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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!
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Christmas in July - Artisan Handmade Gifts - 2023
Posted July 13, 2023
Since it seems Christmas arrives earlier and earlier each and every year, it’s never too early to start shopping for those perfect holiday gifts for a loved one! Believe it or not Christmas with the jolly man in red and his reindeer show up in about 6 months - actually 164 days (from when this blog is posted) according to the ever ticking CHRISTMAS CLOCK. I’ve noticed quite a few “Christmas in July” promos and such at stores and on social media, so I decided to host one here on my Shadow Dog Designs blog. I asked artist friends to share two items - one that is “Christmasy” (in design or colors, etc.) and one that doesn’t have to be. 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 from the heart. Hopefully one or more items featured in the Christmas in July - Artisan Handmade Gifts - 2023 (or in the artists' shops) will make it into your shopping basket - treat yourself or someone else! And remember this year: SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE!
Christmas in July 2023
Posted July 10, 2023
If you would like to participate in the “Christmas in July” promotion, share two of your items to the InLinkz below. Please make one “Christmasy” either in design, colors, etc. The other doesn’t have to be a Christmas design . . . but it can be if you want. If you do participate, please promote all items on at least two social media sites. And do the same for the blog I'll pull together featuring your items by the end of next week. Please tag with #ChristmasInJuly if you tweet out the items so they can be easily found and RTd. The InLinkz ends this Wednesday, July 12, at 5:00 MDST. I hope to have the blog finished for Friday’s Twitter Tree. I look forward to seeing your wonderful items!
Buy Artisan Handmade for Mothers Day 2023 - Week 9
Posted May 9, 2023
Watch out! Mother’s Day will be here very, very soon - in fact, this coming Sunday, May 14. It’s still not too late to order a handmade gift (do it now!) from the beauties shared this week on the Countdown to Mother's Day 2023 Week 9. The Countdown was hosted again this year by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog. Hard to believe this is the last weel of the Countdown - time sure flies by! Despite that, 10 handmade artisans shared a total of 30 wonderfully unique items, some of them one of a kind designs. Browse the wide range of eye catching shares for this week, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom something that was HANDMADE from the heart! By shopping small, you'll also support a small indie business (and for that, we are eternally grateful!).
Buy Artisan Handmade for Mothers Day 2023 - Week 8
Posted May 2, 2023
If you haven't started shopping for Mother's Day gifts, you are quickly running out of time!!! Just a little less than two weeks from now and the big day for Mom will be here. To help you in your search for the perfect item, check out the Mother's Day Countdown 2023 - Week 8. It is a collection filled with unique artisan items, all handmade from the heart and most one of a kind. Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, each of the unique items, 29 beauties from 10 artists, will make a memorable gift for Mom on her day. This is the perfect time to start buying a gift(s) for your Mom - and, perhaps, for yourself! Items on the Countdown go quick so don't miss out. Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 8, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beautiful gift that was HANDMADE. Also you'll be supporting a small indie artist!
Buy Artisan Handmade for Mothers Day 2023 - Week 4
Posted April 4, 2023
It's hard to believe that week 4 of the Mother’s Day Countdown 2023 has come . . . and gone so quickly! It's now the beginning of April and Easter is next Sunday! The fun Countdown, hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, is a place where artisans come together and share three of their unique items. This week 11 handmade artists shared a total of 33 lovely items - each one a perfect gift for Mother’s Day. Since the big Mom day will be here before you know it - in about 6 weeks from now - this is the perfect time to start thinking about and buying a gift(s) for your Mom, grandmother or others. Be sure to browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 4, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a unique beauty that was artisan handmade from the heart. This year, definitely Make it a Handmade Mother's Day!
Buy Artisan Handmade for Mothers Day 2023 - Week 3
Posted March 28, 2023
Week 3 of the Mother’s Day Countdown 2023 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 one a wonderful gift for Mother’s Day. Since the big day will be here before you know it - on May 14 - 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 beauty that was artisan handmade from the heart. Be sure to buy handmade this Mother's Day and support a small indie business!
Buy Artisan Handmade for Mothers Day 2023 - Week 2
Posted March 21, 2023
It's hard to believe that week 2 of the Mother's Day Countdown 2023, hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog came and went so quickly! A total of 39 unique items were shared from 13 talented artists - each beauty a perfect Mother’s Day gift. Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it - on May 14th, less than 2 months from now - this is the perfect time to start thinking about and buying a gift(s) for your mom, grandmother, aunties and other loves ones. Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 2, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beauty that was handmade from the heart, many of which are one of a kind designs. This year, please support small artisan handmade shops!
Pick a Bouquet of Spring Flowers - Artisan Handmade Floral Gifts
Posted February 19, 2023
Spring unlocks the flowers to paint the laughing soil.
~ Bishop Reginald Heber ~
I have always loved the quote shared above. Bishop Reginald Heber (1783-1826), well known for his poetry, describes in just a few words the joyousness of spring on the return of flowers. I, myself, can’t wait to finish the new flower bed I started digging last fall and filling it with native plants chosen specifically for pollinators of all types. Let the flowers paint the laughing soil! And let the colorful flowers be an important food source for bees of all types, flower flies, butterflies, moths, wasps and hummingbirds.
With all-things-flower in mind, I invited artist friends to share two of their floral designs. As you will see in the beautiful items below, there is a wide range of flowers to be had, from note cards to jewelry, from lampwork beads to photography, from photography to digital art and many, many more! Be sure to pick a bouquet of floral beauties and support small handmade businesses!
For Twitter, please use the hashtag #SpringFlowers.
Gorgeous Gifts for Valentines Day - Artisan Handmade
Posted January 5, 2023
Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. Walk into most stores shortly after Christmas (or sometimes before!) and hearts, cupids and other items in pink and red will assail you from every direction. Flowers, candy and gifts are exchanged between loved ones throughout the United States and in many other countries around the world . . . all in the name of St. Valentine. Although the exact history of St. Valentine is shrouded in mystery, February has long been celebrated as a month of romance. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both ancient Roman and Christian traditions, with some other thrown in for good measure.
