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Blog entry
Countdown to Mother's Day - Handmade Gifts - Week 2
Julie and Blu of Blue Morning Expressions are once again hosting the popular "Mother's Day Countdown” on their BluPrint blog. Last year's Mother's Day Countdown 2016 was a resounding success so a 2017 version, which started last week, is up and running. Mother's Day will be here before we all know it! Now is the perfect time to start browsing gift ideas and buying that perfect gift(s) for your Mum. Any one of the handmade (many of which are one of a kind) and vintage items shared this week are perfect. Visit the shops of the artists featured and buy Mum something that was handmade from the heart or that will re-live as a vintage piece.
The Number 3 for Good Fortune - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
From time immemorial, the number 3 has played an important part in everyday human life. Three is considered the fundamental number, a synthesis of 1 and 2 representing the unity of heaven and earth. Number 3 points to the intellectual and spiritual order, the divine qualities in the cosmos and in people. It is often viewed as a number of good fortune. In numerology, people with a number 3 personality are optimistic, creative curious, good-natured and helpful. But they may also be naive and proud, with a tendency to exaggerate and give promises easily.
Green for St. Patrick's Day - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
St. Patrick's Day (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is a cultural and religious celebration held on March 17, the traditional date when Saint Patrick died. What began as a religious feast day for the patron saint of Ireland (c. AD 385–461) has become an international festival observed by the Irish and the Irish-at-heart. Irish culture is celebrated with parades, dancing, special food, beer and a tremendous amount of green (including copious amounts of green beer).
Shadow Dog Designs - New Handmade Necklace and Earrings Gift Ideas
Fortunately the Muses have finally come back from an extended vacation (just in time) and I have been busy creating quite a few new necklaces and pairs of earrings. Many designs have a definite boho flair and some are supremely elegant. With the spring arts festival season quickly approaching, my handmade jewelry stock definitely needs to be replenished. There will be many more new jewelry listings in the coming weeks.
The Earth Laughs in Flowers - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
The weather has been unusually warm here in the Desert Southwest (sorry about that to my northern friends!). Winter was only a glancing blow a few times. Since the days have been warm with plenty of sunshine, the grass in the back yard is beginning to green up and some fruit trees are already blooming, masses of pale pink and white flowers. One of my geraniums is blooming, the hot fuchsia color is so welcome, and the hardy roses are putting on lovely reddish new growth. Am sure they will be in full bloom in several weeks. And, happily, the much beloved Spanish lavender is setting buds. Soon the cacti and other native desert plants will be in full bloom - maybe not the showiest of flowers, but gorgeously sublime nonetheless.
Beautifully Blissful Blues - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
I have always been fascinated with words, especially when it comes to colors. Just how many different words are there to describe a color? But one person “blue” is not always another person’s “blue.” My husband is a good example. This past weekend we were at Lowe’s looking at paint chips: yellows, blues and greens. DH’s definition of any shade or tint of blue, whether it is a pale baby blue or a dark navy blue, is “blue.” I, myself, am much more exacting most of the time. So, if I see “cornflower blue,” I will call it that.
Spirals, Circles and Arcs - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
This week’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade features artisan design that feature spirals, circles and/or arcs. All three symbols were used as early as 38.000 BC in Europe, Africa, Australia and South America when ancient man began to carve into stone or paint cave walls in protected areas. It is possible that earlier hunter/gatherer peoples might have decorated their bodies and clothes or marked trees or features in the landscape but, if they did, evidence of that art has not survived.
First We Dream - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
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One of my favorite sayings is from Carl Sandburg: “Nothing happens unless first we dream.” I don’t know about the other artists that are included in this post, but I often dream about a design, especially one I am trying to figure out, whether it be a color combination or a new wire wrap technique. Maybe “dream” is not exactly the right word, but a design can come to me in that state between wakefulness and sleep where my mind comes up with all sorts of weird stuff.
Anyway, the handmade items in this post are the first ones listed (at least at the time this was posted) in the shops of the Indiemade artists featured here. Most are one of a kind items . . . and all are a “dream” to have. Enjoy.
The Magical Color of Purple - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Since purple is a fairly rare color in nature, an almost magical aura has been associated to it throughout human history. The first historical record of a purple dye, called Tyrian purple, indicates that it began to be manufactured in the Phoenician city of Tyre in the eastern Mediterranean in the 14th century BCE. The dye was extracted from the glands of several types of shellfish, but especially the Murex brandaris. The process to extract the dye took about three days. Thousands of putrefied, crushed shellfish were left to bake in the sun. Salt was then added and the mash of glands were boiled down. (Can you imagine the overwhelming stench of the process!!!). It took about 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye, barely enough to dye a single garment the size of a Roman toga. In 301 A.D. during the reign of Roman Emperor Diocletian, one pound of purple dye cost 150,000 denarii or around three pounds of gold. This is the main reason the purple color was reserved for emperors or individuals with titles of royal authority.
Valentines Day Gift Ideas! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Valentine’s Day will be here before we know it. It is a day that started with pagan roots, associated with the Roman festival, Lupercalia. Celebrated at the ides of February (February 13-15), Lupercalia was a fertility festival dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, as well as to the Roman founders, Romulus and Remus. Lupercalia survived the initial rise of Christianity but was outlawed around 496 A.D. when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 as St. Valentine’s Day. It is not known, however, which of three St. Valentines (all of whom were martyred) Pope Gelasius was honoring. In 1381, Geoffrey Chaucer, a famous English poet, first associated St. Valentine's Day with romance in a poem he wrote in honor of the engagement between Richard II and Anne of Bohemia. The engagement, the mating season of birds, St. Valentine’s Day and true love were all linked . . . and it’s been a day for lovers ever since.
