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Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - 2022 - Week 1
Posted September 20, 2022
Wow! It seems like Christmas was just a few months ago. It’s very hard to believe that Christmas is only 95 days away according to the ever ticking Christmas clock. With that in mind, it's definitely not too early to start thinking about all those people on your Christmas shopping list. What should you get them??? A perfect place to start looking (and buying!) is the 12 week Countdown to Christmas 2022 collections. Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Shopify blog, the collections will be filled with a wide variety of artisan handmade / designed gifts. A new collection will be added each week through the first full week of December. This week, there were 27 shares from 9 handmade artists: unique jewelry of all types (earrings, bracelets and necklaces), baby gifts, party stickers / gift tags, fun thumbtacks / magnets, Halloween gifts and more. A good motto to follow through these weeks leading up to Christmas: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses!
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Halloween - Spooky Artisan Handmade Goodies - 2022
Posted September 11, 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!
A Mixed Bag - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted August 13, 2020
This week’s Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday is a mixed bag of fun items, three items from three artists. I checked my thesaurus for synonyms for “mixed bag” and picked out some of my favorites words, some I’ve never seen before : admixture, anthology, collectanea, farrago, gallimaufry, medley, mingle-mangle, potpourri, salmagundi and smorgasbord. What a fun selection of words! And you’ll find this week’s Three for Thursday an equally fun mélange of artisan handmade beauties. The three artists featured are Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions; Jacki of Christie Cottage; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. Enjoy this mixed bag of handmade gifts for a loved one or for yourself.
Follow Your Heart - Handmade Valentines Day Gifts
Posted January 23, 2020
Love is something eternal; the aspect may change, but not the essence. - Vincent van Gogh
By now, everyone is aware that Valentine’s Day (or St. Valentine’s Day) is rapidly approaching; it will be here in less than a month, on February 14th. Many stores have been decked out in hearts, cards, red roses, candy and cupids since the day after Christmas so it’s a day that’s hard to miss.
Since the most common Valentine's Day symbol is the heart, the new "Follow Your Heart" Three for Thursday blog is dedicated hearts. Three beautifully unique heart items are shared from three handmade artist friends. Some of the items are more traditional and some are not - but all will make a perfect Valentine’s Gift for your loved one. The artists featured are: Julie from Blue Morning Expressons; Heather from BluKatDesign; and, me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. If something catches your eye, click on the photo or the description and you’ll be taken to the item in the shop. I hope you enjoy each and every heart.
All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt. - Charles M. Schulz
Artisan Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas - Tuesday Tag - December 17, 2019
Posted December 17, 2019
Please share your tagged items on the host blog: CHRISTIE COTTAGE
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 6
Posted October 30, 2018
Week 6 of the Countdown to Christmas quickly came and went and a unique collection of artisan handmade items were shared for all to see. According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, the jolly man pulled by his team of flying reindeer visit all good boys and girls in only 55 days! Looking to start your Christmas shopping? The Countdown is the perfect place to do just that! A good motto to follow: shop early, shop often! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE!
4th of July - Celebrate a Handmade Red, White and Blue Holiday!
Posted June 26, 2018
When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson.
The 4th of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4th, has a tradition of celebrations goes back to the American Revolution. When the initial battles of the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, very few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain. But, by the middle of the following year, the idea of independence grew due to the growing hostility against draconian British laws and the spread of revolutionary sentiments, such as the pamphlet published in early 1776 by Thomas Paine, called “Common Sense.”
All Creatures Great and Small - Artisan Handmade
Posted May 19, 2018
I’ll be the first to admit that I am an avid reader - always have been and, I imagine, always will be. It seems I have at least 3-4 books going at the same time and have a stack of books by the bed. One of my all time favorite books, one I have read time and time again, is James Herriot’s (real name, James Alfred Wight) All Creatures Great and Small. I loved that book the most, but also loved the other three in the series: All Things Bright and Beautiful, All Things Wise and Wonderful and The Lord God Made Them All (and the other numerous books he wrote). The books made me laugh and also made me cry as Herriot related his life as a country vet in the fictional town of Darrowby, Yorkshire. The people he encountered were funny and sometimes maddening, but it was the description of the animals that touched my heart. You could tell Herriot really, truly cared for the animals. By the way, I also thoroughly enjoyed the BBC series on TV . . . but the books were so much better.
Great Gift Ideas for a Handmade Mothers Day - Week 9
Posted May 8, 2018
Watch out! Mother’s Day will be here next Sunday May 13! It’s not too late to order a handmade gift from the beauties shared this week on the Mother’s Day Countdown 2018, hosted again this year by Julie of Blue Morning Expressions on her The Blu Print blog. Week 9 came and went and fourteen handmade artisans and one preowned seller shared a total of 45 wonderful items items. Browse the wide range of unique shares for this week - many of them one of a kind designs - visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom something that was HANDMADE from the heart!
Gift Ideas for a Handmade Mothers Day - Week 6
Posted April 17, 2018
Can you believe Week 6 of the Mother’s Day Countdown 2018 has already come and gone? Only four more weeks of the Countdown to go, graciously hosted by Julie of Blue Morning Expressions on her The Blu Print blog. This week, seventeen artisans shared a total of 51 beautifully handmade items. Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it, on Sunday, May 13, this is the perfect time to start making a list of gift ideas / buying a gift for your Mom. Browse the wide range of unique shares for this week, many of them one of a kind designs, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom something that was HANDMADE from the heart.
