Countdown to Christmas 2014

Can you believe that 11 weeks of the Countdown to Christmas 2014 has already come and gone and we are in the month of December? AND . . . there is only 1 more week left? The ever advancing Christmas clock says there are ONLY 22 days, 7 hours and 57 minutes from when I posted this to when Christmas shows up at our doorsteps, whether we are ready or not.

"Whispering Winds" oval dichroic fused glass pendant handmade by Jo of Umeboshi

To help you with your Christmas shopping, Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions, have hosted (for the 3rd year in a row), a Countdown to Christmas showcase on their BluPrint blog. LOTS of fabulous gift ideas were shared, 68 to be exact! Knitted, crocheted and sewn items, jewelry, lampwork, glass art, gift tags, woodworking, dog apparel, jewelry supplies and much more were shared. When you do your Christmas shopping (hopefully from this or one of the past Countdowns), remember to BUY HANDMADE!!!

Victorian wreath dangle earrings with gold filigree connectors handmade by Kathy of Specialtivity

Shop owners from ArtFire, Zibbet, SupaDupa, Etsy, stand alone websites and the like are welcome to share up to three gift items on the Countdown 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.

Red and white fused glass Christmas tree pendant necklace handmade by Kelli of ResetarGlassArt

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 participating in the Countdown who promote you!

Helm weave silver filled flower earrings with whit pearls handmade by Mary of Omisilver

In addition to saving each item for the countdown collection to my Pinterest board and Wanelo collection, I decided to share my favorite item from each of the ArtFire artists who participated in this post - fabulous for long lived backlinks (and we all want and need those!). Here are the rest of my picks for Week 11 in an order only known to me:

Long and lacy lavender blue hand knit scarf handmade by Nancy of jazzitupwithdesignsbynancy

Natural serpentine sterling silver pendant with pink cubic zirconia handmade by Diane of DianesDangles

Purple kaleidoscope polymer clay pillow beads, set of 6, handmade by Nancy of Wyverndesigns

Guitar bar pendant exchange for large hole beads with slip knot cord by Connie of TheSingingBeader

Red petal in green lace crocheted coaster or decoration, set of 2, handmade by Ruth of RSSDesignsInFiber

Pink roses and green leaves polymer clay beads handmade by Julie of polymerclaybeads

Multi gemstone double wrap tan leather Christmas bracelet handmade by Kat of KatsAllThat

Pretty poinsettia hanging dish towel with knit topper and ties handknit by Sharon of HollyKnitterCreations

Crocheted green ruffled dress set handmade by Cathy of CraftingMemories

Christmas gift tags, set of 15 Christmas custom designs, handmade by Mary Beth of TheTwistedRedhead

Christmas penguin gift card or money holders, set of 3, handmade by Donna of SewAmazin

Horse charm adjustable bracelet with green rhyolite, amethyst and wood handmade by Mary of PrettyGonzo

Crocheted stuffed lion with fluffy mane and tail handmade by Nina of ninascorner

Christmas red, green and white aventurine bracelet handmade by Sandy of IslandsOfTime

Five-strand red coral Christmas necklace handmade by Eve of EvezBeadz

Southwestern color lampwork beads in ivory, petroleum green and turquoise handmade by Charlotte of Covergirlbeads

"My Ponies Jumped Over the Moon" pewter pendant necklace with crazy lace agate and pearls 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 10 collection hosted by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions. To see all of the shares, please click here: Countdown to Christmas. 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!