11 Unique and Amusing Father's Day Gifts

Dads are always the hardest people to shop for, but this guide to 11 unique and amusing Father’s Day gifts gets creative with a mix of Arkansas-made and far out clever gifts to surprise Dad. Each of these excellent gifts, from locally made toffee to “pull my finger” keychains, can be found at Bang-Up Betty’s jewelry and gift store in the Argenta Arts neighborhood of downtown North Little Rock (429 Main Street).

Make Dad laugh out loud with a custom stamped keychain. You can grab one of these “Pull My Finger” or “Don’t Make Me Turn This Car Around” keychains online or in store, and you can also order a custom phrase keychain of your choice.

This clever astronaut bottle opener is the perfect addition to dad’s bar and an excellent conversation piece.

Your outdoorsy dad needs a new handmade mug! These gorgeous one-of-a-kind mugs come with Bigfoot, camping themes, sailboats, fishing themes and more, and they’re made in Arkansas.

Turn grilling out up to 11 with these incredible hot sauces. They’re our absolute favorites at the the shop, and we offer a wide range of heat levels. Just ask us and we’ll help you pick one out!

This ceramic and metal dachshund letter holder is perfect for home and office, and it’s just so clever.

Nature and exquisite craftsmanship merge in artist Paul Milholland’s handmade wooden birds. We especially love the tall birds that have natural movement to them. Each bird is one of a kind. Available in store.

Make dad laugh with his favorite celebrity on a keychain. Our favorite dad picks are The Dude, Ted Lasso, Samuel L. Jackson and Johnny Cash, but we have tons more in store.

If dad loves the open road, he’ll adore this Argenta print featuring our favorite neighborhood drugstore with a biker driving by. Arkansas artist Joseph Buchanan’s North Little Rock watercolors are available in store, with scenes of the Baker House and the Old Mill as well.

Don’t forget the card! We LOVE cards at Bang-Up Betty, and we specialize in funny ones.

Does Dad have a sweet tooth? Look no further than delicious, locally made Deal Family toffee. Available in store unless we eat it all first.

Give politics a softer touch with this Presidential Pets mug that features some of the cutest White House pets and their adorable and ridiculous names.

The Handmade Shop Local and Online Arkansas Gift Guide 2020

Every holiday season, I like to round up some of my current favorites in a little gift guide that highlights Arkansas artisans, artists and makers to help you shop small and shop local. Normally I’d show off new finds from craft shows or new things at our shop, but since I’m shopping online as much as possible this year to keep myself at home, I thought I’d focus on Arkansas made gifts you can have delivered straight to your door. From pottery to lapel pins, tea to trinkets, this guide has stocking stuffers and heartfelt gifts that will make this holiday season magical despite how strange this year is. Handmade gifts make the best gifts!

Every time I see potter Mariah Hatta share one of her adorable ceramic pigs, it makes me squeal with delight. Mariah creates unique pottery under the name House of Terriers, and right now she’s part of the Arkansas Art Center’s virtual Museum School Sale, so these little piggies can cry “wee wee wee” all the way home to your tree without you having to leave the house. Check out Mariah’s work here. This gift is also great for hog callers. Woo pig!

This year, my good friend Ashlee Nobel of Lee Lee Arts + Design collaborated with East Sixth Brewing Company and me to create a beer inspired by Bang-Up Betty, and we used Ashlee’s incredible cat skull art in the design for the beer we named Betty’s Ninth Life. This clever cat skull art print lives in my studio now, and you can get Ashlee’s beautiful art on everything from pillows to blankets to hoodies. Check out her new yoga collection for the yogis on your list! See Ashlee’s work here.

A couple of months ago, I released my Siren Collection of handmade bronze jewelry inspired by Greek Mythology. This jewelry is handmade in Arkansas by me, and I chose to feature the Artemis Moon Necklace with crossed arrows in this gift guide. The Artemis necklace is elegant, meaningful an mystical, much like the rest of the Siren Collection. See the whole collection of handmade Greek mythology jewelry here.

I’m absolutely OBSESSED with Abbi’s Teas and Things in Hillcrest, and I’m so proud of how she’s gone the extra mile to keep her business safe during the pandemic. You can find Abbi Siler at her outdoor tea stand Wednesdays and Saturdays, or you can shop her blends online. Right now I’m all about the Cherry Fig, but I also highly recommend the Banana Nut Roo, Turmeric Sunrise and Cherry Chamomile. Shop Abbi’s Teas online here.

I’d say it’s a happy coincidence that my favorite little gift shop in Little Rock also stocks lots of Arkansas made products, but Cindi Booth is too wonderful a curator of handmade goods to chalk it up to serendipity. Candles are like booze; they almost always make a great gift. And these locally made candles come in adorable vintage-style jars, so they look great in your home. You can shop TONS of incredible things on the Stifft Station Gifts website. Here is a link to the candles in many scents.

Funny and feminist enamel lapel pins and stickers make perfect stocking stuffers, coworker gifts, teacher gifts and angsty teenager (or angsty grown-up) gifts. My line of enamel pins is huge, so you’ll likely find something perfect for a funny, sassy person in your life. Shop Bang-Up Betty enamel pins and stickers here.

