Holiday Shopping - Handmade Style

by Sherri Stokey

We usually focus on handmade jewelry here at Love my Art Jewelry, but holiday shopping is well underway at my house and not everyone on my list is into jewelry.   I'm on a mission to buy as many handmade gifts as possible and having a great time shopping!  Want some clever ideas?  How about a book purse?

How awesome is that!?  Karen at Novel Creations repurposes used books into purses that might just be the perfect gift for the avid reader on your list, and she has a a great selection from classic literature to vampire romances from which to choose!  

Do you have a music fan on your list?  Dave at LP Vinyl Art takes iconic records and cuts them into intricate designs that are seriously cool.  If you're not into Fleetwood Mac (shame on you!), he's got lots and lots of other options and will even work with you on a custom order if you can't find the perfect one.

Rasure Prints has these maps printed on cork so the recipient can keep track of all the places they have visited (or dream of visiting).  Adena has several variations available including world maps, USA and individual states and you can even have her include the thumbtacks if you like.

Got someone on your list who is far from home?  Diane at iiwii emporium makes jewelry you can have customized with the coordinates of home.  Is there any sweeter message on the inside of a cuff bracelet or a little pendant to be worn close to their hearts?

The little critters on your list can be warm and cozy no matter how cold the weather gets in a crocheted hat from Christine at RhinoSaurusRexKnits.  She makes each one from her own designs and offers all kinds of critters for people small and large (yes, she has adult sizes).  

Don't you love this little box?  Mary at ColorCantHurtYou paints her original paisley designs everything from boxes and vases to shoes and picture frames!  Once you get a taste of color, you can't help but fall in love with these Mason Jar Lanterns from MK Connection:

Gosh, I'm in love with those!!  Monique has other sizes and colors and patterns available, but they all have the gorgeous, vibrant hues and the henna inspired patterns. 

Aren't these great ideas?  And I'm not even finished yet!  We all have those people on our lists who are impossible to buy for.  My go-to is usually a food gift from one of the big companies, but this year, I'm going off the beaten path.

How good does this cranberry dark chocolate shortbread from Butter Blossoms look?  Fresh baked to order from their signature shortbread recipe and then tucked snugly into your choice of packaging and sent off to the lucky gift recipient.  What a great solution if you don't have the time (or the talent) for holiday baking!  And speaking of edible gifts:

I'm positively atwitter at these edible game tiles!  Jason and Andie from Andie's Specialty Sweets offer a set with 16 letter tiles (you get to pick the letters!) and two racks made from their own candy recipe (you really can eat your words!).  They also have edible sand and seashells, chocolate vintage buttons (be still my heart) and the cutest little acorns ever.

Last, but not least, if you're a traditionalist and like to give a little box of chocolates, these organic dark chocolate paisley swirls are the sweetest thing I've seen in a long time.  Mackenzie at map chocolate creates her chocolate herself, starting with the beans.and offers products from hot chocolate mix, cacao for brewing and even an artisan chocolate baking kit.  I want one of everything!

So what do you think?  Have I convinced you that there's a perfect handmade gift for everyone on your list?  I'm just worried I'm going to run out of names before I run out of ideas!!

Last Minute Gifts That Will ROCK Your Christmas! By Karen McGovern

Christmas is, like, a month away....right?

  

Ah, the joy of realizing the week before Christmas that you still have 25 gifts to magically make appear.  If you are like me, you wait until that golden moment of panic/procrastination hits and you rush to your laptop and order everyone you forgot about something "thoughtful" from Wallgreens like socks with toes in them, or whatever else is left for sale on Amazon in the hours before Christmas.  DON'T BE THIS PERSON!

Even if you find yourself scrambling for last-minute gifts, there is no need to panic or end up buying crap you then have to GIFT WRAP like it's something actually NICE.  No one wants to open a nicely wrapped gift to find A JAR OF PICKLES.  Unless that's your thing...then, YEAH?

So, I am here to give you some super-cool, EASY, and INEXPENSIVE ideas for gifts that will make you KING/QUEEN OF THE HOLIDAY PARTY.  Your welcome....

