reindeer arrive once again. With the rapidly approaching holiday gift giving season in mind, Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions comtimue to host a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2022 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!   This week, 33 handmade items from 11 artists were left in the wide-ranging gift collection: jewelry of all different styles, hand crocheted baby items, notecards, jigsaw puzzle, Christmas apron, sticker labels, lampwork beads, Christmas ornaments and more.  Remember this motto: SHOP EARLY and SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses.

 

 

 

Christian Cross Jewelry - Artisan Handmade by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

 

To a Christian, crosses are a symbol of atonement and reminds them of God's love in sacrificing his own son for humanity.  Despite being associated primarily with Christianity, many cross symbols were used as religious symbols pre-Christianity, especially in Europe and western Asia.  Crosses can be found carved on rocks and in caves dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period, approximately 50,000 to 12,000 years ago.  During the European Bronze Age (app. 3200 - 600 B.C), cross symbols seemed to carry a religious meaning, possibly a symbol of consecration especially during burials.  For at least two centuries after the crucifixion of Christ, the symbol of Christianity (when it was depicted) was a headless T-shaped Tau cross.  Gradually over time, the Tau cross was replaced by the Greek cross, with arms of equal length, then by the Latin cross (or Roman cross) with a longer descending arm, which is the most common cross used today.  Crosses come in many different variants, all having a religious meaning.  If you are interested in seeing some of the variants and what they mean, I find these two links to be especially helpful:  Christian Cross Variants and Kinds of Crosses--What the Different Designs Mean.

Red, Green and White For Christmas! - Three for Thursday - December 3, 2020

 

 

According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, there’s only 21 days until Christmas arrives.  If you haven’t already started your holiday shopping, now’s definitely the time!  To help you select gifts, I pulled together three handmade beauties from three artists in the christmas colors of red, green and white.  These are gifts that are guaranteed to please.  The handmade artists are:  Linda of VictorianStyleTreasuresCharlotte of Covergirlbeads; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  I hope you enjoy these selections and will visit the artists’ shops for more gift ideas.  There will be something there for even the hardest to buy for Mom or aunt!  Remember:  SHOP SMALL and BUY HANDMADE!!!

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