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Make It a Handmade Mothers Day 2024 - Artisan Gifts - Week 5

 

 

Another week of the Countdown to Mother's Day 2024 has come and gone.  Hard to believe we're over 1/2 way through the promotion!  Week 5 of the Countdown, as all the weeks have been and will be, was hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog.  Thirty-three unique handmade / designed items were shared from eleven artists.  Many are one of a kind and each will make a memorable gift for Mom on her big day.  Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it, on May 12, this is the perfect time to think about and start buying a gift(s) for your Mom, grandmom, aunts . . . and, perhaps, for yourself.  Browse all the wonderful handmade shares on the Countdown - Week 5, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beautiful gift that came from the heart.  For this year's Mother's Day:  PLEASE BUY HANDMADE and help 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!

 

 

Oldies But Goodies - Unique Artisan Handmade Gifts

 

 

Whenever someone says “Oldies But Goodies,” most people think of old songs (especially from a jukebox - remember those?), vintage cars, lots of items on the Antiques Roadshow or, possibly, themselves (after . . . *ahem* . . .  a certain age).  However the term, “Oldies But Goodies,” also refers to items in our artisan handmade shops that have been around for longer than the artist who made it would like.  Whenever something is created and then listed in our shops, we always think it will sell right away.  Some do.  But, for whatever reason, some beauties sit there . . . and sit there . . . and sit there some more. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that particular item - not at all!!!  It just hasn’t found that forever person to give it a forever home.

 

I asked artisan friends to share two items from their handmade shops that they considered “oldies but goodies.”  Many of the items are one of a kind creations and would make a perfect gift for a birthday, an anniversary, for Christmas, or just because . . . I hope something catches your eye and that you visit the shops of the artists below.  And that many of the “oldie” items find a loving home.

 

 

 

Hot Summer Fun - Artisan Handmade Gifts

 

 

It’s hard to believe that we are already through a good part of the first week of June with most of the scorching summer still ahead of us - even though it’s not yet “officially” summer (June 21 at 3:14 a.m. MDT this year).  Up until the last few days, summer here in the Desert Southwest has been relatively mild.  BUT the triple digits have finally set in and the AC seems to run continuously.  As everyone says:  at least it’s a dry heat!  June is usually our hottest month.  And then the monsoon season sets in where we get most of the 9” of rain that is normal for this part of the desert.  Everyone is praying that the rains do start soon on schedule, normally at the end of June.  For the past several years, a big storm has shown up on the 4th of July where we can enjoy Mother Nature’s fireworks - and then the scheduled fireworks once the storm blows through, all from the comfort of our upstairs porch.  Hope that happens again this year since it’s quite spectacular.

 

 

 

'Twas the Thursday Before Christmas - Three for Thursday - Handmade

 

 

Here it is, the Thursday before Christmas with one more weekend to do holiday shopping.   Shopping online is still doable if you order now and have the package sent out by USPS Priority Mail.  The deadline for Priority Mail shipping is December 21, this Saturday. To help you with those last minute purchases, I wanted to share three unique items from three handmade artists:  Mary of PrettyGonzo; Jacki of Christie Cottage; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy the items chosen today. 

An Artisan Handmade Christmas - Gift Ideas - Week 6

 

 

It’s hard to imagine that we’re half-way finished with the twelve week Countdown to Christmas 2019!  Yikes, that means Christmas is bearing down on us and will soon be here! According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, there are only 56 days until Jolly Ol’ Santa and his merry band of reindeer arrive once again.  Now is the perfect time to start your holiday shopping and the Countdown is the perfect place! Remember this motto: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE!

 

 

 

We Have the Blues - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

 

Blues is a tonic for whatever ails you. I could play the blues and then not be blue anymore.

B. B. King


 

Even though the above quote by B. B. King is about music, it can also be about the color blue.  According to psychologists, the popularity of the color may take root in our evolutionary development. In the early hunter-gatherer days, those drawn to positive things - like clear blue skies and clean blue hued water were more likely to survive.  Over time, this preference for the color blue may have become hard-wired. To this day, the color blue is still a favorite color worldwide.

Christmas in July - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

 

 

All this month, merchants celebrate “Christmas in July.”  Believe it or not, the real Christmas will be here before we know it - yikes!  To celebrate Christmas in July, I decided to share items from three handmade artists that either have holiday items on sale or are offering free shipping.  The items range from sweet baby clothing, to unique ornaments, to fun Christmas art, and to sparkling holiday jewelry. The three artists are: Pamela of MagdaleneKnits; Jacki of Christie Cottage; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.

 

I hope you enjoy these selections.  Don’t wait! Start your Christmas shopping early while there is a wide selection of unique handmade beauties.

Spring Flowers - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower . . . John Harrigan

 

 

If you are a flower gardener (like I am) and grow many flowers from seeds, you truly understand the above statement.  So much beauty is bound up in a single flower seed which, like magic, can transform into a breathtaking flower.  I find happiness in just holding flower seeds and dreaming of the infinite possibility of what they will become. And when that magic happens - a seedling appears, a plant grows, a bud unfurls and a flower faces the sun - I am truly happy, awe struck and humbled.  And if I can share those flowers with family and friends, so much the better.

Delicate Easter Colors - Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday

 

 

Easter is a symbol of hope, renewal, and new life. 

Janine di Giovanni

 

 

Since yesterday was Ash Wednesday - and Easter is approximately six weeks away - I started thinking about Easters past, always large gatherings of family and friends.  But, before everyone showed up at our house, we went to Easter Sunrise mass, the only time my father was ever cajoled into going to church. As a child, I always remember getting a new Easter dress, usually with a matching headband, socks and gloves(!) to wear to church on Easter Sunday.  And if my sister and I were lucky, a small purse would be included. Very stylish, indeed, and usually VERY itchy! The clothes were always spring pastel in color: pinks, pale yellows, pale greens, pale blues and such. A preview of all the pastel colored Easter eggs that were waiting to be found!

 

This week’s Three for Thursday features three items from three handmade artists that definitely are filled with the renewal of Easter springtime colors.  The artists are: jewelry artist Mary of PrettyGonzo; crochet artist Pamela of MagdaleneKnits; and, me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs, also a jewelry artist.  I hope you enjoy my choices. And be sure to visit the artists’ shops for more splendiferous designs!

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