Speaking of great enamel lapel pins, Little Rock textile artist, poet and author Crystal Mercer released a collection of enamel pins this year that are phenomenal. Choose from “Black Glow Matters,” “An Arrest Is Not Enough,” her Duafe Pin or Normalizing Nipples pin, and be sure to check out the Kickstarter she just announced for her forthcoming book “From Cotton to Silk: The Magic of Black Hair,” to be released by Et Alia Press. Check out Crystal’s work here.

And speaking of Et Alia Press, the bookworms on your list are bound to love something from this local “small press for big voices.” Be sure to check out “The Hospice Doctor’s Widow” by Jennifer O’Brien or “But First, Save 10” by Sarah-Catherine Gutierrez. I read Sarah-Catherine’s book a couple of months ago and I couldn’t recommend it enough for pointers on how to get your savings on track. Check out Et Alia press here.

I’ve been a fan of Tub Tonics for a long time. Andrea knows how to make a damn fine bath bomb. Like the skull bath bomb in the intro photo to this gift guide? Amazing! Andrea makes perfect little gift sets on her site too, so you can cross someone completely off your list in one place. Check out her soaps, bath bombs, gift sets and more here.

I’m in love with macrame by Creative Cords. Amy Darragh’s wall hangings, like the pink one in my intro photo to this gift guide, make my heart sing, but I’m extra in love with her adorable macrame Christmas ornaments she’s been sharing lately. Check out Creative Cords macrame here.

I’m always in awe of the way Erin Pierce of Organized Chaos Collection harvests beauty all around us in the form of Arkansas plants, insects, spider webs and other natural things and turns them into breathtaking art and jewelry. Erin takes pride in finding and pressing her own flowers to make these gorgeous sun catchers. See more of Erin’s work here.

Whether you want perfectly cute cookies for the holidays, need a great cookie mix to make your own, or are looking for recipes to make holiday desserts from scratch, Sarah DeClerk of Ann Potter Baking has you covered! She even has DIY cookie kits you can order online to decorate yourself, and she JUST released a cookbook! Check out Ann Potter Baking here.

This year, it’s more important than ever to shop small, and I hope this Arkansas gift guide helps you cross a few names off your list while getting those warm and fuzzies you get when you support an awesome small business you believe in. Happy (and safe!) holiday shopping!

Wear Your Zodiac Sign and Constellation with These Hand-Stamped Astrology Necklaces

Find your own zodiac sign and constellation necklace in my new zodiac jewelry collection. Each pendant is hand-stamped letter by letter and star by star in my North Little Rock, Arkansas, studio.

Consider these hand-stamped constellation necklaces as star charts you can wear close to your heart…

Wear your zodiac sign proudly and cleverly with a celestial astrology necklace that displays your sign’s name alongside the constellation of your zodiac sign. Each constellation and zodiac sign is stamped by hand, letter by letter and star by star. You can see a little difference in the size of the dots that represent the stars, where there are bigger impressions for larger stars and smaller ones for smaller stars in each constellation.

These zodiac constellation pendants will make you want to get out your telescope and take up star gazing if you haven’t already.

Pendants measure approximately 7/8 inch across and hang from 18-inch chains. The silver zodiac constellation necklaces are made with polished aluminum pendants and sterling silver chains. The gold constellation necklaces are made with brass pendants and gold-filled chain.

Each pendant is stamped by hand, so each necklace is unique and may be slightly different from the next, as is the nature of hand-stamped and handmade jewelry. Because I’m a Virgo and therefore a perfectionist, they all mostly look like the photos you see.

Find your own zodiac sign and constellation necklace in my new zodiac jewelry collection. Each pendant is hand-stamped letter by letter and star by star in my North Little Rock, Arkansas, studio.

Each necklace comes on a cute card back, so it’s easy to gift and makes a perfect birthday gift or gift for a pal who can tell you your sign just by talking to you for 30 seconds.

You can choose your astrological sign at checkout. Choose from:

Aquarius: January 20 - February 18

Pisces: February 19 - March 20

Aries: March 21 - April 19

Taurus: April 20 - May 20

Gemini: May 21 - June 20

Cancer: June 21 - July 22

Leo: July 23 - August 22

Virgo: August 23 - September 22

Libra: September 23 - October 22

Scorpio: October 23 - November 21

Sagittarius: November 22 - December 21

Capricorn: December 22 - January 19

Find your own zodiac sign and constellation necklace in my new zodiac jewelry collection. Each pendant is hand-stamped letter by letter and star by star in my North Little Rock, Arkansas, studio.

Zodiac constellation necklaces are hand-stamped in North Little Rock, Arkansas. If you like my zodiac jewelry, check out the rest of my handmade jewelry in my shop page! I’ve also got a collection of zodiac necklaces with funny phrases to suit each sign, or you can customize each pendant with your own funny or inspirational phrase or word. Click here to see my inspirational and funny phrase zodiac jewelry collection.

Bang-Up Betty is snarky, funny, and feminist handmade jewelry created in Little Rock, Arkansas. You can shop Bang-Up Betty jewelry and gifts online at www.bangupbetty.com or in person inside Stifft Station Gifts located in Little Rock. Stifft Station Gifts is our headquarters and gift shop!