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School Daze - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

When I drive the back way to Spa for Paws, where Seamus goes to romp and play with his doggie friends three days a week, we pass by an elementary school.  Today I noticed on the school sign that the first day of school is August 13, with teachers back at school August 3!!! What??? No wonder I have been bombarded with “back to school” brochures and coupons in the mail. I imagine that there a huge amount of ads on regular TV, but since I only watch PBS, NetFlix or the like, I don’t see them.  Thank heavens for that! But it sure seems awfully early for school to begin. Where has the summer gone???

The school sign prompted the theme for today’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade, titled School Daze.  The artisan handmade items chosen will be welcome “just because” first day of school gifts, to help counteract the daze of school starting up again.  The meaningful, unique items chosen span a wide range of ages, from kindergarten/first grade through high school. I hope one of the beauties goes to school that first day!

Monday Twitter Tree - Artisan Handmade - July 23, 2018

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.”

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

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.”