Blog entry

Make It an Artisan Handmade Christmas - Week 6

Week 6 of the Countdown to Christmas quickly came and went and a unique collection of artisan handmade items were shared for all to see.  According to the ever ticking Christmas clock, the jolly man pulled by his team of flying reindeer visit all good boys and girls in only 55 days!  Looking to start your Christmas shopping?  The Countdown is the perfect place to do just that! A good motto to follow: shop early, shop often! And, most of all, SHOP HANDMADE!

Necklaces and Earrings - New Jewelry from Shadow Dog Designs

That's the thing with handmade items. They still have the person's mark on them, and when you hold them, you feel less alone.

Aimee Bender, The Color Master: Stories

I love the idea that when you hold a handmade item, that you feel less alone.  I hope that everyone who wears a piece of my handmade jewelry feels that way! The one of a kind jewelry definitely has my “mark” with many good wishes and peaceful intentions added.

4th of July - Celebrate a Handmade Red, White and Blue Holiday!

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson.

The 4th of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4th, has a tradition of celebrations goes back to the American Revolution.  When the initial battles of the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, very few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain.  But, by the middle of the following year, the idea of independence grew due to the growing hostility against draconian British laws and the spread of revolutionary sentiments, such as the pamphlet published in early 1776 by Thomas Paine, called “Common Sense.”

Colors to Love! - Wonderful Handmade Wednesday on Indiemade

Most artists absolutely love a wide range of colors - that’s part of being an artist, right?  Vibrant colors and subdued colors, they all have their places in designs. As Wassily Kandinsky, a Russian painter who is credited with painting the first purely abstract works, once said:

"Color is a power that directly influences the soul."

I totally agree!