Blog entry

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - 2022 - Week 1

Wow!  It seems like Christmas was just a few months ago.  It’s very hard to believe that Christmas is only 95 days away according to the ever ticking Christmas clock.  With that in mind, it's definitely not too early to start thinking about all those people on your Christmas shopping list.  What should you get them???  A perfect place to start looking (and buying!) is the 12 week Countdown to Christmas 2022 collections.  Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Shopify blog, the collections will be filled with a wide variety of artisan handmade / designed gifts.  A new collection will be added each week through the first full week of December.  This week, there were 27 shares from 9 handmade artists: unique jewelry of all types (earrings, bracelets and necklaces), baby gifts, party stickers / gift tags, fun thumbtacks / magnets, Halloween gifts and more.  A good motto to follow through these weeks leading up to Christmas:  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!

Halloween and Day of the Dead

Halloween and Day of the Dead will be here before we know it!  To get the word out about all of the spooky goodies in our shops, please share two Halloween inspired items.  They don't have to be actuall Halloween items but can be the colors of orange, black and brown usually associated with Halloween, Dia de los Muertos and autumn.  The InLinkz is open now and will close this Saturday, September 10, at 12:00 p.m. MDT.  I hope to have the blog out by Monday morning.

If you participate, please share each item and the blog on at least two social media sites (I'll be tweeting and sharing on several Pinterest boards both from the linkup and from the actual blog).  Please use the hashtag #Halloween2022 for tweeting so the items are easily found.

Unique Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

It has been almost two months since I last shared the newest handmade jewelry pieces found  in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS shop.  Definitely not sure where the time goes!  Guess I was so busy creating, photographing and listing new jewelry pieces - which is a good thing!  Ten of the newest pieces are being shared:  seven pairs of handmade earrings, two necklaces and one bracelet.  As always, many have a wonderful boho look but some have a more classic design.  Even better, they are all one of a kind designs!  If something catches your eye, be sure to click the photo or the live link below the picture to be taken to the item listing.  I hope you enjoy the new jewelry.