1.  The hilarious gag gift.  Anything from Archie McPhee.  How can you resist a website who's tag line is: "Archie McPhee has the best toys, gifts, candy and novelties on the internet. We love the same things you do: unicorns, bacon, mustaches and underpants." My favorite item this year is the Centaur Santa Claus. Cause...SANTA HAS AN AMAZING SIX-PACK!  So, for those on your list with a slightly twisted sense of humor, get them HANDERPANTS and move on.

2. For the person who loves technology.  BOOMFS.  What are Boomfs, you ask?  Only MARSHMALLOWS PRINTED WITH IMAGES YOU UPLOAD TO THE SITE! Serioulsy!  How cool is this?  I bought everyone Boommfs last year and got rave reviews.  This is especially wonderful for Grandparents--imagine how they will love getting a box of marshmallows all with the Grandkids faces on them!!!  Then plopping those adorable faces into a piping hot cup of cocoa and watching them melt....wait, that escalated rather quickly...Anyway, it's a fun, inexpensive gift to give that is easily personalized.  But hurry, they stop shipping SOON.

3. The gift that will make you look far more interesting than you probably are.....AN EXPERIENCE.  What do I mean?  Well, how about giving a gift that actually requires the recipient to DO SOMETHING?  Tickets or passes to a local museum/nature center/science museum/art show/concert/performance.  NOT MOVIE TICKETS, but tickets to an actual event or activity.  AND, throw in a disposable camera so they can share the experience after.  My local nature center offers open ended day passes, and I buy these all the time. I am lucky to live in Florida and can give things like passes that allow folks to go on sea turtle nest walks along the beach or visits to wildlife rehab centers. This type thing is a great stocking stuffer and you will be surprised...people sometimes actually LIKE being forced to leave the home....

Just imagine, this could be YOUR FAMILY...OUTSIDE!

4.  For the DIY-ers.  Put ANYTHING into a clear craft glass Christmas ornament from Michael's.  Seriously. ANYTHING placed inside a clear ornament is instantly ADORABLE. Got a friend with dogs?  Tuck a few dog treats into an ornament.  Cats?  CATNIP, DUH. You can put CHEX-MIX in a clear ornament and have a spectacular hostess gift.  Tea lover?  Cram a few Earl Gray bags inside.  Dried flowers, mini candy canes, lottery tickets, CASH, JEWELRY, it can all be stuffed into these ornaments and you are a HOLIDAY SUPERHERO.  How about wildflower seeds?  Heck, any seed at all!  Perfect for a gardener....A LOVE LETTER!  Photographs!  If I wasn't late and trying to get this post up, I bet I could sit here and think of 12 BILLION things you could tuck into one of these ornaments to create a really thoughtful, cool gift. I am personally making many of these this year.  I would love to tell you what I am putting inside, but I can't because a few of the folks getting this read this blog and well....I want it to be a surprise!

5.  Finally, if you want to totally ROCK Christmas, buy some hand-made, amazing artisan jewelry and more from any of the spectacularly talented artists right here on LMAJ.  Most of us also offer gift certificates, so you don't even have to suffer through looking at all the amazing jewelry and art and trying to decide what to buy.  No one, I mean NO ONE will be less than THRILLED with this gift.  And, I don't have to tell you that you are also giving a gift to the artists you support...your purchase allows us to continue doing what we love, and helps us with other stuff--like supporting our families and such....

So, take a deep breath, all you Secret Santas, you can do this!  I hope your holidays are bright and full of love and peace.  From all of us here at LMAJ....HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

Taking Time to Care...ABOUT YOURSELF! By Karen McGovern

It's madness out there.  I mean, seriously.  Holiday fever has hit with the efficiency of a targeted missile strike--which, according to my TV and newspaper, is pretty darned spot-on.  I will not take a bunch of time here to tell you what you already know.  We are all under intense pressure as artists right now to create for our clients, for our shops, for our family and friends--all while somehow balancing annoying things like EATING and CLEANING THE HOUSE.  And, those people we live with, constantly expecting us to ACTUALLY HAVE TIME FOR THEM. Talk about juggling chainsaws....

