Blog entry
Red, Roja, Rossa, Rouge! - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted September 10, 2020
Anyone who knows me well, knows that red is my favorite color . . . a color I have always adored, even as a small girl who only wanted to wear her “pretty red dress.” If my Mom would have let me, I would have worn that “pretty red dress” until it disintegrated on me. Red makes my soul sing.
An artist friend, Jacki of Christie Cottage, listed a beautiful red felted wool pouch recently in her shop, which got me thinking about a new blog featuring the color red. So, here it is: Red, Roja, Rossa, Rouge! The new Red, Roja, Rossa, Rouge (English, Spanish, Italian and French for "red) Three for Thursday post features three items from three artists that feature a hefty dose of red in their handmade designs. The three artists are: Jacki of Christie Cottage; Charlotte of Covergirlbeads; and, me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy all these unique handmade designs with blazing red!
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A Mixed Bag - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted August 13, 2020
This week’s Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday is a mixed bag of fun items, three items from three artists. I checked my thesaurus for synonyms for “mixed bag” and picked out some of my favorites words, some I’ve never seen before : admixture, anthology, collectanea, farrago, gallimaufry, medley, mingle-mangle, potpourri, salmagundi and smorgasbord. What a fun selection of words! And you’ll find this week’s Three for Thursday an equally fun mélange of artisan handmade beauties. The three artists featured are Julie and Harry of Blue Morning Expressions; Jacki of Christie Cottage; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. Enjoy this mixed bag of handmade gifts for a loved one or for yourself.
Awesome Animals - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted July 30, 2020
Anyone who knows me knows I love animals, always have and always will. No-footed, two-footed, four-footed, six footed or more (except, to tell the truth, female mosquitoes and ticks - uck!). I love animals of all sizes, from huge ones to wee, tiny ones - from blue whales, the largest mammal on earth, to Kitti's hog-nosed bat (or bumblebee bat) the world's smallest mammal at just over 1” long. And I’m always amazed at how animals have evolved to survive. Just think of the Griffon’s vulture which is recorded as the highest flying bird at 37,000 feet to deep sea creatures which live in harsh conditions thousands of feet in the ocean where light doesn’t reach. Amazing!
When I was mulling around what the theme of this week's Three for Thursday blog, I decided on animals. Three animal related items from three handmade artists are featured. The artists are: Linda of VictorianStyleTreasures; Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy this collection of animal themed items. Be sure to visit the shops to find even more beauties.
Flaunting Flowers - Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday
Posted March 26, 2020
"If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change" – Buddha
Spring is in full swing here in the Desert Southwest. Since there was more rain than normal during the winter and on into spring, the flowering trees and the wildflowers, especially the poppies in the Franklin Mountains, have been spectacular. The various cacti and succulents haven’t started blooming yet with all their sometimes garish colors, but they should be extra pretty, as well. This time of the year, my thoughts always turn to working in the flower beds, trying to decide where to put “just one more” plant. Watching plants reawaken and start their flowering is indeed a miracle . . . and does change my life for the better.
With flowers in mind, I decided this week’s Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday would feature flowers. Three floral inspired handmade pieces, which turned out featuring mostly pink flowers, were chosen from the shops of handmade artisan friends. The artisans are: Jacki of Christie Cottage; Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope you enjoy the handmade beauties. And be sure to visit the shops of the artists for even more gift ideas - for someone you love or for yourself.
A Lot of Boho, a LOT of Fun - Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday
Posted February 27, 2020
The term “boho” gets thrown around a lot these days, but what exactly does the word actually mean? Short for “bohemian,” boho as a style is most closely associated with the free spirits and hippies of the ‘60s and ‘70s - but also the pre-Raphaelite women of the late 19th century. It embraces the carefree, the relaxed, and the unique. But, truth be told, it borrows from the fashions of many cultures and time periods through the ages that almost anything can be "boho" if it’s styled right.
With that in mind, I decided this week’s Three for Thursday would embrace boho,” specifically with fun, unique necklaces. Featured in the A LOT of Boho, a LOT Of Fun are three necklaces from three handmade three artists. The artists are: Mary of PrettyGonzo, Jacki of Christie Cottage; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. I hope one of these catches your eye! Be sure to visit the shops of the artists for more amazing jewelry.
Shades of Purple - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted January 2, 2020
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.
A Little of This, A Little of That - Artisan Handmade Three for Thursday
Posted August 8, 2019
This week’s Three for Thursday blog, featuring three items from three handmade artisans, is “A Little of This, A Little of That.” As the title indicates, I picked out a wide variety of unique items, from fractal art counted cross stitch patterns / refrigerator magnets / polymer clay beads to hand sewn jewelry / favor bags to one of a kind jewelry. The artists included are: Julie (and her four legged sidekick, Harry) of Blue Morning Expressions; Ani of readytoshipproducts; and me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs. If something catches your eye and you want to see more, please click the photo or link to be taken to the artist’s shop. I hope you enjoy browsing the items.
A Melange of Handmade - Three for Thursday - June 20, 2019
Posted June 20, 2019
This weeks's Three for Thursday is a melange of items. Since I have an addiction to words, I wanted to give a brief etymology of the word melange. The word, which rolls off the tongue to so beautifully, first is first found in French documents around the comes from the 15th century French word meler, meaning 'to mix, mingle." Meler, in turn, came from the Old French meslance or meslinges (a set of diverse elements). So, according to The Free Dictionary, the modern word means “a collection of various things.” Which is the perfect definition of the variety of handmade items I found from artists and am sharing in this post: The items featured are from three handmade artists: beautiful original watercolor paintings from Roxanne of watercolorsNmore; fun and handy to have cards of various types from Jacki of Christie Cottage; and a selection of one of a kind handmade jewelry from me, Catherine of Shadow Dog Designs.
I hope you enjoy these picks. And that you will visit the shops of the artists for more handmade beauties.
Beautiful Blues - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted May 23, 2019
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!
Spring Flowers - Artisan Handmade - Three for Thursday
Posted May 16, 2019
Happiness held is the seed; Happiness shared is the flower . . . John Harrigan
If you are a flower gardener (like I am) and grow many flowers from seeds, you truly understand the above statement. So much beauty is bound up in a single flower seed which, like magic, can transform into a breathtaking flower. I find happiness in just holding flower seeds and dreaming of the infinite possibility of what they will become. And when that magic happens - a seedling appears, a plant grows, a bud unfurls and a flower faces the sun - I am truly happy, awe struck and humbled. And if I can share those flowers with family and friends, so much the better.
