Blog entry

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!

Make it an Artisan Handmade Mothers Day - Week 8

Mother’s Day will be here in just a few short weeks on Sunday, May 12, 2019.  If you haven’t already bought your Mom a gift, I have the best solution for you for your shopping needs!  Check out the Countdown to Mother’s Day 2019 collection hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog.  Each week, handmade artists share up to three of their unique items, each one a perfect gift for even the hardest to please Mom. This week, 12 artisans shared a total of 36 unique items.  Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 8, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a meaningful beauty that was handmade from the heart.

Make it an Artisan Handmade Mothers Day - Week 6

Since Mother’s Day will be here before you know it, now is the time to start shopping for that perfect handmade gift for Mom.  The Countdown to Mother’s Day 2019 is a great place to start! The Countdown is hosted by Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions on their The Blu Print blog.  Each week, handmade artists share up to three of their unique items, each one a perfect gift for even the most hard to please Mom. This week, a total of 32 artisan items were shared from 11 handmade artists.  Browse all the wonderful handmade shares for Week 6, visit the shops of the artists featured and buy your Mom a beauty that was handmade from the heart.

St. Patricks Day Gift Ideas - Artisan Handmade

St. Patrick’s Day will be here before we know it, when all those with Irish heritage (or those that wish they had Irish blood) wear green and wax lyrical about the The Emerald Isles.  And, if you have ever visited Éire, you will know the nagging inner yearning to always go back.

It’s with St. Patrick’s Day in mind that I decided to share seven items from seven handmade artists, all featuring the color green in its many shades.  Why seven beauties you might ask? I chose that number from two symbols that always show up for St. Patrick’s Day, symbols which are often confused: the shamrock (which has 3 leaves) and the lucky four leaf clover (which, obviously from its name, has 4 leaves).  Seven leaves, seven items. The shamrock is a three-leaved clover, a plant was used by Saint Patrick to illustrate the doctrine of the Trinity. It is the national symbol of Ireland, the word coming from seamróg, the Irish name for the plant. The four leaf clover is an aberration of white clover which normally only has three leaves.  Occasionally white clover produces an extra leaf, making finding one especially lucky.