Blog entry

Autumn Beauties - Artisan Handmade

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." — Albert Camus

I don’t know about you, but autumn is my favorite time of the year, although it’s somewhat bittersweet since winter follows.  It’s a time where the temperatures (at least here in the Desert Southwest) are moderating and thankfully, the gates of the blast furnace of Hell for this extreme heat summer have closed.  It’s a time for rethinking and replacing plants that didn’t make it through this summer.  Many people start fall gardens and farmers bring in their harvest.  Fall is part of that ongoing cycle of loss, rest, regeneration and, ultimately, regrowth.  The Autumn Equinox is a balance between light and dark, a balance between the season that happens again in the spring.  And who doesn’t love the trees and some shrubs with their gorgeous leaf displays as they prepare for their winter sleep.   

A Mixed Bag - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

This week’s Artisan Handmade  - Three for Thursday is a mixed bag of fun items, three items from three artists.  I checked my thesaurus for synonyms for “mixed bag” and picked out some of my favorites words, some I’ve never seen before :  admixture, anthology, collectanea, farrago, gallimaufry, medley, mingle-mangle, potpourri, salmagundi and smorgasbord.  What a fun selection of words!  And you’ll find this week’s Three for Thursday an equally fun mélange of artisan handmade beauties.  The three artists featured are Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions;  Jacki of Christie Cottage;  and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  Enjoy this mixed bag of handmade gifts for a loved one or for yourself.

New Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

You would seem due sheltering in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’d have more time to create new jewelry and blog.  Before, my days were very structured.  Now they’re not, even though I try to structure them.  It seems I find myself saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow” . . . and then when tomorrow rolls around, it becomes “tomorrow” again.  So, this morning, I sat myself down to create a new blog showcasing the newest pieces of jewelry in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS shop.  Fourteen handmade beauties:  nine pairs of earrings, four necklaces and one bracelet.  They are all one of a kind creations from a variety of materials including, gemstones, polymer clay, Czech glass, Swarovski crystals and a host of other things.  I hope you take the time to browse and to check out all the other jewelry in my shop.  After all, Christmas will be here before we know it - get a head start with your holiday shopping!  Enjoy.

Flora and Fauna - Artisan Handmade

The Earth is such a beautiful place to live on, if we just take the time to look and observe.  No matter where we go, unique plants and animals can be found, two very important parts of any ecosystem.  I’ve been lucky to have lived in many places and many different ecosystems, from Central Texas to North Carolina, from near Georgian Bay in Canada to a forest in Northern Virginia, from North Texas to an island in South Carolina.  Now I live in the gorgeous Desert Southwest.  The flora and fauna of each place was awe-inspiring - some the same but, most often, very different.  Since I love what Mother Nature has to offer, I find it all VERY, VERY interesting and want to keep on learning about how our wonderful Earth functions . . . and what we need to do to heal it.