Blog entry
First Page, Last Handmade Item - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
I always love to do random type blog posts, posts that don’t have a specific theme, like “flowers, “autumn” or based on a quote. For this post, I chose “First Page, Last Handmade Item” (as of when this blog was written),” a random pick of artisan handmade creations, the last item on the first page. Despite not having a specific theme, the handmade items from Indiemade artist friends always showcase a wide range of extraordinary talent. If an item catches your eye, either click on the photo or the live link beneath the photo to be taken to the item in the shop. There you will find more information and photos. I hope you enjoy these last handmade items found on the first page:
Flora and Fauna - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
I have always admired Walter Cronkite on so many levels, but mostly as an intelligent and reliable newsman and as a vital, moral human being. Even though he died in 2009, I still remember his plain spoken grace in delivering the news, from moonwalks to war, assassinations to peace treaties and thusands of other topics. A favorite quote of his, made 2005 (but still oh so relevant today), is this one:
“I am joining the hundreds of thousands who shall be marching in the Virtual March on Washington to Stop Global Warming in order to demonstrate the concern that we all hold for the future of our planet and all the living things — flora, fauna, human and animal — that exist upon it. The governments of the world have tarried long enough, and the United States is scarcely without doubt the greatest culprit among them. We the people have the strength to bring our country from our weak-kneed stumbling gait in the last ranks of reason to the leadership of the great march to environmental victory.”
Second Category, Third Item - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
The Franciscan Festival of Fine Arts at the Holy Cross Retreat Center is this Labor Day weekend, Saturday and Sunday. The Retreat Center has been operational for 60 years. However, some of the buildings in the compound are over 100 years old. It's so peaceful there and feels like you step back in time, especially when you see Father Tom walking around in his full cassock with a large, wooden rosary tied around his waist, chatting with as many people as he can. The juried festival itself has been held yearly for almost 20 years and is a “go to” festival for local people and the many who might drive from Tucson, Albuquerque or beyond to buy beautiful artisan handcrafted items. If you are in the Las Cruces, NM or El Paso, TX area, please stop by - I will be selling my jewelry there. For more information, here is a link: Franciscan Festival of Fine Arts.
New, One of a Kind Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs
It has just been over a month since I shared the newest handmade jewelry in my Indiemade shop. I usually try to share once every two weeks. But between traveling and getting ready for my first big show of the season (Labor Day weekend), I finally found time today to share my newest earrings and necklaces, all handmade, many with a boho flair and all one of a kind creations. If something catches your eye, please click the photo or the link below for more information and pictures. I hope you enjoy each and every one as much as I enjoyed creating them.
Radiant Rainbows! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
The monsoon season is still going on here in the Desert Southwest. Most every afternoon, the sky clouds, the wind starts to howl, thunder can be heard and lightning seen . . . and if we are lucky, rain falls. As happens so often here, our house can get a deluge but a friend just a few block away may only get a few sprinkles. If the rain ends at just the right time, a magical rainbow can be seen towards the east. Sometimes a paler secondary - or even very pale triple - rainbow forms. A colorful, visual gift! The photo above shows part of a double rainbow (that tried to turn into a triple rainbow). At the end of this post is a single rainbow, both taken with my trusty camera.
Beautiful Firsts - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Looking for a handmade gift for a special someone, an item that was made from the heart? Each of the Beautiful Firsts creations featured below are artisan handcrafted; many are one of a kind designs. The unique items chosen are the first listing in each shop (as of this post) but there are many more beauties to be discovered if you stay awhile and browse. Support handmade . . . support handmade artists!
Unique New Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs
The Muses have been active - lots of new jewelry, most with a fun, boho flair, have been created recently. Now all I have to do is to photograph them and get them listed. Easier said than done! The newest necklaces and pairs of earrings listings are featured below. And, to round out the number of jewelry shares to ten, three oldies but goodies that are patiently waiting for a new home can be found at the end.
Shadow Dog Designs - New Handmade Jewelry
The past two weeks have been very busy . . . not so much with making new jewelry and listing new pieces . . . but with life itself. It seems I find myself coming and going at the same time. Thank heavens for yoga classes and the bits and pieces of meditation I can do. They definitely help center my life, to look at what life throws my way with empathy, caring and a sense of humor (or at least I hope!).
Summer Heat - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
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With the summer solstice rapidly approaching, I decided it was time to feature hot, hot, HOT colored artisan handmade items in oranges, reds and yellow. But before I do, (since I am a huge science geek), I thought I’d share a bit of about sunrises, sunsets and the summer solstice. The solstice here in the Texas Borderlands will take place on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 10:24 pm MDT. Most people think that, because the solstice signifies the longest day of the year (or the shortest, in the southern hemisphere), the earliest sunrise and the latest sunset happens on that day. But that is not true. The exact date of earliest sunrises and latest sunsets varies with latitude. At mid-northern latitudes (say Philadelphia at 40 degrees north latitude), the earliest sunrises of the year happens on June 14 and the latest sunset on June 27. The farther south you go in latitude, the earlier the earliest sunrises become and the later the latest sunset are. For instance, the earliest sunrise here in El Paso has already passed - on June 11 - and the latest sunset isn’t until June 30.
Circles of Our Lives - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Sometimes the most mundane of things in life suddenly captures my imagination. The other day, when I was outside with Seamus, the very handsome Shadow Dog, I started thinking about circles (yes, my brain does shoot off on a tangent sometimes!). You see circles everywhere: most door knobs, most coins, the sun and moon, the pupil of most animal's eyes and the wheel, just to name a few. Most people don't give them a second thought unless you're a mathematician, an architect or an artist. As a gardener and an avid observer of nature, I daily feel the circle of life all around me on a more cosmological scale: day/night, phases of the moon, seasons, life/death. And then I remembered a Wendell Berry poem, called "Circles of Our Lives", which I will share at the end of this post. This led me to do some reading about circles (inquiring minds want to know!) and copious note taking.
