Holiday time already?

I can't believe its November already and Thanksgiving is right around the corner. The holiday season never fails to catch me unprepared! Well, this year I'm determined to get ahead of the game.
The last part of the year is always a busy one for me and my family. My dad starts off the birthday festivities in the first week of September, the wife's birthday is at the very end of September, then Thanksgiving, followed quickly by my birthday, Hayes's birthday, Christmas and my sister's birthday. So as you can see, it gets pretty crazy from the end of November through New Years. I usually find myself rushing around the stores trying to find a few extra gifts before Christmas eve. I'm a terrible shopper, but I love giving gifts! Some of the pressure around Christmas has been reduced in the last few years, because my parents and sister decided to limit the expenses on gifts for each adult at $50. (I hate that) So it's virtually become a evening of trading $50 gift cards. Thankfully, I still get to enjoy buying gifts for my kids and wife.
This year I will expand my online purchases, but I'll continue to shop at brick and mortar stores as well. I'm looking to shop for more artist and craftsman created gifts this year. I'm thinking paintings, jewelry, pottery and such for gifts rather than stupid gift cards. I'm not sure how well this will go over, but that's what I'm going to do. Plus, nobody has to know if I go over my $50 limit right? I'm already planning on attending two art fairs in my area and I'm on the lookout for interesting one of a kind items. I'm even hoping to create a few paintings of my own to give, but I'm not sure I'll have the time for that.

For those of you looking for hand crafted items, I've listed some of my favorite artist's below:

If you're looking for wonderful glass beads for gifts, check out my good friend Holly Dare's website here: http://hollysfolly.com/

Wonderfully creative art from Mississippi artist Saul Maurer http://www.saulmaurer.com/Home_Page.html

If you like wild and interesting and affordable Outsider art, look no further than Ken Law http://www.kenlawartist.com/

Amazing paintings from New Orleans/Mississippi artist Billy Solitario http://billysolitario.com/

Historic New Orleans paintings from George Schmidt http://georgeschmidt.com/

Cool old fashion hand painted wooden signs for your bar, bathroom or kitchen and everywhere else in between! http://www.etsy.com/shop/signsnstripes

The famous Shearwater Pottery of Ocean Springs, MS http://www.shearwaterpottery.com/default.html

I travel all over Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi and feel certain I'll be able to find something interesting for each of the recipients on my Christmas list. I'll share some of the best items I find in one of my next few posts. In the meantime, check out the links above and see if you can find some art for your gift giving!