Blog entry

Beautiful Flowers - Artisan Handmade for Spring

                                                         Photo by James J. Shaw

I know a bank where the wild thyme blows,

Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,

Quite over-canopied with luscious woodbine,

With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.

William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair . . . 

Susan Polis Schutz

Beautiful Blues - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

Blue is a much beloved, favorite color of many, many people worldwide, especially in Europe and the United States.  But, if you look back at the history of blue, it was an ignored color for quite some time.  The Greek and Romans had no word for the color - it was never mentioned in any of the many texts produced at that time.  The color itself was barely distinguished from neutral shades. In the Odyssey, for example, Homer mentioned white and black hundreds of times, rarely mentioned red and yellow and used the term “wine-dark” to describe blue items, such as the sky or the sea.  What we think of as blue was associated with the Celts who were said to have painted their bodies blue before going into battle, women with blue eyes were believed to have loose morals and descriptions of rainbows omitted the color blue altogether!

Unique Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday

The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. 

Dieter Uchtdorf

Two weeks have already flown . . . and here it is, time for another Three for Thursday blog post.  Three wonderful handmade items from three different artists are featured. The artists highlighted this week are:  Marcia of MarciaMcKinzieArt with unique watercolor batik paintings (I chose all beautiful landscapes); a wide range of fiber crafts by Jacki of Christie Cottage; and unique boho style jewelry by me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.  If something catches your eye, please be sure to click on the photo or the link below the picture to be taken to the item for more photos and information. I hope you enjoy the unique artisan handmade items featured below. And, remember:  BUY HANDMADE!

Terrific Turquoise - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Since I live in the Desert Southwest, turquoise is a definite favorite of people, both the gemstone itself and the color.  Turquoise is a shade of blue that lies on the color scale between blue and green. It has psychological characteristics associated with both of those colors:  the calmness of blue and the growth that is represented in green. Turquoise is said to be a color that balances blue, green and yellow, linking it to emotional balance. It is a color promotes a feeling of serenity and stability.  I don’t know about you, but whenever I work with turquoise, I do feel a great sense of peace and calmness.

Terrific Turquoise is the theme of today’s Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade blog.  Each artisan handmade item selected uses the color turquoise (or even the gemstone itself) as a major part of the design or as a beautiful accent.  Most of these beauties are one of a kind designs and all are made from the heart.  I hope you enjoy these handmade creations using the color turquoise.