Blog entry
Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - 2022 - Week 1
Posted September 20, 2022
Wow! It seems like Christmas was just a few months ago. It’s very hard to believe that Christmas is only 95 days away according to the ever ticking Christmas clock. With that in mind, it's definitely not too early to start thinking about all those people on your Christmas shopping list. What should you get them??? A perfect place to start looking (and buying!) is the 12 week Countdown to Christmas 2022 collections. Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Shopify blog, the collections will be filled with a wide variety of artisan handmade / designed gifts. A new collection will be added each week through the first full week of December. This week, there were 27 shares from 9 handmade artists: unique jewelry of all types (earrings, bracelets and necklaces), baby gifts, party stickers / gift tags, fun thumbtacks / magnets, Halloween gifts and more. A good motto to follow through these weeks leading up to Christmas: SHOP EARLY, SHOP OFTEN! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE to support small indie businesses!
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Halloween - Spooky Artisan Handmade Goodies - 2022
Posted September 11, 2022
Halloween will soon be here, a little more than six weeks away! It’s a favorite day / evening for many with a steady stream of trick or treaters in creepy or cute costumes, grinning skulls, Jack O’ Lantern pumpkins, spooky ghosts and other notorious beasts. During the weeks before October 31, it’s fun to wear spooky accessories or decorate the home for Halloween. With that in mind, handmade artist friends were invited to share two Halloween-type items - whether symbolic or filled with the traditional colors or both. You’ll see a wide variety of spine-tingling jewelry, eye-catching photography, fun party items, a cute baby gift set, an orange cat print, unique lampwork glass beads and your choice of sugar skull pincushions. Each one of these handmade beauties, many of which are one of a kind pieces, are 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, some shuddersome and some not!
Oldies But Goodies - Unique Artisan Handmade Gifts
Posted July 5, 2022
Whenever someone says “Oldies But Goodies,” most people think of old songs (especially from a jukebox - remember those?), vintage cars, lots of items on the Antiques Roadshow or, possibly, themselves (after . . . *ahem* . . . a certain age). However the term, “Oldies But Goodies,” also refers to items in our artisan handmade shops that have been around for longer than the artist who made it would like. Whenever something is created and then listed in our shops, we always think it will sell right away. Some do. But, for whatever reason, some beauties sit there . . . and sit there . . . and sit there some more. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that particular item - not at all!!! It just hasn’t found that forever person to give it a forever home.
I asked artisan friends to share two items from their handmade shops that they considered “oldies but goodies.” Many of the items are one of a kind creations and would make a perfect gift for a birthday, an anniversary, for Christmas, or just because . . . I hope something catches your eye and that you visit the shops of the artists below. And that many of the “oldie” items find a loving home.
New Handmade Earrings and Necklaces - Shadow Dog Designs
Posted June 16, 2022
The heat of summer has set in here in the Desert Southwest. Which means planting more flowers in the flower beds is pretty much a done deal until the monsoon season sets in shortly (hopefully - we really need some rain!). More time is being spent inside during the day until the temps cool down when the sun starts to set, so I'm making good use of the extra time inside creating and listing new jewelry. And I'm looking further down the road to the Labor Day weekend when the Franciscan Festival of Fine Arts is being held - my first big show of the season and my favorite. Five new pairs of earrings and two new necklaces have been recently added to my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS handmade jewelry shop. I also added three older pieces to make an even ten. If something catches your eye and you want to look at more photos or need more information, please either click the picture or the description under the pic to be taken to the item listing. I hope you enjoy these new necklace sand earrings, all of which are one of a kind designs.
Unique Handmade Necklaces and Earrings by Shadow Dog Designs - Jewelry
Posted May 18, 2022
"Jewelry is a very personal thing . . . it should tell a story about the person who’s wearing it"
Garance Daré
I love the quote above by Garance Daré since it is so true. Jewelry IS a very personal thing. It can range from very traditional jewelry to jewelry that is uniquely boho; from mass produced to individually handmade pieces. I LOVE making unique jewelry! Necklaces and earrings, as you can see in this post, that definitely lean to the fun, boho side and are mostly one of a kind (with the excepton of a few pairs of Christmas earrings). Featured here are ten pieces of the newest jewelry in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS, six pairs of earrings and four pendant necklaces. If something catches your eye and you want more information and more photos, be sure to click the photo or short description to be taken to the item in my shop. Enjoy!
