Christmas in July

No, it's not too early to start planning for Christmas. Some people do their shopping year round. And now there's less than five months left!

The team has some things to help you get a jump start. 

From Pink Pianos: 

Each set of 3 tea towels is made from highly absorbent cotton linen and has been artfully hand-dyed using the ancient Japanese Art of Shibori. No 2 towels are alike, and your set will include 3 distinct patterns. These make great gifts and can be gifted individually or as a set. Fantastic for a teacher, friend or family member that enjoys time in the kitchen. 

Hand-dyed Set of Linen Shibori Tea Towels

Toddler Duvet Cover and Pillowcase

From The Crafty Nana:

Love these Christmas Stockings that can double as a gift holder for a new baby (at least in my mind).

Christmas Stocking, Hiking Boot

Christmas Stocking, Mary Jane

And from annie k designs: 

You can never start too early shopping for Christmas holiday decor. I offer a wide variety of novelty tree skirts with my specialty being animals. 

First up is a Yorkie tree skirt:

Yorkshire Terrier Christmas Tree Skirt

Second, knowing how stressful the holidays are and generally on the cold or chilly side, here's a wonderful u-shaped neck wrap to wrap yourself in organic French lavender to take away the winter blues or the woes of holiday shopping. 

Floral and Dragonfly U Shaped Flax Seed Hot/Cold Pack

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?

May Finds

What's new from our team this month? All I have to do is go to the Show Your Handmade thread to find out.

My eye always goes to the jewelry first...

Suspension of Disbelief Bracelet by The Silver Crucible

Watch Locket Necklace by Bead Fashion Designs

Flower Cuff Bracelet by FelixCulpaArtisans

Green Wooden Flower Beaded Earrings by Sparkles-a-lot2

Where was this iPhone case when I was in the market for one? Perfect for Star Wars Day (which was May 4th, if you didn't know)...

Star Wars iPhone Case by Case Worx

Anyone need a large cutting board?

18" x 18" Large Walnut Cutting Board by Pink Pianos

And a bit of whimsey for your garden...

Pink Ladybug by Krafty Karen's Redneck Wine Glasses

So, that's what's new this month on the team. What's new with you?

Think Pink

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we on the team are showing our solidarity by showing our pink...

From Bobbles By Carol:

Polymer Clay Jewelry Heart Necklace

From ohmay designs:

Relisted in time for Breast Cancer Awareness....

Angel Heart Knit Jewelry Brooch Pin 

From Nans Glam:

Cherry Jade Dangle Earrings

From Polka Dot Walls:

Just created this adorable design. Love her in pink :)

Octopus Decal

From Chevron Lane:

Very soft and cuddly pink ripple crochet blanket

Pink Ripple Crochet Afghan

From Poppy Johal Jewelry:

Rose quartz - stone of the heart!

Rose Quartz Necklace

From Pink Pianos:

gotta love pink;)

Bright Fuschia Rattan Ottoman

And remember:

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which is an annual campaign to increase awareness of the disease. While most people are aware of breast cancer, many forget to take the steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages and encourage others to do the same. We have made a lot of progress but still have a long way to go and need your help!

September

I asked the team to show me what made them think of September. (Okay, as a theme it's kind of lacking, but it's been hot and that does something to my brain.) Here's what they had.

DTailsULike says:

I love fall colors, the yellows, orange, brown...it inspire me to create and enjoy nature. My favorite holiday is thanksgiving because I can use all the colors and stop and appreciate all the good things I had during the year.

Handmade Orange Beaded Bracelet

Pink Pianos says:

Beginning of Fall reminds me of scarf weather, tote bags for back to school and getting organized for the holidays.  

For Thanksgiving, we are thinking of taking a family trip up the California coast by train all the way to Portland to stay with friends.  

For my shop, I'm planning to design hand printed coasters out of vinyl leather scraps that I use for my mirrors....they will be white, brown, black and hand printed in festive gold inks! Hoping to have some sample pics soon....

Walnut Rack

Poppy Johal Jewelry says:

Beginning of Fall reminds me of changing colors of the leaves, the rich hues of orange, red, yellow.... 

Shorter days and long cozy nights sitting at my work bench late at night with a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket over my knees! 

Hustle and bustle of the holiday, dinners and family!!!

Handmade Copper and Agate Necklace

Dprintsclayful says:

September reminds me of the coming holidays and all the fabulous food. I like to create cinnamon sugar cookies and love to grate cinnamon sticks with my ceramic grater and have the fresh cinnamon take over the whole room.

Garlic Grater

What makes you think of September?

Give Me a B...

If you have a blog, you've heard of the A to Z Challenge. For the rest of you, the idea is to blog for 26 days in April (Sundays off) using each letter of the alphabet.

I don't have the wherewithal to do that here, but I thought we could make use of the theme. Today, the 2nd is the B day. And here are some lovely B items from our team...

From cserpent Designs:

Big, bold, baby blue balls for your ears! Lightweight earrings since the beads are hollow, blown glass. Wonderful for your spring and summer wardrobes!

Baby Blue Swirls

And some other B items...

Blue Baby Booties by ohmay designs

Blue Beach House Furniture by Pink Pianos

Blue Bird Buttons by Olde Tyme Notions

From Jeanine Designs:

Just listed this and I want to do at least one of these for Mother's Day. I hope you will like and share! Thank you!

BABY!

And one last image...

Indigo Butterfly, digital download by Crystal Mist Cottages

Make sure to check all these lovely Bs out...

Hello, Spring

This week's challenge--show us something that makes you think of spring...

The Crafty Nana says:

I love making stuffed toys. These birds remind me of Spring when the birds return.

Handmade Stuffed Birds

KOCO & VIKING says:

We created our first custom "flower girl" necklace when a customer wanted something special to give the flower girl in their wedding. We played around a bit and eventually came up with this sweet heart, filled with a cute flower texture, and the flower girl's first initial. We painted the necklace to match the Spring wedding's colors and the bride was ecstatic! Ever since then, it makes us think of Spring blooms and everyone picks pretty pastels to be painted onto their custom creation.

Custom Flower Girl Initial Necklace

Pink Pianos says:

Fine Art print of a Dogwood Tree blooming in my native Kentucky in Spring!

Pink Tree

Printable Motivation says: 

With spring comes beauty everywhere. The trees are turning green, flowers are blooming, and the sun is out. I wanted to make something to remind people that beauty is about perspective. A dandelion can be considered a weed, but if you look close, it is beautiful just like many things in our world :)

Beauty is about perspective - Entry Way Art

Jeanine Designs says: 

With Spring comes new life and the beginning of wedding season. I started making these boxes because I needed something for the jewelry and embroidered items I sell. So many people loved my packaging and suggested that I sell it - so I have recently made some of my specialty packaging available in my shop. As with all my work, I use recycled materials as much as possible. It is my goal to make things that are new and fresh from what would have been discarded. I think starting off a new life together in an eco friendly way is perfect. I hope you like it.

Wedding Cake Favor Box

What makes you think of spring?