Blog entry
An Artisan Handmade Christmas - Gift Ideas - Week 6
Posted October 29, 2019
It’s hard to imagine that we’re half-way finished with the twelve week Countdown to Christmas 2019! Yikes, that means Christmas is bearing down on us and will soon be here! According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, there are only 56 days until Jolly Ol’ Santa and his merry band of reindeer arrive once again. 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, SHOP HANDMADE!
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It's an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 2
Posted October 1, 2019
Week 2 of the Countdown to Christmas 2019 has come and gone . . . and unique handmade and vintage items have been left in its wake. According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, there is only 84 days, 23 hours, 5 minutes and those quickly descending seconds (as of 12:01 a.m. Tuesday morning) until Christmas is here . . . once again! Need a perfect start to your Christmas shopping? The Countdown is the place to do just that! A good motto to follow: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE!
Radiant Red - Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday
Posted September 26, 2019
For friends who know me well, they know red is my all time favorite color. Always has been and probably always will be (although fuchsia and turquoise are right up there, too). I love the vibrancy of the color and that, in ancient Egypt, it represented life, health and victory. Yay!
So when I was musing on what the theme of this week’s Three for Thursday blog, I decided RED was it! Three handmade items with red as a main component of the design are featured from three artisans. The three artists are: Charlotte of Covergirlbeads; Jacki of Christie Cottage; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy these picks and will visit the artists studios for more handmade beauties.
It's an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 1
Posted September 24, 2019
WOW, wasn't last Christmas like . . . two months ago? Yikes! According to the Christmas clock, there are only 91 days, 22 hours, 30 minutes and those quickly descending seconds (as of 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning) until Christmas is here . . . once again! And it's even closer by the time your read this It's an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 1 blog post! Need a perfect start to your Christmas shopping? The Countdown is the place to do just that! A good motto to follow: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE!
Colors for Autumn - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted September 5, 2019
Despite the days still being in the mid- to high-90’s here in the Borderlands (unusual here for this time of the year), the last few mornings have had a tinge of autumn in the air. I’m definitely ready for the cooler breezes and being able to leave the windows open. Purple asters will bloom and the cottonwoods will turn a glorious golden yellow. Fall will soon be here (I hope!).
With autumn in mind, I decided to choose handmade beauties in fall colors for this Three for Thursday titles, appropriately enough, Colors for Autumn. The artists today are: Kathy of KatsAllThat; Pamela of MagdaleneKnits; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy my autumn inspired picks and will visit the shops of the artists for more wondrous handmade fall elegance.
A Little of This, A Little of That - Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday
Posted August 8, 2019
This week’s Three for Thursday blog, featuring three items from three handmade artisans, is “A Little of This, A Little of That.” As the title indicates, I picked out a wide variety of unique items, from fractal art counted cross stitch patterns / refrigerator magnets / polymer clay beads to hand sewn jewelry / favor bags to one of a kind jewelry. The artists included are: Julie (and her four legged sidekick, Harry) of Blue Morning Expressions; Ani of readytoshipproducts; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. If something catches your eye and you want to see more, please click the photo or link to be taken to the artist’s shop. I hope you enjoy browsing the items.
Colours by Donovan - Three for Thursday
Posted July 25, 2019
A couple of days ago, while I was picking up some veggies and fruit from our local Whole Foods, I keyed in on a song that was playing in the background - a song I loved waaaaay back when. When I got home, I looked it up on YouTube, played the video and then let the mix of music from the mid-60’s to early 70’s continue playing. Brought back to many happy, and some sad, memories. One of the songs that played was Donovan Leitch’s “Colours,” a song I adored then and still adore now. I get lost in the peaceful lyrics, the lovely simplicity of the folk guitar accompaniment and Donovan's hauntingly beautiful voice. The song was released in 1965 and, 54 years later, is still a classic. I have played it over and over since “rediscovering” it. The lyrics are shared near the end of the post.
Here’s a link to the YouTube video (version without harmonica):
And here’s an incredible live version of the song with Pete Seeger sitting in on banjo:
Hot, Hot, Hot Dogs Days of Summer - Artisan Handmade
Posted July 11, 2019
The dog days of summer are here and the temperatures have gotten hot, hot, hot. It seems heat records have been shattered worldwide, especially in places that normally don’t get that hot. Weird weather all over. Climate change is real, folks!
So, just how did the term "Dog Days of Summer" come about? Depending on latitude and longitude, the Dog Days usually start the beginning of July and end the beginning of September in the Northern Hemisphere and between early January to early March in the Southern Hemisphere. Most people believe the phrase "dog days" developed by observing domestic dogs (such as our Seamus) laying around in shady areas during hot days. Another old myth, first attributed to Pliny the Elder, a Roman naturalist, stated in his Natural History that rabid dogs are supposed to be more common during this time of the year because the heat drives them mad. He advised feeding dogs chicken manure to curb the tendency!!!
A Melange of Handmade - Three for Thursday - June 20, 2019
Posted June 20, 2019
This weeks's Three for Thursday is a melange of items. Since I have an addiction to words, I wanted to give a brief etymology of the word melange. The word, which rolls off the tongue to so beautifully, first is first found in French documents around the comes from the 15th century French word meler, meaning 'to mix, mingle." Meler, in turn, came from the Old French meslance or meslinges (a set of diverse elements). So, according to The Free Dictionary, the modern word means “a collection of various things.” Which is the perfect definition of the variety of handmade items I found from artists and am sharing in this post: The items featured are from three handmade artists: beautiful original watercolor paintings from Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; fun and handy to have cards of various types from Jacki of Christie Cottage; and a selection of one of a kind handmade jewelry from me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.
I hope you enjoy these picks. And that you will visit the shops of the artists for more handmade beauties.
Beautiful Blues - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted May 23, 2019
Blue is a much beloved, favorite color of many, many people worldwide, especially in Europe and the United States. But, if you look back at the history of blue, it was an ignored color for quite some time. The Greek and Romans had no word for the color - it was never mentioned in any of the many texts produced at that time. The color itself was barely distinguished from neutral shades. In the Odyssey, for example, Homer mentioned white and black hundreds of times, rarely mentioned red and yellow and used the term “wine-dark” to describe blue items, such as the sky or the sea. What we think of as blue was associated with the Celts who were said to have painted their bodies blue before going into battle, women with blue eyes were believed to have loose morals and descriptions of rainbows omitted the color blue altogether!
