Handmade Christmas 2012-these are a few of my favorite things edition

I believe I mentioned that I am not going to hold myself to my usual standards of making handmade Christmas gifts for my family this year, which is very reasonable of me. : )  I'm making better progress than I anticipated, but it's still nice not to be pressuring myself.

I'm not the only one who makes pretty things, though.  This post is dedicated to lovelies that are handmade by other artists. I have made purchases from all of these sellers and have had fabulous experiences with all of them. I think that products from any of these sellers would make wonderful Christmas gifts. I would love to send some business their way, so if any of these product catches your eye, please follow the links to their stores!

I own this exact leaf necklace

by Color Shoppe Stained Glass Studio.

It's one of my favorites,

and I get compliments every time I wear it!

Plus the owner of the shop

very generously sent me a multi-strand necklace free of charge

after I inquired about purchasing one

for my vintage Jerusalem cross pendant.

My very favorite pair of earring of all time

come from South Wind Design.

They're dainty pink-and-green flower earrings.

Unfortunately they're not available anymore,

but when I lost my first pair,

I missed them so much I ordered a second

plus a pair of these classy, understated red earrings.

I don't own the pair pictured above, but aren't they pretty?

I love Moaning Minnie's artsy hats!

I own one of her cloche hats.

It was a special order,

and she made and mailed it days before leaving on a trip,

getting it to me from England

in less than two weeks from the day I ordered.

One of her unique newsboy caps (pictured above)

is high on my wish list!

Bella Blue Knits' fingerless gloves

met all of my picky requirements for fingerless gloves:

they must have cozily covered thumbs, not merely thumb slits,

they must not roll or bunch on the palms,

they must be a nice, medium length,

they must be machine washable,

they must not be itchy,

and they must not be prohibitively expensive.

I'm quite content with the green pair I own

(they're just like the blue pair above),

but sure wouldn't mind a pair of these pretty green leaf ones too!

If you've read my blog for a while,

you might remember that I purchased three

of naokostoop's Red Knit Cap Girl prints

for Sweet Pea's nursery.

I also own a print from her brown paper bag art collection.

I love so many of her pieces

that I could easily fill an entire wall with them!

These limited edition Christmas cards

are just as charming as the rest of her work.

And just so you know...

The photos I used in this post

were taken by the artists whose work I admire (not by me).

Also, I wasn't given anything for saying this stuff.

I just love these products

and wanted to share how beautiful  they are.