Blog entry

Make it an Artisans Handmade Valentines Day!

Valentine’s Day, February 14th, will be here before we know it with cupids, hearts, pink and red found everywhere.  Across the United States and in many other countries around the world, candy, flowers and gifts are exchanged between loved ones, all in the name of St. Valentine.  While there was a St. Valentine (the Catholic Church actually recognizes three saints named Valentine or Valentinus), the “day of love” was declared the day before the pagan celebration of Lupercalia, celebrated at the ides of February or February 15.  Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders Romulus and Remus. Valentines Day was officially declared on February 14th by Pope Gelasius at the end of the 5th century in an effort to Christianize the Roman celebration, declaring Lupercalia as “un-Christian.”

Friday Twitter Tree - Artisan Handmade - April 19, 2019

Artisan Favorites - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

When you buy something handmade by a person, there is something special there. And you do feel it. The consciousness with which the thing is made is often more important than the thing itself.  J. Donald Walters

I just love browsing through the shops of handmade artist friends.  Who knows what new beauties - or old beauties you suddenly see in a brand new light - you will find!   Two items from five artists are featured below (myself, included). I hope you enjoy these picks.

Happy Independence Day! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Independence Day will soon be here, in less than a week.  It was quite an interesting time, a time populated by giants of U. S. history:  George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Richard Henry Lee and many others.  The 4th of July has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1870 (and a paid holiday to all federal employees since 1941).  But the tradition of celebrating Independance Day dates back to the late 1700’s at the time of the American Revolution.  On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence from Great Britain.  Two days later, delegates from the thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document largely drafted by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia but with help from John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York.