It's Black Friday and I'm at home looking at news pictures of crowds at the mall fighting over products. Christmas is different these days as my daughters are grown and living away. Hubby already got his gift and I'll pick up mine later this weekend.
Yesterday we had a noisy houseful of relatives and talked to my daughters via Skype. It was nice to see them but not the same as having them at home. Things have changed. But what hasn't changed is that I still feel stuffed on Friday morning. And as I'm not presently making jewelry, I'll have to use my creativity on the fridge full of leftovers.
And now the rundown til Christmas. I'm anxious to start decorating the house and probably will do so much earlier than last year. I love the little white lights in my living room and listening to carols while I cook and clean. We may have to put the tree up gradually to let our new cat get used to it before we decorate it. I'm afraid any movement on the tree will encourage her to pounce on it. She's a beautiful cat but not really trainable.
Jansjems is on hiatus. My workshop is clean and organized for the next round of jewelry making. But I probably won't be doing that until January. While I'm technically on vacation, my mind is forever designing pieces. I have a few pages of sketches and notes on the things I want to try in January. Bronze clay, a so much more affordable alternative to fine silver, will give me the chance to try some new techniques without the fear of wasting clay.
I'm done with craft shows but Jansjems jewelry is still out there and available for purchase. If you're looking for gifts of jewelry, check out the following locations--
Jansjems Etsy Shop has over 90 items still listed and I still have a small group of pieces that will be posted soon.
The Daylily. Bridget has several traditional Jansjems pieces and a rack of earrings in a shop full of unique handcrafted items right in the center of South Deerfield.
The Red Lion Inn Gift Shop is in Stockbridge, in the Berkshires, and includes a wonderful assortment of handmade items from the useful to the quirky.
Saw Mill River Arts Gift Shop is next to the Bookmill in Montague. There's lots of fine art in this shop, pottery, and Jansjems jewelry, of course.
Three holiday pop-up shops also have both the fine silver and steampunk that I create.
Artisan Gala is at 22 Federal St. in Greenfield, next to the People's Pint. Darcy and Ray have a great space and a beautiful variety of locally handmade items. Darcy has lots of pictures of their items on the Facebook page.
Knack.Org is all about recycling. Their Saturday Holiday Pop Up shop is on Massonic St. in Northampton.
The Power Town Pop Up is in Turners Falls, next to the Shea Theater. The doors opened on this one just this morning.
So shop locally, shop often, and buy handmade this holiday season.
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