Gift Guide: Unique Christmas Gift Ideas for Ocean Lovers, Cruisers and Sailors

This Christmas Gift Guide features unique, affordable holiday gifts for anyone who loves the ocean. The gift ideas I’ve included here are all handmade items from fellow ArtFire artisans, along with a couple of our own pieces.

Since joining the ArtFire.com marketplace in July, I’ve had the great pleasure of discovering many talented artisans and learning a bit about them and their work. The handmade items you see here are from some of my favorite ArtFire studios.

All of these creative individuals are passionate about their work and about supporting the “handmade movement”. I hope you enjoy looking through this small sampling of ocean-related gift ideas and that you’ll visit the studios of these wonderfully talented people. Mass-produced items are SO un-cool when there are amazing, affordable alternatives made one at a time with TLC and attention to every detail.

Cheers and Happy Shopping!!  : )
~ Patty

Island Coconut Pearberry Shell-Shaped Soap in Shimmery Green

$3.95 per 4.5 oz. Bar

from PinksPleasures on ArtFire

Ivory Freshwater Pearls Staggered Zigzag Dangle Earrings

$22.00

from IndulgentDesigns on ArtFire

 Square Fused Glass Bowl - "Sea and Sky"

$50.00

from our studio SeaDayDesigns on ArtFire

Waves on the Jetty - Ocean City, Maryland Fine Art Photograph

$20.00 (8" x 10")

from BaysidePhotography on ArtFire

Men's Luxury Silk Necktie - Hand Painted Shells

$60.00

from morgansilk on ArtFire

"When Squid Attack" Original Oil Pastel Painting

$75.00

from FolkArtFromFlorida-Crossgirl on ArtFire

Polymer Clay Mermaid and Fish Wallhanging

$24.00

from FantasyClay on ArtFire

Fused Glass Appetizer Plates

$50.00 set of 4

from our studio SeaDayDesigns on ArtFire

Large Wheel Thrown Stoneware Casserole Dish with Textured Lid

$47.95

from ugabugabowls on ArtFire

Sailor Knot Rope Bracelet with Navy Outline

$4.00

from mysticknotwork on ArtFire

 

All images in this post are © of the respective ArtFire studio owners.

Don't Miss Your Chance to be a Pirate ~ Tomorrow's the Day, Me Hearties!

So tomorrow, September 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day.   "Avast," ye say "I can be me real self tomorrow??!!?".   Aye!  All day and all night ~ and especially if ye celebrate with some tasty and potent grog!

The legend of this international holiday goes something like this. One day (June 6, 1995, to be exact) a pair of "guys" as they refer to themselves ~ Mark and John ~ lapsed into pirate slang while playing racquetball on Court #3 at the Albany, Oregon YMCA. They had so much fun with this that immediately following the match, they decided that what the world really needed was a new holiday, i.e. "Talk Like a Pirate Day" (TLAPD).

Why September 19 and not June 6? From the Official Talk Like A Pirate Day website, "As any guy can tell you, June 6 is the anniversary of World War II's D-Day. Guys hold dates like that in reverence and awe so there was no way we could use June 6.

"Mark came up with September 19. That was and is his ex-wife's birthday, and the only date he could readily recall that wasn't taken up with something like Christmas or the Super Bowl or something."

Cruising Naked... Almost

"I'm  not at all happy with this plan..." I said to Martyn.  It was September 1985, less than 36 hours away from the start of our belated honeymoon and first-ever cruise.

We'd married 11 months earlier in a beautiful, traditional wedding ceremony but for various reasons, were unable to take a honeymoon at the time. In the spring of  '85, when Martyn's sister returned from a cruise with positively glowing reviews, we decided a Caribbean cruise would make for the perfect honeymoon trip.

With this decision made, Martyn's mother ~ a seasoned traveler though not (yet) a cruiser herself ~ set about helping us find and book that 'perfect' honeymoon cruise.  Through her research, she learned that last minute bookings were the best way to save money, so we waited to reserve our cruise until two weeks prior to sailing.  And then the race was on...
 
Between our full-time+ jobs and conflicting work schedules, our prep time for the trip was pretty limited.  Add to that our tendency to procrastinate (especially Martyn's this time around) and it was probably inevitable that not everything would go smoothly... and it didn't.

Wheee! I've Just Started a Blog :D

Ask any of my family members or friends about me and the first thing they'll tell you is that I'm a cruise nut/fanatic/addict/... whatever, I think you get the picture.  Fortunately Martyn ~ my husband and best friend for almost 26 years now ~ is one of those crazy cruise people too.  As for the rest of our family ~ Lincoln, the cat (age 15), and the dogs, WooWoo (age 6) and Abbee (age 5) ~ not so much.  It's unhappy times in Furville when the luggage comes out.

But with the economy as it is these days and a brand new business to tend to, the critters needn't worry about the luggage for a while... we're not going anywhere anytime soon.  However, that doesn't mean that I can't at least keep the spirit of cruising close to me by writing about it, so that's where my mind is today and one of the reasons I've started this blog.

A second reason for this blog is for shameless promotion of our little business, Sea Day Designs ~ I can't and won't lie to you about that.  However having just put that in writing, I want you to know that I have no intentions of stuffing this place with nothing more than post after post of ads for our artwork.  (I wouldn't insult your intelligence that way ~ there are numerous ways for you to see my ads simply by sniffing around this blog, lol.  Oh, and there's also an entire page devoted to our business... it's up there ^^^^^ at the top of this page... just click on that ~ Sea Day Designs tab! :D )

I will post about our business and our artwork at times but with this blog, I'm mostly interested in having fun, so I'll be writing about things that I find fun or interesting ~ primarily cruising and fusing glass ~ with a smattering of random musings tossed in... here's hoping you'll enjoy reading my posts.

Cheers!
Patty