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Make It a Handmade Mothers Day - Artisan Gifts - Week 2

 

 

It's hard to believe that week 2 of the Countdown to Mother's Day 2024, hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog came and went so quickly.  A total of 30 unique items were shared from 10 talented artists - each beauty a perfect Mother’s Day gift!  Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it - on May 12th, about 8 weeks 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 of the Countdown, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beauty that was handmade / designed from the heart.  Many of the items are one of a kind designs.  This year, please support small indie shops!  When you do so, you make us VERY happy!

 

Here are my favorites from Week 2:

 

 

A Fantasia of Flowers - Artisan Handmade Floral Gifts

 

 

Here in the Desert Southwest, you can feel that spring is not far off.  The days are getting longer and warmer, the winds are getting . . . . well . . . . windier, and, despite not having much rain in the last several months, flowers are beginning to stir and put on buds, a prelude to their much anticipated appearance before the heat sets in.  I saw the first swallows of the season yesterday, soaring and dipping through the arroyo that butts up against our back yard.  Other bird migrants will soon be here - some will pass on through and some will stay to nest.  Hummingbirds are greatly anticipated as are the butterflies, bees and wasps, all of which I hope will make good use of the new pollinator flower bed that has been a long, slow process in the making.  Life is good.

 

Thinking about flowers reminds me of a favorite floral quote by the Impressionist painter, Claude Monet, who painted many amazing floral landscapes and cultivated large flower gardens at Giverny:  

 

 

“I MUST HAVE FLOWERS, ALWAYS, AND ALWAYS”  

 

 

I TOTALLY agree with him!

 

The flowers shared below blossomed in the creative minds, hearts and souls of each artist featured.  I hope you enjoy browsing all these cheerful artisan handmade / designed spring beauties.  And be sure to visit the shops of the artisans featured for even more to choose from.  After all, Easter and Mother’s Day will quickly be here!

 

 

 

Floral Fantasies - Artisan Handmade Gifts

 

 

 

Spring will be here soon (yay!) and cheerful flowers will be blooming en masse.  I thought it would be fun to pull together a colorful flower blog featuring unique artisan handmade / designed gifts.  If you want to participate, please share two items with a floral design.  The link up is open now and closes this Monday at 12:00 noon MST.  I plan to have the blog ready to be promoted on Wednesday’s Twitter Tree.  If you do participate, you know the drill . . . please promote each item and the blog on at least 2 social media sites.  It will be great if you promote the items from BOTH the link up AND the blog (that’s what I’ll be doing).  I look forward to seeing what you share!

Gorgeous Gifts - Artisan Handmade for Valentines Day!

 

 

Valentine’s Day, February 14, will be here before we know it.  When you walk into most stores shortly after Christmas (or even sometimes before!), 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 (or Valentinus) is shrouded in mystery (there are actually three St. Valentines recognized by the Catholic Church to consider!), February has long been celebrated as a month of romance.  Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both ancient Roman (Lupercalia) and Christian traditions, with a few other influences thrown in for good measure. 

 

This year for Valentine's Day, don't think abour buying mass produced from large companies.  Think, instead of supporting a small, indie business, people who actually make or design the items themselves.  Scroll down and you'll see 26 items, many are one of a kind and handmade from the heart!  Any of items highlighted will make a wonderful gift for a loved one.  Remember:  SHOP SMALL and support a small indie artist!

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 5, 2023

 

 

Time 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 60 days (2 months!!!) before the ho-ho-ho'ing, reindeer driving man clothes in red and white arrives once again. With the rapidly approaching holiday season in mind, Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions comtimue to host a twelve-week Countdown to Christmas 2023 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, 36 handmade/designed items from 12 artists were shared in the wide-ranging gift collection: jewelry of different styles, Christmas ornaments, throw pillows,nurse hoodie, a wire kippah. lampwork beadsand more.  Remember this motto: SHOP EARLY and 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 5:  

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 2, 2023

 

 

Week 2 of the Countdown to Christmas 2023 has already come . . . and gone,  No worries because unique artisan handmade / designed items were left in its wake.  According to the ever ticking Your Christmas Countdown Clock, there are only 81 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 2023 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 30 shares by 10 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 items from each artist (hard to do!) and feature them here on my blog.  These are my favorites for Week 2:   

 

 

 

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Favorites - Week 1, 2023

 

 

Amazing!!!  It seems like Christmas was here just a few months ago . . . especially when the Christmas Countdown Clock says there are only 88 days (as of today) before Christmas is here!  With that in mind, it's definitely not too early to start thinking about all those people on your Christmas shopping list.  Where to start????  What should you get them???  A perfect place to shop (and hopefully buy)) is the 12 week Countdown to Christmas 2023 collections.  Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Buy Handmade from Makers blog, the collections will be filled with a wide variety of artisan handmade / designed gifts.  A new collection will be added each Friday through the second weekend of December.  On week 1 of the Countdown to Christmas, there were 36 shares from 12 handmade artists: unique jewelry, Halloween gifts, lampwork beads, party invitations / stickers / kits, tote bags, baby gifts, Christmas ornaments, home decor and more.  A good motto to follow through these weeks leading up to Christmas is:  SHOP EARLYSHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie sellers!

 

Here are favorites from Week 1 of the Countdown to Christmas:

 

 

Happy Halloween - Spooky Artisan Handmade Goodies - 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!

 

 

 

Artisan Handmade Gifts - Thank You

 

 

Recently, I asked several artisan friends to aprticipate in a "Christmas in July - Artisan Handmade Gifts - 2023" blog promotion, involving leaving two items on an InLinkz.  Once the InLinkz ended, I pulled together a blog featuring the wonderful items.  All items from the InLinkz and the blog were to be promoted on at least two social media sites.  That's the usual deal for the many years we have been promoting each others items.  Twelve friends participated, making a total of thirteen counting me.  To thank the seven artists who took the time to stop by and leave a blog comment (as of writing this, Wednesday morning the 19th), I decided to pull together an "Artisan Handmade Gifts - Thank You" blog.  From each shop, I chose an item that immediately caught my eye and shared them here in the order of the comments left.  I hope you visit the shops of these wonderful artists.  And remember to SHOP SMALL and to SHOP HANDMADE.  

 

 

New Handmade Earrings and Necklaces - Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

Since the heat wave that set in about a week ago has not let up, I find it too hot to go outside and photograph new jewelry (which I normally do around noonish).  Photographing is something I really need to do, but I'll wait until it cools down a bit.  So I decided to pull together a blog that features the eleven newest jewelry designs in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS jewelry shop,  three new necklace and eight pairs of earrings.  Each piece was designed and handmade by me and they are all one of a kind designs.  If something catches your eye and you would like to look at more photos and read more about the piece, please click on the picture or the description underneath to be taken to the item listing.  I hope you enjoy each and every piece as much as I love creating them!

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