Enjoy
*** FREE SHIPPING ***
(USPS Ground Advantage - U.S. only)
Blog entry
Artisan Valentines Gifts for Loved Ones - Week 4 - 2025
Posted February 6, 2025
Just a warning: Valentine's Day is only 1 week away, this coming February 14! In case you still need a gift for the big day, Week 4 of the Valentine’s gift blog on Shadow Dog Designs features artisan handmade / designed beauties. Each piece makes a wonderful gift for your loved one. Traditional and non-traditional Valentine's designs are included. Many of the artisan items can be worn / used all year long! If something catches your eye, be sure to click either the photo or the description below the photo to be taken to the artistan's shop. To see all of the gift ideas in one place, here’s a link: Artisan Valentine's Gifts for Loved Ones - Week 1 - 2025. ALL of the gifts shared here were created by small business owners. Please be sure to SHOP SMALL this Valentine's Day and support an indie artist. We will certainly appreciate that!!!
» 10 Comments
Artisan Valentines Gifts for Loved Ones - Week 3 - 2025
Posted January 30, 2025
Yikes! Valentine's Day is only 2 weeks away (February 14)!!! For ease of shopping for the big day, Week 3 of the Valentine’s gift blog on Shadow Dog Designs features artisan handmade / designed beauties. Each piece in the collection is perfect for a loved one. There are plenty of Valentine's Day themed items, but gifts that are not so distinctly traditional are also included. Many of the artisan items can be worn / used all year long! If something catches your eye, be sure to click either the photo or the description below the picture to be taken to the artistan's shop. To see all of the gift ideas in one place, here’s a link: Artisan Valentine's Gifts for Loved Ones - Week 1 - 2025. ALL of the gifts shared here were created by small business owners. Please be sure to SHOP SMALL for this Valentine's Day. We will certainly appreciate that!!!
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 12 Favorites - 2024
Posted December 10, 2024
Tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick . . . tick. According to the Your Christmas Countdown Clock there is only 14 days (two weeks!!!) until Christmas is here! It’s hard to believe that 12 weeks have already gone by since the Countdown to Christmas 2024 started. The Countdown has been graciously hosted all these weeks (and many years) by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Yes, Week 12 has come and gone and 30 artisan handmade / designed items from ten artists were left in its wake. Any of the beauties will be perfect for a Christmas gift, one that was carefully created from the heart. Support independent artists by helping Santa make it a HANDMADE CHRISTMAS this year!
In addition to promoting each handmade item from the Countdown collection to my "Countdown to a Handmade Christmas 2024" Pinterest board and to my Twitter feed, I share one item from each of the artists who participated this week. Here are my "favorites" picks of the items - it's always hard to choose! I hope you enjoy these unique items.
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 8 Favorites - 2024
Posted November 12, 2024
It’s all going by so, so fast! Week 8 of the Countdown to Christmas 2024 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 42 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 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog (where you can also see the first seven Countdowns). This week, 33 items, many which are one of a kind designs, from 11 artists are featured. The artists shared a wide range of handmade gift ideas: jewelry of all sorts, Christmas money holders, thimbles, lampwork beads, limited edition art prints, digital art, t-shirts 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 2024" Pinterest board and on my Twitter feed, I decided to share one item from each of the artists who participated this week.
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:
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 4 Favorites - 2024
Posted October 15, 2024
Who would have believed how quickly Week 4 of the Countdown to Christmas 2024 went by . . . but here we are! Left in its wake is a wide variety of wonderful artisan handmade / designed items. According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 70 days until St. Nick pays a visit to let you know of you have been naughty or nice. With the rapidly approaching gift giving season, Julie and her faithful sidekick, Handsome Harry, are hosting a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2024 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, part of their Blue Morning Expressions Shopify shop. This week, there were 36 shares from 12 artists featuring a wide range of gifts: unique jewelry designs, custom dog portraits, photographic and digital art, home decor, gift tags and stickers, tote bags, t-shirts and a host of other beauties. If you need a perfect start (or ending) 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 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 4:
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 3 Favorites - 2024
Posted October 8, 2024
It's amazing just how quickly Week 3 of the Countdown to Christmas 2024 sped right on by . . . with a wide variety of gorgeous artisan handmade / designed items left in its wake. According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 77 days until jolly Santa Claus and his merry band of reindeer are delivering packages once again. 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 2024 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, part of their Blue Morning Expressions Shopify shop. This week, there were 36 shares by 12 artists featuring a wide range of truly unique gift ideas: jewelry of all types, coffee mugs, party tags, photographic and digital art, baby gifts, watercolors prints, 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 12 week Countdown, I pick a favorite item from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog. Here are my favorites for Week 3:
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 2 Favorites - 2024
Posted October 1, 2024
Week 2 of the Countdown to Christmas 2024 has already come . . . and gone! No worries, however, because unique artisan handmade / designed items were left in its wake. According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 84 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 2024 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 39 shares by 13 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 item from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog. These are my favorites for Week 2:
Christmas in July 2024 - Artisan Handmade Gifts - Week 5
Posted July 25, 2024
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!
Christmas in July 2024 - Artisan Handmade Gifts - Week 4
Posted July 18, 2024
Well, here we are a bit more than halfway through July and Week 4 of the Christmas in July 2024 is posted. It’s never too early to start shopping for unique holiday gifts for a loved one since Santa and his reindeer will be here sooner than we think right now. There are only 159 days to the big day (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. There is only one more week to go, Week 5. 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 artists for even more wonderful items that are handmade or 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!
