My Recent Handmade Purchases #2

We're getting to that time of year again...holiday shopping time!  I have started my holiday shopping and thought I'd share with you my recent handmade purchases and the wonderful shops that I found them in.

This is my 2nd post about my holiday purchases.  If you would like to see my first blog post, with my first purchases of the season, you can view it HERE.

I can't say who I purchased a number of gifts for because they may actual stop by my blog to read this post and I don't want to give away any surprises.  LOL  :o)

At the Made for Me by Oaklie shop, on Artfire, I purchased this beautiful scarf for myself and these earrings as an Xmas gift.  I purchased 5 scarves, last year, from this shop, as Xmas gifts, and they were a huge hit.

The Muddy River Ironworks shop, on Etsy, offer a wide selection of hand forged items.  A family friend just loves sunflowers and I bought this one to go on her porch.

I have fallen in love with the keychains in the, Designed by Audrey, shop on Artfire.   Isn't it gorgeous?

Another of my favorite shops is The Monkey Shop on Etsy.  I purchased a monkey from them last year and was so pleased with it that I returned to purchase 2 more this year.  I have a couple of others, that I've "hearted" and will probably return to buy before my shopping is finished.

When I was getting ready to have my Xmas in July sale, I decided that I wanted a generic sale banner for my shops.  My one-stop shop for all of my banners, and avatars, is always the My Helping Hands shop on Artfire.  I also ordered a vacation banner since I was going on vacation for the first couple of weeks this month.  Buy with confidence at this shop!

I just love to buy soaps for Xmas gifts and stocking stuffers...they're so much fun and always a big hit.  I found a wonderful new shop for soaps... Sudsey Sue Soap on Etsy.  The cameo soaps are for my grandmother.  Aren't the smiley faces and peace signs fun?

Then I found this wonderful Alice in Wonderland bracelet for my sister-in-law.  Vampire Kisses (also known as Miss Bohemia's) has a wonderful selection of themed items!

Finally, I renewed my membership in The Gift Shop Handmade Directory through the end of the year.  I purchased listings for my Artfire and Etsy shops.  This is a great place to advertise your shops and get lots of traffic during the holiday season.

These are all wonderful places to begin your holiday shopping!  If you visit often, you'll even find some great sales.  Be sure to follow the shops' blogs and on Twitter and Facebook.  They'll often advertise sales there for their followers/fans only.  :o)