Creative Every Day

Holiday Cheer

December 2nd, 2007

Today, my plans were side-railed by a monster migraine that has kept me in bed in the dark all day. I was feeling all bummed out and achey when I first came out of the bedroom in the early evening, but then I read about the sweetest challenge on Jen Lemen's blog. The challenge is called "25 Days to Make a Difference" in which Laura remembers how her grandpa made a difference in her life by making a difference in the lives of others every day for 25 days. The blog she created for this project has apparently created quite a response and even more amazing is the fact that Laura is only 10 years of age! This made my heart melt. And it made me think about ways in which I can make a difference in small and large ways during the holiday season...things like buying handmade products or making my own gifts for the holidays, bring bags of my own to the grocery store instead of using the bags the store has, donating warm clothing I don't use to the Salvation Army, etc...

Speaking of buying handmade. Check these out:

-I recently lucked out and won a gorgeous pair of earrings in a  "Free Bling Friday" giveaway from Kelly of Happy Shack Designs.  I wore them out to the basketball game on Thursday and loved the way they caught the light.

- Wyanne, one of the wonderful artists I met through Art Every Day Month this year, is having a special online art event on December 7th at 7 pm EST. She had loads of wonderful art to sell, so be sure to check that out! 

- I've mentioned before that my art is featured on Trunkt an online lookbook for artists and designers. Members can put together a group of products under a theme, called a showcase. I've put one together called "December Chill" which you can see here. Be warned, there's so many beautiful things on Trunkt, you could be swept away for hours!

- Jes of Junque Revival is giving away wonderful vintage music with purchases from $18 - $34 and for purchases over $35 she's giving a free art ephemera pack (which looks so cool!) Jes makes wonderful jewelry using vintage items ( love this one!) Do check it out!

- Design Sponge has a great guide to handmade shopping here. Be sure to check out all their other gift guides while you're there!

- And of course, be sure to check out my art website while you're doing your holiday shopping!

- There are so many wonderful artists online, so be sure to look around for wonderful holiday shopping opportunities. If you've got a special sale going on this month or anything else worth mentioning, feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear about them!

Update: I just realized that this is my 200th post on this blog! I've had a few different blogs through the years (I've been blogging since 2001) and this blog is fairly young in comparison to some of them (it'll be all of 1 year old on Tuesday), but I've loved blogging here, the places it has taken me, and the people I've met along the way. In celebration of my 200th post, I'd like to give away a little something to the first 5 people to comment on this post. Woohoo!