Make It A Handmade Mothers Day 2022 - Week 9
Posted May 3, 2022
Watch out! Mother’s Day will be here very, very soon - in fact, this coming Sunday, May 8. It’s still not too late to order a handmade gift (do it now!) from the beauties shared this week on the Mother's Day Countdown 2022. The Countdown was hosted again this year by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog. Hard to believe this is the last weelk of the Countdown! Despite that, 9 handmade artisans shared a total of 27 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! By shopping small, you'll also support a small indie business.
One of a Kind Handmade Earrings and Necklaces by Shadow Dog Designs
Posted April 7, 2022
Here it is already a week into the month of April, with Easter being celebrated soon (on April 17) and Mother's Day shortly afterwards (May 8). With that in mind, I want to share eleven of the newest earrings and necklaces in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS jewelry shop. Each piece is designed and handmade by me mainly using components from individual artists located all over the world - making these beauties all one of a kind designs. Why wear mass produced when you can wear something that only you have!?! So, please, take a look. You'll find styles for the woman with a boho flair, a wide variety of earrings for the animal lover, yoga jewelry and more. If something catches your eye and you want more information or to look at more pictures, click on the photo or the description beneath the picture and you'll be taken to the item in my shop. I also want to point out that for anything in my shop, there is now free shipping (U.S. only) running through Mother's Day. I hope you truly enjoy the unique necklaces and earrings featured.
Animalia - Handmade Animal Inspired Gifts
Posted February 16, 2022
As most of my friends know, I adore animals - always have and always will - in all their glorious shapes and sizes and colors life story. Well, ttruthfully, I’m not too fond of mosquitos and ticks, despite their important role on this earth. Besides dogs and horses, it’s hard for me to pick out a favorite animal. I'm fascinated by all of them. How about you?
But just what is the term “animalia?” ANIMALIA: a taxonomic kingdom comprising all multicellular living and extinct animals - also called “metazoa.”
According to the Animal Diversity Web, it estimated that around 9 to 10 million species of animals inhabit the earth. Metazoa range in size from no more than a few cells - such as the parasitic orthonectids - to organisms weighing many tons - such as blue whales and giant squid. By far, insects make up the most species in animalia, with approximately 5.5 million species.
Having such a life-long love of (most) animals, I decided that a blog based on “Animalia” would be fun to pull together. I invited artist friends to share two handmade items that were based on animals. What a wide variety of beauties were shared, many one of a kind designs. If something catches your eye, please make sure to either click the photo or the link below the picture for more information. I hope you enjoy this showcase of animal art!
Dog and Cat Lover Jewelry Handmade by Shadow Dog Designs
Posted January 16, 2022
Since I am a huge advocate of ADOPT DON'T SHOP when it comes to adding a new dog (or cat) to the family, I have been making a line of dog and cat rescue jewelry for many years now. When a piece of dog / cat rescue jewelry is sold from my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS shop or at an arts festival, ½ (one half) of the purchase price is donated to an animal rescue organization. I try to keep the donations local whenever I can, but will donate to needy groups in other states that have faced disasters from hurricanes, fires, flooding, etc. As with all of my jewelry (except for a few styles of Christmas earrings), the necklace and earrings in the rescue line are one of a kind designs. I’m highlighting seven designs in this post, but there are a few more in my shop here: https://bit.ly/RescueJewelrySD. New designs are usually added on a monthly basis. Please browse the necklace and earrings below - if something catches your eye, either click on the photo or the link below to get more information and see more photos. I hope you enjoy the jewelry made with love to try to help the sweet souls who are desperately waiting for their furever home.
Happy Valentines Day - Artisan Handmade Gifts!
Posted January 13, 2022
Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. Walk into a store shortly after Christmas and hearts, cupids and other items in pink and red will assail you from every direction. Flowers, candy and gifts are exchanged between loved ones throughout the United States and in many other countries around the world . . . all in the name of St. Valentine. Although the exact history of St. Valentine is shrouded in mystery, February has long been celebrated as a month of romance. Valentine’s Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman traditions.
