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Make It A Handmade Mothers Day 2022 - Week 5

 

 

Another week of the Mother's Day Countdown 2022 has come and gone.  Week 5 is here already!!!  Hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their Blu Print blog, Twenty-seven unique handmade items were shared from 9 artists.  Many are one of a kind and each will make a memorable gift for Mom on her big day.  Since Mother's Day will be here before you know it, this is the perfect time to start thinking about and buying a gift(s) for your Mom (and, perhaps, for yourself).  Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 5, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beautiful gift that was handmade from the heart.  For this year's Mother's Day:  BUY HANDMADE and support small, indie businesses!

 

 

 

Happy Valentines Day - Artisan Handmade Gifts!

 

 

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. 

 

 

 

New Jewelry - Necklaces and Earrings Handmade by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

It has been a very long time since I last shared new necklace and earring designs from my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS jewelry shop.  Between doing shows, the holiday rush and other commitments, I've had a hard time pulling anything together.  Until now!  Featured are a baker's dozen of new jewelry designs:  seven necklaces and six pairs of earrings.  They are all one of a kind designs.  If you are interested in anything and want more information, be sure to click the photo or the link below the photo to be taken to the item.  I hope you enjoy the new artisan handmade beauties.  

 

 

Every Flower - Artisan Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

EVERY FLOWER IS A SOUL BLOSSOMING IN NATURE

Gerard de Nerval

 

Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love growing flowers.  Since moving to the Desert Southwest, it has been a long experiment to see what survives and what doesn’t.  Not only does the summer heat make some plants struggle, but we had an unexpected deep freeze this past winter.  But since the monsoon season has arrived early this year with much needed rain (yay!) and cooler temperatures (yay!), my flower beds are thriving.  The zinnias that were grown from seed have just started to bloom - they are an experiment so we’ll see how they do.  Grandpa Otts morning glories and sunflowers are aso blooming, along with the yellow and native lantana (which started back in March) and cheerful moss-rose purslane.  And, of course, the bright fuchsia pink Knockout roses keep chugging right along.  An all-time favorite flower, hollyhocks, are just about bloomed out.  I've been taking photos and hope to share some in a blog later on.  I revel in the beauty of flowers!

New Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

You would seem due sheltering in place because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I’d have more time to create new jewelry and blog.  Before, my days were very structured.  Now they’re not, even though I try to structure them.  It seems I find myself saying, “I’ll do it tomorrow” . . . and then when tomorrow rolls around, it becomes “tomorrow” again.  So, this morning, I sat myself down to create a new blog showcasing the newest pieces of jewelry in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS shop.  Fourteen handmade beauties:  nine pairs of earrings, four necklaces and one bracelet.  They are all one of a kind creations from a variety of materials including, gemstones, polymer clay, Czech glass, Swarovski crystals and a host of other things.  I hope you take the time to browse and to check out all the other jewelry in my shop.  After all, Christmas will be here before we know it - get a head start with your holiday shopping!  Enjoy.

Julia's Roses (And A Few Irises)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My good friend, Julia, `spent many years creating a most amazing rose garden in her backyard.  They are her “babies” and she spends many enjoyable hours working in the garden, talking to the roses and inhaling their heady scents when blooming.  She also communes with the wondrous nature that is all around.  However, in years past, she’s wasn't at home when the roses were in full bloom.  She would fly to Bolivia for three months in the spring (autumn in Bolivia) to visit her brother and other relatives in the town where she grew up.  I always felt sad for Julia when she was away, knowing how she was missing her amazing rose show. I’d go to her house, take photos of the roses, blog about them and then email her the link.  But that definitely wasn’t anything like being in her garden to enjoy the beauty each bush provided

 

Make It a Handmade Mothers Day - Week 9

 

 

Watch out!  Mother’s Day will be here very soon, this Sunday, May 10!  It’s still not too late to order a handmade gift from the beauties shared this week on the Mother’s Day Countdown 2020, hosted again this year by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog.  This is Week 9 of the Countdown, the last week, 13 handmade artisans shared a total of 39 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!

 

 

 

Shades of Purple - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

 

Up until the 1850’s, the color purple was most often associated with nobility.  Cyrus, a Persian king, wore a purple tunic, adopting it as his royal uniform. Some Roman emperors even forbade their citizens from wearing purple clothing - under penalty of death. During the Byzantine Empire, rulers wore long purple robes, used purple ink to sign their orders, and their children were described as being “born in the purple.”  Why? The reason was that a pound of purple wool cost more than most people earned in a year! The color purple was produced from a species of rare sea snail, centered in the ancient Phoenician city of Tyre. It took as many as 250,000 of the snails, which produced a purple staining mucus, to yield just one ounce of usable dye. After the fall of the Byzantine empire in the 15th century, the upper class monopoly of purple fabric waned - but it was still expensive.  It wasn’t until the 1850’s with the creation of the first synthetic dyes that the color purple became more widely available.  

 

I, for one, am glad that the color purple is now easily attainable.  With that in mind, this week’s edition of the Three for Thursday blog is titled “Shades of Purple.”  Three items from three handmade artists are featured. The artists are: Cathy of Crafting Memories; Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  I hope you enjoy all the different shades of purple found in the beauties shared.

Handmade Jewelry - New Necklaces and Earrings by Shadow Dog Designs

 

 

Spring is pretty much behind us here in the Desert Southwest.  Although it has been a very mild spring (YAY!) with below average heat with morning still cool enough that a light jacket is sometimes needed.  But all of us who live here know that summer is just around the corner bringing some triple digit temperatures in June. The the summer monsoons arrive (hopefully) in July, August and September bringing cooler temperatures again (but also the dreaded humidity) and a sense of rejuvenation.  

 

So many of my new jewelry designs deal with summer-y type things, whether the designs feature flowers, summer colors, the sun or other beauties.  And don’t forget your dogs or cats! I hope you enjoy the newest earrings (and one necklace) designs that can be found in my Shadow Dog Designs jewelry shop:

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