Blog entry

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.

Make It a Handmade Christmas 2021 - Week 3

It's amazing how quickly Week 3 of the Countdown to Christmas sped right on by . . . and a wide variety of gorgeous artisan handmade items have been left in its wake.  According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, there are only 80 days until Christmas is here . . . once again. Shopping the Countdown to Christmas is the perfect place to start your holiday gift gathering.  A good motto to follow: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses!