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Blog entry
Happy Spring! Happy Easter!
The celebration of the return of spring and Easter brings the promise that everything can begin again, of letting go of the old and embracing something new, of renewal of the self and of the earth, and of faith. Just think of everything associated with spring and Easter: promise, resurrection, birth, new love, romance, nesting birds, butterflies, daffodils, tulips, peach blossoms and so many other cheerful flowers.
Powerful Pink - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
To most people, the color pink is a “sweet” color: charming, playful, cute, feminine, romantic and so on. But in the past few years, it also represents struggles and the need to warrior on. Think of all the pink worn, especially ribbons, signifying breast cancer awareness. And the pink hats, shirts, and other articles of clothing worn by millions during the recent women’s marches. Thinking on this, pink is not just feminine and sweet, a bubblegum / cotton candy color. It has come to signify power, rising up and demanding equal rights.
Happy Easter! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Modern-day Easter is derived from two ancient traditions: one pagan and the other Judeo-Christian. Both pagans and Christians have celebrated death and resurrection themes following the spring equinox for millennia. A majority of religious historians believe that many elements of the Christian observance of Easter were derived from earlier pagan celebrations. The name “Easter” itself originated with the names of an ancient goddess. The Venerable Bede, (672-735 CE), a Christian scholar, first mentioned in his book De Ratione Temporum that Easter was named after Eostre (a.k.a. Eastre). She was the Great Mother Goddess of the Saxon people in Northern Europe. The "Teutonic dawn goddess of fertility was also known as Ostare, Ostara, Ostern, Eostra, Eostre, Eastra and others.
Countdown to Mother's Day - Handmade Gifts - Week 5
Week 5 of the Countdown to Mother's Day, hosted by Julie and Blu of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog, sped right on by. Sixty artisan handmade items from twenty artists were left in its wake. Mother’s Day is fast approaching! Now is the perfect time to start browsing gift ideas and buying that perfect gift(s) for your Mum. Any one of the mostly one of a kind handmade items shared this week are perfect for even the pickiest Mom. Visit the shops of the artists featured and buy Mom something that was handmade from the heart.
Countdown to Mother's Day - Handmade and Vintage Gifts - Week 4
Week 4 of the Countdown to Mother's Day, hosted by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions on their The Blu Print blog, has come and gone. Sixty-three mostly handmade items, with a few vintage pieces, were left in its wake. Now is the perfect time to start browsing gift ideas and buying that perfect gift(s) for your Mum. Any one of the mostly one of a kind handmade items and the vintage items shared this week are perfect for even the pickiest Mom. Visit the shops of the 21 artists featured and buy Mom something that was handmade from the heart or that will re-live as a vintage piece.
Easter Perfection! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Easter will be here before we know it, on Sunday, April 16. It was a family tradion, a week or so before Easter, that my Mom would take my sister, my brother and me to the local dry goods store to shop for a new Easter outfit to wear to church. My sister and I always ended up with frilly dresses in pastel shades, new white shoes, lace edged socks (sometimes in colors matching our dress), white gloves and a new mantilla or flower headband. My brother, always with not much choices, ended up with khakis, a white shirt and new brown shoes (and sometimes a new plastic dinosaur for this extensive collection). Were we ever Easter styling! Hopefully all photos of us kids decked out in our Easter finery have been lost.
Countdown to Mother's Day - Handmade and Vintage Gifts - Week 3
Week 3 of the Countdown to Mother's Day, hosted by Julie and Blu of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog, has come and gone. Sixty-three mostly handmade items, with a few vintage pieces, were left in its wake. Now is the perfect time to start browsing gift ideas and buying that perfect gift(s) for your Mum. Any one of the mostly one of a kind handmade items and the vintage items shared this week are perfect for even the pickiest Mom. Visit the shops of the artists featured and buy Mom something that was handmade from the heart or that will re-live as a vintage piece.
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.
Easter Egg Colors - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade - March 23, 2016
Easter Sunday is almost on us, coming fairly early this year. In celebration of Easter, I decided to base this Wonderful Handmade Wednesday post on the glorious colors of Easter eggs, since there will be millions dyed, hunted and rolled come Sunday. There is an old Latin proverb: "Omne vivum ex ovo," which means "all life comes from an egg." Many ancient cultures the world over believed the whole universe was created from an egg, the egg an important symbol of life. Before Christianity, eggs were revered by pagans as a symbols of fertility and resurrection and played important roles in their return-of-spring celebrations. Christians used Easter eggs (which started to be painted around the 13th century) to represent Jesus’ emergence from the tomb and his resurrection. However, many scholars point out that ancient Persians painted eggs for Nowrooz, their New Year celebration falling on the Spring Equinox, a tradition that continues to this day and was picked up by cultures and religions around the world.
