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Love is in the Air! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade - February 3, 2016

With Valentine's Day quickly approaching, it seems where ever you go these days, "Love is in the Air"  with all the massive displays of Valentine's cards, chocolates, stuffed animals and such.  Last year the total retail expenditure for Valentine's Day was a whopping $18.9 billion.  Yes, that is with a "B" - a record for sales.  It was estimated that the average person celebrating February 14 shelled out $142.31.  Men spent about $100 more on gifts than women:  $190.53 vs. $96.58.  Candy, flowers and jewelry are the three most popular gifts.  Interestingly, about 20% of people bought a Valentine's gift for their pet!

All Creatures Great and Small - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade - January 27, 2016

I have always been a huge lover of animals, whether they have hair, feathers or scales - always have and always will.  Growing up on a small ranch in the Texas Hill Country, all of the usual suspects were there:  dogs, horses, cats, goats, cows, chicken, ducks, geese, pigs, rabbits and many others.  As a science teacher, my room housed many animals, from a huge boa to fun Madagascar hissing cockroaches, from parakeets to African hooded rats, from punk rock guinea pigs to flying geckos, and many other creatures.  And my life has always been shared with dogs, all adopted or "strays that came to stay."

New Handmade Jewelry at Shadow Dog Designs

January has been a very busy time creating new jewelry, photographing and listing those pieces in my Indiemade shop.  Valentine's Day is quickly approaching with the resulting hearts and love, pink and red jewelry flooding the markets - which I have also done.  Although quite a few heart pieces have already sold so you won't find many heart related items in this post.  The pieces being shared are favorites, however, since they have more of a boho Valentine's flair, making the jewelry able to be worn all year long.  Traditional Valentine's Day designs or not, any of these one of a kind handmade necklaces or earrings will make exquisite gifts for a loved one.  

A Joyful Heart - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday - January 20, 2016

A favorite quote, one that I often remind myself, is from Mother Teresa:  "A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love."  Such true words!

Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost . . .

I love quotes . . . always have, always will.  Sometimes a particularly meaningful or beautiful set of words will stop me in my tracks as I ponder the significance.  The quote will be read over and over again, mulled over and over again, and then committed to memory (hopefully).  The power of words never fails to amaze me.  And the power of words can be very scary when they espouse bigotry and hate.  I have a rather large "Words of Wisdom and Profundity" board on Pinterest.  No hate there . . . although a great quote I love says, "A truly great library has something to offend everyone."  So maybe some people will find something offensive in it.  Hey, it is what it is.

Unique New Handmade Jewelry at Shadow Dog Designs

Finally the holiday Art Festivals have ended.  Yay!  I had been very busy doing shows since Labor Day weekend; some months several shows were scheduled back-to-back weekends.  Bewteen them and a busy on line sales season, believe me, I am ready for a little rest and relaxation.  That doesn't mean I'll quit listing new items in my Indiemade shop and all that entails.  Oh, no.  But the idea of having 5-6 weeks free of shows makes me more than a little giddy!

Not So Simply Red - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade - December 2, 2015

With Christmas fast approaching (can you believe it's already December?), the color red was chosen to be highlight of this post.  Just think of everything that red is associated with during this holiday season:  Santa's red suit, Rudolph's red nose, the red of holly berries, red poinsettias, red ribbon, red apples as some of the first Christmas tree decorations centuries ago, and many more.  This post is called "Not So Simply Red" because red is definitely not a simple color.  Just look at all its various blazing shades and nuances of red in the handmade artisan creations below . . . and in the reds you see all through the Christmas season.

Shadow Dog Designs will be on Mars!

Creamy Homemade Blueberry Sorbet

New Handmade Jewelry - Shadow Dog Designs