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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.
Earrings and Necklaces, New Handmade Jewelry from Shadow Dog Designs
Christmas has come and gone and a New Year is almost here. And then on to Valentine’s Day with Mother’s Day not far behind. Looking back on 2016, I find it has been a whirlwind year full of shows, jewelry making, photographing jewelry, listing and . . . sales. Yay! A year of double down hard work is paying off.
No rest for the weary, however. This blog post features six new pairs of earrings, one new necklace and three “oldies but goodies” that are still looking for a loving home. All of the earrings and necklaces featured here are handmade, one of a kind designs; a bit boho, a bit classic and all extremely in fashion. When purchased, YOU will be the only one with such a unique piece.
Christmas Jewelry Gift Ideas from Shadow Dog Designs
Christmas is almost here . . . but there is still time to check off those special gifts on your list. Artisan handmade jewelry is always a welcome treat, somethign that is not mass produced. Most handmade jewelry are one of a kind necklace and earring designs that come from the artist's heart and soul, such as the beauties featured below. All of the jewelry below are unique - the wearer would be the only one with that design - except for the snowmen earrings with Swarovski emerald crystals. Seven new designs can be found in my Indiemade shop since the last post sharing my jewelry. The last three featured are oldies but goodies that are still looking for a loving home.
New, One of a Kind Handmade Jewelry by Shadow Dog Designs
It has been almost a month since I shared handmade jewelry from my Indiemade shop. Arts festivals, company and a bit of traveling has kept me very busy. But I have a short break now between shows, so decided to feature the new, one of a kind necklaces and earrings which can be found in my shop. A few have already sold, but I wanted to share them, just the same. I hope you enjoy these twelve unique beauties:
Yellers, Browns and Goldens - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
The other day, as I was pondering the theme of this week’s “Wonderful Handmade Wednesday" blog post, I ran across a very colorful quote from Roy Bean talking about autumn in the desert: “And Fall, with her yeller harvest moon and the hills growin' brown and golden under a sinkin' sun.” Aha, I thought! The handmade theme of earthy yellers, browns and goldens was then set in my mind.
All Creatures Great and Small - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Anyone who has spent even a small bit of time around me knows that I love animals, animals in all shapes and sizes and colors and temperaments. Even the so called “icky” ones are admired since they have a role to play in the complex balance of Nature. One of my favorite all time books is “All Creatures Great and Small” by James Herriot, where the theme for this post was lifted. And, after all my work with and around animals, my favorite quote in the book is this: “If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans.” So very true!!!
What a Spooky Halloween, Deux! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Halloween is just around the corner. Small goblins, vampires, fairy princesses and superheroes of all sorts will soon be appearing at your doors! In honor of this spooky holiday, I browsed the studios of Indiemade artist friends to find orange and/ or black handmade items that are perfect accessories for your Halloween costume. And there is even something for your best four-footed friend! Enjoy these selections:
"Colours" by Donovan - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Recently, I have become enamored all over again with many of the songs I grew up with from the 60's. One of the artists I have always loved was a Scottish singer / songwriter / poet from Scotland, Donovan Leitch who is better known as simply Donovan. Donovan is widely regarded as one of the most influential songwriters and recording artists - and is still active in music today. Even the Beatles acknowledged that Donovan influenced them greatly on their ground breaking Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band album and the White Album with his finger style guitar playing and many of his unique chord patterns. While I love most of his songs, I have been listening more to his earlier works that have their roots in folk music. One of them, a sweet, simple and beautiful song, Colours, is the inspiration for this week's Wonderful Handmade Wednesday post.
The Autumn Wind is a Pirate - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade
Since I live in the Desert Southwest, autumn comes creeping slowly in with cooler temperatures. Most of the trees here are evergreen so there isn’t much color change. This time of the year, I always think about the forest we lived in for 10 years in Northern Virginia. Oh, the glorious colors as the leaves on the trees changed.!!! Sometimes almost blinding color combinations. Then sometimes, the wind would hit and the leaves became a carpet of color on the forest floor. I ran across this great quote about autumn wind from Steve Sabol: “The autumn wind is a pirate. Blustering in from sea with a rollicking song he sweeps along swaggering boisterously. His face is weather beaten, he wears a hooded sash with a silver hat about his head . . . The autumn wind is a raider, pillaging just for fun.” A pillaging wind playing with and swirling the colorful leaves!
