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Handmade Necklaces and Earrings - New Jewelry from Shadow Dog Designs

The weeks have been very busy since my last post of handmade jewelry.  My last outside Arts Festival was two weekends ago.  It feels extremely good to finish the last one for the season - hauling tents, weights and tables (and then taking them down again) gets very tiring.  But things will get VERY busy again once Labor Day rolls around.  Check out my "UpComing Shows" tab to see what I have posted so far for the fall show season.

Modern Symbols that are Ancient - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade - May 25, 2016

Even though we live in modern times, ancient symbols are found everywhere.  Many people do not even recognize them as being ancient.  Think of spirals, the Zia symbol on the New Mexico flag, the Hamsa, the cross, flowers and many other symbols in their various forms . . . all ancient but still in use today.  

Fiery Red and Orange - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade - May 18, 2016

The temperatures are beginning to heat up here in the Desert Borderlands (although I can’t complain since this has been an unusually cool spring).  With the higher temperatures, it seems the sunsets become more fiery in all their blazing yellows red, and oranges.  A sunset a couple of nights ago gave me the inspiration for this blog post:  Fiery Red and Orange.  I browsed through the studios of Indiemade handmade artists and featured a fiery red or orange (or both) creation from each.  I hope you enjoy these richly colored selections.

New Handmade Earrings and Necklaces by Shadow Dog Designs

It has been a month since I've shared new handmade jewelry from my Shadow Dog Designs shop. Busy, busy, busy! I've had two large two day shows in three weeks.  Getting ready for the shows and then trying to organize after them always takes such a huge amount of time.  The show Last weekend at La Vina Winery was a fabulous show with LOTS of sales.  The next show is Art in the Park at Memorial Park Reserve. I still need to create quite a few new necklaces, especially chunky ones, and pairs of earrings for that show.  But, I decided to sneak in here and share the six newest necklaces and earrings, most with a boho style, listed in my Indiemade shop - along with four oldies but goodies to make an even ten.

Captivating Czech Glass - A Short History

Czech glass is so much fun to use in handmade jewelry designs due to the extremely large choice of shapes, sizes, colors and finishes.  I have to admit . . . I have become addicted to the beauties.  I enjoy using Czech glass mainly for earrings, but many people use the glass beads for necklaces, bracelets and many other projects.  Czech glass has a long, rich history which I find extremely fascinating.  I thought I would share a short history of Czech glass and some handmade jewelry designs from artists using Czech glass as a main design component.

I Love Dogs

Anyone who knows me knows that I adore animals, but most especially dogs.  Dogs have been an integral part of my life from some of my earliest memories.  Dogs have always been around as best buddies, as playmates, as teachers of life lessons and as guardians.  All of our dogs were adopted from local shelters - except for the various and assundry strays who came to stay.  I cannot imagine a life without dogs sharing it with my husband and me.

Unique New Handmade Jewelry Designs by Shadow Dog Designs

Another two weeks have come and gone since my last new handmade jewelry post in my Shadow Dog Designs shop.  Between photographing, photo editing and listing new jewelry, I have also been getting ready for the Kermezaar Arts Festival that takes place this Saturday and Sunday.  It is a juried show for strictly handmade items and is taking place at the El Paso International Museum.  My first time!  Am excited to have been accepted!  

A Bounty of Blues - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

The history of blue is very interesting. If you stop and think about it, there is not a lot of natural blue in nature. Most people worldwide do not have blue eyes, blue flowers do not occur without human tinkering, and blue animals are rare -- birds that are blue only live in certain areas. The sky is blue . . . or is it? One interesting theory suggests that before humans had words for the color blue, they actually saw the sky as another color! This theory is supported by the fact that if you never name the color of the sky to a child, and then ask what color it is, he/she will struggle to describe it.  Some describe the sky as colorless and some describe it as white. It seems that only after being told that the sky is blue, and after seeing other blue objects over a period of time, does the sky look blue in their eyes. I wonder now, when I was very young, if I saw the sky as "blue" before or after it was given a color name.  Something to ponder over!

New One of a Kind, Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

The last two weeks have been busy making, photographing and listing new handmade jewelry in my Shadow Dog Designs shop.  The earrings and necklaces are unique, each a one of a kind designs so you can rest assured you are the only person in the entire universe with a particular piece!  Some designs are boho, some are elegant . . . and all fun.  I hope you enjoy browsing the new designs - and three older designs to make an even 10 showcase.  If something piques your interest and you want to see more photos and a more detailed description, please click the live link below each photo and you will be taken to the individual listing.

Purple is Perfect for Spring - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Over the centuries, purple has been regarded as the color of royalty and is also thought of as a color of creativity.  It also has a softer side being one of the first colors of spring that pops up in its many hues and shades on flowers.  It is near the top of my list of favorite colors, as are the two colors that combine to make purple.  Many, many people, especially women according to research, have a passion for the color purple, and I can see why with its oh-so-rich color!  I decided to do a bit of research about the color purple and share a bit of what I found.  And, also shared, are beautiful handmade artisan creations featuring purples.