Blog entry

Make It an Artisans Mothers Day - Week 1 Gifts - 2025

Julie and the Handsome Harry Florida Dog of Blue Morning Expressions are again hosting the wildly popular “Mother's Day Countdown.” Last year's Countdown was a resounding success . . . so the 2025 version is up and running.  Check out the Mother’s Day Countdown 2025 Week 1 on Julie and Harry's Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it - on May 11 - 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 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)!  #ShopSmall for Mother's Day this year!  Here is a favorite from each artist who shared their work on the Countdown this past weekend: 

Christmas in July 2024 - Artisan Handmade Gifts - Week 5

Here we are at the last full week og July!  How does the time go by so quickly???  This is the last full week, Week 5 of the Christmas in July 2024.  Since Santa and his merry bunch of reindeer will visit before we know it, it’s never too early to start shopping for unique holiday gifts for a loved one.  There are now only 152 days to Christmas (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.  Since I miscalculated the number of weeks, a Week 5 was added where friends shared one more item of their choice.  Many of these beauties are one of a kind, so 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 / 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!

Make It a Handmade Mothers Day 2024 - 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 8, 2023

It’s all going so, so fast!  Week 8 of the Countdown to Christmas 2023 has already come and gone, with only four more weeks remaining!  The ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock doesn’t let up - according to it, Santa and his flying reindeer will start their journey in only 39 days!  Yikes!!!!  Need a perfect place to start / finish your Christmas shopping? The Countdown - a chance for artists to come together and share three of their unique gift ideas - is the just the place to do that holiday shopping!  Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions are hosting the twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2023 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog (where you can also see the first seven Countdowns).  This week, 39 items, many which are one of a kind designs, from 13 artists are featured.  The artists shared a wide range of handmade gift ideas: jewelry of all sorts, Christmas gift tags, sweatshirts, limited edition prints, photographic prints, lampwork beads, coffee mugs and much, much more.  A wonderful motto to follow: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support hard working indie artists! 

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!