New Handmade Jewelry from Shadow Dog Designs - Necklaces and Earrings

This quote by Rebekah Joy Plett pretty much says it all when you are a handmade artist:

“When you buy something from an artist you are buying more than an object. You’re buying hundreds of hours of errors and experimentation. You’re buying years of frustration and moments of pure joy. You’re not buying just one thing, you are buying a piece of a heart, a piece of a soul… a piece of someone else’s life.”

It's an Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday - Polymer Clay

I think there is something very special about handmade work.  You can appreciate the thought, detail and time that have been invested into creating something amazing, whether it is great or small.  In my opinion, handmade goods are accessible works of art. 

Tami Gagne

What an amazing quote . . . and one I agree with 100%.  There is always something very special about a handmade item since part of the artist’s heart and soul goes into each piece created.  You will definitely see what I mean when you look at the work of the artist’s featured today. Not that I planned it this way - it just happened - but the the three artists included in this week’s Three for Thursday blog are all polymer clay artists (who also work in other mediums), creating such amazing and diverse art.  The artist’s are: Pati Bannister of patibannister; Julie Cleveland of Blue Morning Expressions; and Susana Paredes of EarthExpressions. I have purchased from all three of these polymer clay artists and can guarantee that their work is superb. 

Monday Twitter Tree - Artisan Handmade - July 16, 2018

It's an Artisan Handmade Christmas in July!

I always thought Christmas in July was a very modern “holiday,” a marketing ploy since there are no holidays between July 4 and Labor Day (in the U.S.).  But much to my amazement, the first mention of Christmas in July was in Werther, an 1892 French opera with libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet, and Georges Hartmann.  In the opera, a group of children rehearse a Christmas song in July, to which a character responds: "When you sing Christmas in July, you rush the season."

First in the Shop - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

I always enjoy browsing through the handmade shops of artist friends.  So much talent and such creativity! This week’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade features the first item in each shop (as of when this blog was being worked on) featured here:  First In the Shop. Oftentimes the first item is the newest - sometimes it’s not. Either way, the items are all wonderful and each will fill that need for a gift perfectly.  

Remember:  SUPPORT INDEPENDENT, HANDMADE ARTISTS

Monday Twitter Tree - Artisan Handmade - July 9, 2018

Make it a Handmade Christmas in July!

Monday Twitter Tree - Artisan Handmade - July 2, 2018

Artisan Handmade Gift Ideas - Three for Thursday

“I work to provide symbolic reminders of our connection to the earth and beyond.”

I love this quote from Christine of beadfreaky, one of the artists featured in this week’s Three for Thursday blog.  I firmly believe a large majority of handmade artists feel that way since since each piece created has a bit of the maker’s own heart and spirit captured in it.  Each handmade piece of art is as meaningful and unique as the person who created it.

4th of July - Celebrate a Handmade Red, White and Blue Holiday!

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson.

The 4th of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4th, has a tradition of celebrations goes back to the American Revolution.  When the initial battles of the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, very few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain.  But, by the middle of the following year, the idea of independence grew due to the growing hostility against draconian British laws and the spread of revolutionary sentiments, such as the pamphlet published in early 1776 by Thomas Paine, called “Common Sense.”