Blog entry

New Handmade Jewelry from Shadow Dog Designs - Necklaces and Earrings

This quote by Rebekah Joy Plett pretty much says it all when you are a handmade artist:

“When you buy something from an artist you are buying more than an object. You’re buying hundreds of hours of errors and experimentation. You’re buying years of frustration and moments of pure joy. You’re not buying just one thing, you are buying a piece of a heart, a piece of a soul… a piece of someone else’s life.”

Summer Fun - Artisan Handmade

Even though summer has not officially arrived - the Summer Solstice will show up on Thursday, June 21 at 4:07 a.m. Mountain Time here in the Borderlands - thermometers tell another story.  June is the month for triple digits here with a high UV index. Then the temperatures cool down when the monsoon season arrives with its amazing lightning displays and much needed rain.  Despite the June heat, we go about our daily lives enjoying the out of doors, albeit in the mornings and evenings mostly: gardening, cooking on the grill, hiking, star gazing, birding, etc. With an altitude of 3740’, we still have gloriously cool mornings and evenings to enjoy being outside.

Great Gift Ideas for a Handmade Mothers Day - Week 9

Watch out!  Mother’s Day will be here next Sunday May 13!  It’s not too late to order a handmade gift from the beauties shared this week on the Mother’s Day Countdown 2018, hosted again this year by Julie of Blue Morning Expressions on her The Blu Print blog.  Week 9 came and went and fourteen handmade artisans and one preowned seller shared a total of 45 wonderful items items. Browse the wide range of unique 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!

Roses in the Desert (with an Iris)

When we moved to the Desert Southwest, I was amazed to see how well roses thrive here, pretty much pest free.  Most of the roses I have dealt with were when my husband and I lived on the east coast. There the roses were constantly having to be sprayed to try to ward off all sorts of pests and diseases:  black spot, powdery mildew, hordes of aphids, armies of Japanese beetles, etc. etc.. Since I try to go organic whenever possible, I did grow roses, but they were the very hardy “nearly wilds” and rugosas.  I did occasionally have to spray them but always with an earth friendly solution.  So it has been a real pleasure to see all the roses grown here.  I, myself, have three in large pots that are blooming up a storm right now.