Week 5 of the Countdown to Christmas has come and gone . . . the Christmas clock just keeps ticking away, second by second (by the way, 65 days, 3 hours and 39 minutes from when I posted this). MANY fabulous handmade and vintage items were shared in this week's Countdown, which is hosted each week by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions. Seventy-seven (77) items were shared. If you can't find something for even your most pickies of great-aunties in this or the four preceding Countdowns, you aren't going to find it! So sit back in your comfy chair and start making that Christmas shopping list. Heck, order now! And remember: BUY HANDMADE.
Ceramic and polymer clay parrot / macaw collectible thimble handmade by Julie of BlueMorningExpressions
Shop owners from ArtFire, Zibbet, SupaDupa, Etsy, stand alone websites and the like are welcome to share up to three gift items between Friday at noon (12:00 p.m.) and Monday morning at 12:01 a.m. Then a new Countdown to Christmas collection will begin again the next Friday, same time, same place. This will continue until the second week of December. The items shared need to be G-rated.
Black glass pearl and 24k gold plated metal beaded earrings handmade by Cathy of craftingmemories
The rules for participating in the Countdown are easy: if you share items on the Countdown, you MUST promote the collection and EACH item on at least one social network site, preferably Pinterest and/or Wanelo where the items can be easily found and saved again. It's only fair to promote the artists who promote you!
Persimmon colored hand knit wrap, scarf or neckwarmer in a lacy stitch handmade by Nancy of jazzitupwithdesignsbynancy
In addition to saving each item for the countdown collection to my Pinterest board or Wanelo collection, I decided to share my favorite item from each of the ArtFire artists who participated. Fabulous for backlinks (and we all want and need those!). Here are the rest of my picks in no particular order:
"Blue Oasis" crocheted Bruges lace small ovals, set of 2, handmade by Ruth of RSSDesignsinFiber
Autumn purple, green and antique copper dainty bracelet handmade by Linda of jnldesigns
Frosty glass star Christmas ornament, 3.5", handmade with clear iridized glass by Kellie of ResetarGlassArt
Cinnamon brown dachshund / doxie puppy dog padded zipper case or pouch handmade by Donna of SewAmazin
Breast cancer awareness bracelet / chaplet with a sterling silver ribbon and cross handmade by Mary of PrettyGonzo
Crystal prism window suncatcher or ornament with lampwork beads handmade by Barbara of SolanaKaiDesigns
Sterling silver bass drum necklace for a band or music student by Connie of TheSingingBeader
"Metallic Forest" green and clear textured dichroic fused glass earrings handmade by Jo of Umeboshi
Red coral, turquoise and pewter feather dangle earrings handmade by Kat of KatsAllThat
Dapper dog gift tags with a chevron motif handmade by Nat of adorebynat
Froggy reversible fleece ear flap hat, fits toddler to older child, handmade by Nancy of Wyverndesigns
Hawaiian orange clay lampwork glass beads with fine silver handmade by Charlotte of Covergirlbeads
Child's holiday gingerbread man apron set with potholder and cookie cutter handmade by Mary Beth of TheTwistedRedhead
Red and green holly berry cold process artisan soap handmade by Irena of Gingers-Garden
Brown leather bracelet with antique brass flower and Swarovski crystals handmade by Kathy of Specialtivity
Turquoise, ivory and red Southwest lampwork bead earrings handmade by Catherine of ShadowDogDesigns
So there you have it, my picks for this week. All of the amazing items shared above are just a sampling of the gift ideas that can be found in the Countdown to Christmas 2014 - Week 5 collection hosted by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions. To see all of the shares, please click here: Countdown. I hope at least one . . . and possibly several . . . of these handmade items caught your eye and found their way to your shopping list. Shop early - shop often!
MANY, MANY thanks to Julie and Blu for hosting the Countdown to Christmas again for the third year!
If you would love to make my day and the day of the artist's featured, please leave a comment. And any promotion that can be done will be greatly appreciated by all. Thank you so much!
Here are the links to the other four collections in the 2014 Countdown:
My contact information:
Artfire studio: ShadowDogDesigns
Blog: ShadowDogDesigns' Blog
Facebook: ShadowDogDesigns - Jewelry
Twitter: ShadowDogDesign
Pinterest: Shadow Dog Designs
Wanelo: ShadowDog
SocialBliss: Catherine Waterhouse
Rebelmouse: ShadowDogDesigns
Google+: Catherine W
Zibbet: ShadowDogDesigns
SupaDupa: Shadow Dog Designs
Flickr: Shadow Dog Designs' Photostream