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Fun in the Hot Hot Sun - Make it an Artisan Handmade Summer

 

 

The official start of summer will soon be here.  I takes place at 8:57 a.m. on June 21 here in El Paso, where the day will be 4 hours and 9 minutes longer than on the shortest day in December.  To celebrate the hot, hot summer days, I asked artist friends to share two items that represent “hot summer fun” - something with hot colors, a beach or tropical theme or the like.  Some items shared are more on the blazing summer side and some represent a more mellow, cool summer.  However, ALL are artisan handmade / designed and many are one of a kind pieces.  So if something catches your eye on this Fun in the Hot Hot Sun - Make It an Artisan Handmade Summer blog, please click the photo or the link below the photo for more information and pictures of the individual item.  Hopefully one or more will make it into your shopping basket - treat yourself or someone else to a unique artisan beauty!  And remember: SHOP SMALL and SHOP HANDMADE!

 

 

 

Make It a Handmade Christmas 2021 - Week 11

 

 

It's hard to believe that Week 11 of the Countdown to Christmas 2021 has come and gone . . . . and there is only one more week left!  When the Countdown starts, the end of the twelve weeks seems a looooong way off. The - BAM! - here it is!  And Christmas is just a bit over three weeks away - 24 days!  Where does the time go? The ever ticking Christmas clock doesn’t let up - those seconds just keep ticking down until the jolly man in red and white leaves wonderful gifts or lumps of coal under the tree.  Just what is the Countdown? It’s a place for handmade artists to share three of their beautiful (often one of a kind) creations. Need a perfect start (or finish) to your Christmas shopping?  Shop the Countdown to Christmas and purchase that special piece for that special person! An excellent motto to follow this holiday season: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses! 

 

 

 

Make It a Handmade Christmas 2021 - Week 7

 

 

It is so hard to believe (at least to me) that November has already shown up and that we have only 5 more weeks of the Countdown to Christmas 2021!  It’s also hard to imagine that Christmas will soon be here.  According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, there are only 52 days, less than 2 months until jolly Santa Claus drops down that chimney and either leaves gifts or lumps of coal for deserving or not-so-deserving boys and girls.  Since Christmas is looming, now is the perfect time to start your holiday shopping and the Countdown is the perfect place! Remember this motto: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, please BUY HANDMADE from small indie business owners!

 

 

Make It a Handmade Christmas 2021 - Week 1

 

 

 

My gosh!  Wasn't last Christmas like . . . three months ago?  With as strange as the year 2021 has been so far, it’s hard to believe that Christmas is only 94 days away (according to the ever ticking Christmas clock).  It's definitely not too early to start thinking about all those people on your Christmas shopping list.  A perfect place to start looking (and buying) is the 12 week Countdown to Christmas 2021 hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions that is filled with a wide variety of handmade gifts.  A new collection will be added each week. 

 

A good motto to follow: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN!  And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses!

 

 

 

Fall Fun - Artisan Handmade

 

 

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been

saving up all year for the grand finale.”

 Lauren DeStefano


 

For many, many people, fall is a favorite time of the year, when the heat of summer dissipates into the coolness of autumn and the deciduous trees are a riot of color.  Here in the Desert Southwest, the temperatures are still reaching the mid-90’s during the day.  But the temps in the morning are dipping into the mid-60’s, a glorious reminder that the first cool front will blow through any day now.  A perfect time for gardening.  And just to sit and watch the grand finale . . .  and to just be . . . 

Shades of Purple - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

 

Up until the 1850’s, the color purple was most often associated with nobility.  Cyrus, a Persian king, wore a purple tunic, adopting it as his royal uniform. Some Roman emperors even forbade their citizens from wearing purple clothing - under penalty of death. During the Byzantine Empire, rulers wore long purple robes, used purple ink to sign their orders, and their children were described as being “born in the purple.”  Why? The reason was that a pound of purple wool cost more than most people earned in a year! The color purple was produced from a species of rare sea snail, centered in the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. It took as many as 250,000 of the snails, which produced a purple staining mucus, to yield just one ounce of usable dye. After the fall of the Byzantine empire in the 15th century, the upper class monopoly of purple fabric waned - but it was still expensive.  It wasn’t until the 1850’s with the creation of the first synthetic dyes that the color purple became more widely available.  

 

I, for one, am glad that the color purple is now easily attainable.  With that in mind, this week’s edition of the Three for Thursday blog is titled “Shades of Purple.”  Three items from three handmade artists are featured. The artists are: Cathy of Crafting Memories; Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  I hope you enjoy all the different shades of purple found in the beauties shared.

Make it an Artisan Handmade Mothers Day - Week 9

 

 

Watch out!  Mother’s Day will be here very soon, on Sunday May 12!  It’s not too late to order a handmade gift from the beauties shared this week on the Mother’s Day Countdown 2019, hosted again this year by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog.  Week 9, the last week, came and went and 12 handmade artisans shared a total of 36 wonderfully unique items. Browse the wide range of eye catching shares for this week - many of them one of a kind designs - visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom something that was HANDMADE from the heart!

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