Blog entry

Radiant Roses for Julia

My good friend, Julia, LOVES roses.  She has planted the most amazing rose garden in her backyard, mostly lining the rock wall separating her yard from the large arroyo on the other side of the wall.  Each year, Julia spends three months in Bolivia visiting with family and friends.  Unfortunately, that is also when her roses are at the peak of their bloom.  Because I hate that she misses the showy display from her rose babies, I went to her house to take photos of the roses so I could share them on a blog post and then email her the link.  Looking at the photos is not the same, of course, but at least Julia can see how much beauty her roses are bringing to me and to her neighbors who water her plants.  It's just too bad there's not the ability to attach a scratch and sniff thingy for each photo so she can enjoy the heavenly perfume!  Happily, some of the roses rebloom in late summer, so she gets to enjoy some of the beauty then.

Flower Earrings - Artisan Handmade by Shadow Dog Designs

When you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for the moment. I want to give that world to someone else. Most people in the city rush around so, they have no time to look at a flower.  I want them to see it whether they want to or not. Georgia O'Keeffe

One of my all time favorite artists is Georgia O’Keeffe.  Whenever I’m in Santa Fe, I'm always drawn to the museum named after her.  While there, I almost go into a meditative state while contemplating her paintings.  Her flower paintings are dear to my heart.

All through my life, I have had flower gardens, some rather grand and some on a much smaller scale, such as the one here in the Desert Southwest.  I cannot imagine life without the beauty and cheerfulness of flowers (or dogs, for that matter!). Life would be so bland with out them.  Because of that, flowers designs can always be found in my handmade jewelry, especially the earrings.  For this blog post, I chose 10 pairs of earrings, some new and some that have been in my shop a while, to feature. There are many others in my SHADOW DOG DESIGNS shop.  I hope you will stop by and take a look . . . and maybe buy a pair for yourself or a loved one.

Handmade Valentines Day Jewelry Gift Ideas - Three for Thursday

Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.  

-- Maya Angelou

Valentine’s Day will be here before we know - a day filled with pink and red, hearts, candy, cards and other tokens of love.  Speaking of tokens of love, I thought I’d pull together some charming artisan handmade jewelry from three different artists in this new post of Three for Thursday.  The first two jewelry selections are heart themed, but with a difference. Just in case, however, hearts aren’t your thing or your loved ones “thing,” then I also included a third item that would make a superb gift but that isn’t overtly Valentines-y.

New Handmade Earrings - Jewelry Gift Ideas for Women

It’s hard to believe that 2018 is drawing to a close and that a new year will dawn in just a matter of days.  2018 was a very creative year for me as I found items from new artists (to me) to incorporate into my work - and continued working with pieces from old artist friends.  Playing with unique color combinations was also fun. My creative spirits have been active lately as you will see with the newest handmade earrings below, great gift ideas for a favorite woman on her birthday, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day . . . or just because.  I hope you enjoy these new handmade creations found in my Shadow Dog Designs jewelry shop.  Click on either the photo or the link below the photo to be taken to the item for more information and pictures.