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Valentines Day Gifts: Artisan Handmade or Designed - Week 4, 2026
Posted February 5, 2026
Just a warning: Valentine's Day is just a kittle over one week away, Saturday, 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 with traditional and non-traditional Valentine's designs included. Even better yet, 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 item in the artistan's shop. Be sure to also browse all the other wonders in the shops! To see all of the gift ideas in one place, here’s a link: Valentine's Day Gifts: Artisan Handmade or Designed - 2026. 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!!!
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Valentines Day Gifts: Artisan Handmade or Designed - Week 3, 2026
Posted January 29, 2026
Yikes! Here is it near the end of January already . . . which means Valentine's Day is just a bit over 2 weeks away (February 14)!!! For ease of shopping for the big day, Week 3 of the gift blog, hosted by 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 the link: Valentines Day Gifts: Artisan Handmade or Designed - 2026. ALL of the gifts shared here were created by small indie business owners. Please be sure to SHOP SMALL for this Valentine's Day. We will certainly appreciate that!!!
Here are the featured items for this week:
Valentines Day Gifts: Artisan Handmade or Designed - Week 1, 2026
Posted January 15, 2026
Valentine's Day will be here before we know it, February 14, almost a month away. With that in mind, a collection of wonderful Valentine's Day gifts were pulled together. Each week for the next four weeks, a blog will be posted on the site of Shadow Dog Designs to share the artisan handmade / designed beauties that were posted to an Inlinkz. There are plenty of Valentine's Day themed items, but also ones that are not so distinctly traditional Valentine's gifts. Many can be worn / used all year long. If something catches your eye, be sure to click either the photo or the description below to be taken to the artistan's shop. To see all of the gift ideas in one place, be sure to click this link: Valentines Day Gifts: Artisan Handmade or Designed - 2026. All of the gifts shared here were created by small business owners. Be sure to SHOP SMALL this Valentine's Day and support an idie business. We will certainly appreciate that!
Christmas Open House: Shop Local this Holiday Season!
Posted November 30, 2025
This coming weekend, December 6 and 7, 2025, Nina Eaton of Nina Eaton Photography is hosting a Christmas Open House. And she invited me participate again! THANK YOU, Nina!! In addition, another friend, Callie, will be joining us with her homemade natural skin care items. If you are finishing up your holiday shopping (or haven't even started yet!) or need unique stocking stuffers, stop by for a wide assortment of gifts. Nina will have a large selection of her award winning El Paso photography: matted and gallery wrap prints, stone coasters, trivets, calendars, mouse pads and other photographic beauties. Callie will bring a selection of her amazing natural skin care items. FYI, I use one of her body butters, "Suave Spice," almost every day. I'll have a wide variety of my mostly one of a kind handmade earrings and necklaces, including Christmas earrings created with mega-sparkle vintage 1950's Austian / German crystals. You'll find many more designs at the Open House than are listed in my Shadow Dog Designs shop. Additionally, the wide selection of Christmas earrings will be 10% off and there will be some deep discounts on other pieces of jewelry.
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 9 Favorites - 2025
Posted November 11, 2025
Warning! Warning!!! Christmas is quickly barreling down on us! It's hard to believe it will be here soon. And the ever ticking Your Christmas Counrdown Clock let up: according to the clock, there are only 42 day (as of today) before Santa and his traveling reindeer buddies start their journey. And, also hard to believe is that week 9 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 has come and gone. The Countdown is where artists come together to share three of their unique (often one of a kind) creations and then promote each other. This week, eleven artists shared a total of 33 unique items. The twelve week Countdown to Christmas, hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, is the perfect place to start / end your holiday shopping. Find those special gifts for loved ones on the Countdown! An excellent motto to follow this holiday season is : SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support hardworking indie shop owners!
In addition to promoting each handmade item from the Countdown collection to my "Countdown to a Handmade Christmas 2025" Pinterest board (and others) and also on my Twitter feed, I share one item on my blog from each of the artists who participated this week. Here are my "favorites" picks of the items. I hope you enjoy these unique items!
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 8 Favorites - 2025
Posted November 4, 2025
The weeks are going by so, so fast! Week 8 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 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 50 days! Yikes!!!! Need a perfect place to start / finish your Christmas shopping? The Countdown - a place for artists to come together and share three of their unique gifts - 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, 30 items, many which are one of a kind designs, from 10 artists are featured. The artists shared a wide range of handmade gift ideas: jewelry, lampwork beads, art prints, throw pillows, home decor, keychains, baby gifts, 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 2025" 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 - 2025
Posted October 14, 2025
Where does the time go - It seems to go by more and more quickly each week! Case in point is that week 5 of the Countdown to Christmas has already come and gone! According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 71 days 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 comtinue to host a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2025 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, 9 artiss left a total of 27 handmade / designed items. The collection is wide-ranging gift collection: different styles of jewelry, stickers of various types, phtotography, Christmas ornaments, home decor, watercolor prints, lampwork beads and much. 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. My favorites for Week 5 are:
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 4 Favorites - 2025
Posted October 7, 2025
Who would have believed how quickly Week 4 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 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 78 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 2025 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, part of their Blue Morning Expressions Shopify shop. This week, there were 27 shares from 9 artists featuring a wide range of gifts: unique jewelry designs, holiday gift tags, note cards, stickers, lampwork beads, napkins, home decor 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 - 2025
Posted September 30, 2025
It's amazing just how quickly Week 3 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 flew by with October just around the corner. According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 85 days until jolly Santa Claus and his merry band of reindeer are delivering packages (or lumps of coal) once again. With the rapidly approaching gift giving season in mind, Julie and her handsome four-footed sidekick, Harry, are hosting a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2025 of artisan handmade items on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, part of their Blue Morning Expressions Shopify shop. This week, there were 24 shares by 8 artists featuring a wide range of truly unique gift ideas: jewelry of all types, party tags, photographic and digital art, watercolors prints, note cards, key chains, linens 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 - 2025
Posted September 23, 2025
Week 2 of the Countdown to Christmas 2025 has already come . . . and gone! No worries, however, because many unique artisan handmade / designed items were left in its wake. According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 92 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 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 27 shares by 9 artists featuring a wide range of gift ideas: unique jewelry, lampwork beads, Christmas stickers, note cards, photographic art for the home, pennants 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 SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE to support an appreciative 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:
