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Artisan Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

Since the autumn arts festival season is in full swing, I have been thinking a lot about handmade items, especially since I mostly make one of a kind jewelry.  People always ask me, “How do you come up with the design.” I reply something like this, “To tell the truth, I’m not sure. Most of the time it just happens.” Or, “The Muses were good to me.”  I’m sure a LOT of artists give some semblance of those answer since the “creative idea” is often elusive. But the answers definitely don’t take into account all the years and years of working to perfect your art through taking classes, people giving their opinions, selling (or not) at shows and by trial and error . . . and more trial and error . . . and more trial and error.  Then, suddenly, it just happens.

 

I found this poster at WalchaHandmade that pretty much sums up the process:  

Happy Halloween and Day of the Dead at Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

Halloween and Day of the Dead / Dia de los Muertos will soon be here.  The hunt for that perfect piece of handmade jewelry to show off your fun and/or spooky side has begun.  To help with that search, I’m sharing the earrings and necklaces in my Shadow Dog Designs shop that are impeccable accessories for you pre-Halloween and Day of the Dead wear and the festivities that happen on those individual days.  All one of a kind handmade designs, I hope these (un)lucky 13 pieces of jewelry catch your eye. If so, please click on the photograph or the link below each picture to be taken to the item for more information and photos.  I hope you enjoy these unique pieces.

Artisan Handmade for a Spooky Halloween!

 

 

Halloween - the day of trick or treaters in creepy (or cute) costumes, grinning skulls, Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins, spooky ghosts and other notorious beast - will soon be here.  But even weeks before October 31, it’s fun to wear spooky accessories or decorate the home for Halloween. With that in mind, I decided to pull together some spine-tingling jewelry and other items from handmade artists, each one perfect to help celebrate that supernatural day of the year.  I hope you enjoy these choices and will visit the shops of the talented artists featured for more amazing handmade beauties, shuddersome or not!

Need Some Love - Artisan Handmade

 

 

 

There is something ALL handmade artists go through:  you design a beautiful piece of jewelry, or create a fabulous painting, or crochet an intricate piece of table art, or . . . the list goes on and on.  You have put so much of yourself into the piece, you love it and you are sure it will sell very, very quickly. Unfortunately, there it still sits in your shop . . . and you have no idea why!

Unique Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

 

 

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. 

Dieter Uchtdorf


 

Two weeks have already flown . . . and here it is, time for another Three for Thursday blog post.  Three wonderful handmade items from three different artists are featured. The artists highlighted this week are:  Marcia of MarciaMcKinzieArt with unique watercolor batik paintings (I chose all beautiful landscapes); a wide range of fiber crafts by Jacki of Christie Cottage; and unique boho style jewelry by me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  If something catches your eye, please be sure to click on the photo or the link below the picture to be taken to the item for more photos and information. I hope you enjoy the unique artisan handmade items featured below. And, remember:  BUY HANDMADE!

Necklaces and Earrings - New Jewelry from Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

That's the thing with handmade items. They still have the person's mark on them, and when you hold them, you feel less alone.

 

Aimee Bender, The Color Master: Stories


 

I love the idea that when you hold a handmade item, that you feel less alone.  I hope that everyone who wears a piece of my handmade jewelry feels that way! The one of a kind jewelry definitely has my “mark” with many good wishes and peaceful intentions added.

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!

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.”

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."

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