So, as I try to do the 1,000 things I do every day anyway, and try to fulfill orders and commitments artistically, I have decided to add one more thing to the very top of my list.  Take two hours EVERY DAY TO DO NOTHING.  Now, I say take two hours....that is so I can negotiate down if needed but still feel like I have given myself a break.  I go to Starbucks and have a grande iced upside down caramel macchiato with salt an extra shot of expresso.  OMG THAT IS SOOOO GOOD!  And, have you tried the new pastries Starbucks is now carrying?? THE LITTLE PECAN TARTS ARE FROM THE DEVIL.

I read.  I take a nap. I sit in my orchid house.  And, if I am in the studio, I take that time to make something JUST FOR FUN.  Like this ornament.  I don't make ornaments, but this one just sort of happened.  It's a partridge--like from the pear tree thing.  It also sort of looks like a fancy version of the animated birds in the opening of the Partridge Family (GOD I AM OLD).  If you are looking for a quickie hostess gift to make, a simple brass or copper spiral (14 or 16 gauge wire), soldered to itself at the end and hammered makes a lovely ornament. Color with patina or metal paints, add a ribbon or raffia string (please do not use a crappy wire hook like I did), hang from a wine bottle and you have a great gift! 

I have taken to throwing myself (and my husband if he is not frantically working) a happy hour every day from 4:00 to 5:00 pm.  We sit with an orphaned bongo antelope we hand reared who needs the company until she is ready to be introduced to the herd.  She will be one year old this Thanksgiving and yes, I will be throwing a birthday party for her.

Hello, My name is Delilah and I am the cutest thing on EARTH.

I work seven days a week from dawn until dark.  Seriously.  That's what it takes when working with captive wildlife.  I could throw a joke in here about how anyone with kids understands working with captive wildlife--AMIRIGHT???  And, all the cliche things we read about how we are no good to anyone if we are not good to ourselves may be trite, but are also true.  Especially this time of year when we are in creative overdrive on top of everything else.

Bottom line, taking time for yourself to do nothing is not only okay--IT IS NECESSARY.  AND, if anyone dares to try to make you feel guilty for doing so, they deserve to be punched in the throat.  Or ignored.  For two whole hours.

Now, not everyone can take two hours every day.  So that's where the negotiating comes in.  Take an hour.  Break it up--15 minute here, 20 minutes there, whatever.  Pop a clean, dry dishtowel in the microwave for 15 seconds, spritz it with lavender and mint essential oil, plop it on your face and lay down for 10 minutes.  YOU WILL EMERGE A PRINCESS OF GOOD MENTAL HEALTH.

Also, the day after Thanksgiving, make a pitcher of coquito and label it something hideous so no one will drink it but you.  "Mom's diarrhea medicine" will work nicely.  Then, give yourself a huge glass sip every damned day till it's gone.  Try not to drink it all at once.  It will be difficult, as this is a coconutty dream of a beverage created by angels and delivered to mortals via unicorns raised by ancient Puerto Rican Shamans, passed down through the ages by the grace of all things alcoholic and wonderful.  If you don't want the booze, skip it, and add some rum extract instead.  You can thank me later.  Why wait till after Thanksgiving you ask?  WERE YOU RAISED BY WOLVES? Coquito is traditionally a Christmas beverage, so anytime after Turkey Day is wide open. 

Whatever you can come up with to give yourself a boost, a mental break, a pick-me-up--DO IT, and do it as often as you can.

Finally, I made earrings.  That's sort of a big deal for me, because I would rather chew my own arm off than make earrings.  BUT, I wanted to prove to myself that I could and I DID IT! As of this post I have created 30 PAIRS OF EARRINGS!!  Also, I like displaying them on a big wine glass....might do this for the holiday gift show I am in this coming Sunday.  Wish me luck!  

For those of you participating in holiday shows, I wish you crowds of appreciative shoppers scooping up your wonderful works.  I wish all of you a happy and peaceful season.  Enjoy yourselves, and make something BEAUTIFUL!

In closing, I leave you with this from Archie McPhee. Because EVERYONE needs a Santaur this holiday season.