ShadowDogDesigns' Blog

Catherine's Blog About Jewelry, Gemstones and Other Artists

Circles of Our Lives

Published: 05-20-2013 02:22pm
Posted In: History of . . .

Sometimes the most mundane of things in life suddenly captures my imagination. The other day, when I was outside with Seamus, the very handsome Shadow Dog, I started thinking about circles (yes, my brain does shoot off on a tangents sometimes!) You see circles everywhere: most door knobs, most coins, the sun and moon, the pupil of most animal's eyes and the wheel, just to name a few. Most people don't give them a second thought unless you're a mathematician, an architect or an artist. As a gardener and an avid observer of nature, I daily feel the circle of life all around me on a more cosmological scale: day/night, phases of the moon, se... » Read More

Deep Purple

Published: 05-18-2013 05:50pm
Posted In: Collections

I am of the age . . . ahem . . . where the music I grew up with is now called "Classic Rock". And while my musical interests are very eclectic - from Ladysmith Black Mombazo to Coldplay; from the Moody Blues to Blackmore's Night; from Madame Butterfly to Eddie Vedder; from Jeff Buckley to Johann Sebastian Bach; from John McDermott to Kate Wolf; from Matt Kearney to Thea Gilmore to Willie Nelson, and all sorts of music in between - when I NEED to hear music, my Pandora station is opened to my classic rock station. Nothing better to get me in the mood to create a new jewelry piece, promote other artists or to blog (BTW, Crosby Stills and Nas... » Read More

Natural Turquoise vs. All Others

Published: 05-13-2013 09:03pm

I love using turquoise in my designs since, even as a small child, it has always been a favorite gemstone. Unfortunately there is quite a bit of misconceptions out there about turquoise. And, due to unscrupulous dealers, there are stones (even plastic!!!) being passed off as genuine turquoise. Good quality turquoise, especially American, is getting harder to find and more expensive since many mines have closed. The turquoise that is still coming out of open mines is often of a lower quality than what was once produced. I was dismayed when visiting the Turquoise Museum in Albuquerque to learn that a majority of silversmithing Native Ameri... » Read More

New ArtFire Bloggers Guild

Published: 05-10-2013 05:31pm
Posted In: Artists' Work

A new ArtFire guild has just formed to help promote members' blogs, whether the blog is on ArtFire or on another platform. Share a new post in the ArtFire Bloggers Guild thread and then comment on the other posts that have been left since your last check in. Since Google loves blogs, the purpose is to drive more traffic to your blog with more views leading to your studio and, ultimately, more sales. I want to share a favorite item from each of the ArtFire Bloggers guild. Such wonderful creative works, as you will see:Red and blue thin line survival paracord bracelet by Jennifer of DesertCreationsElegant wedding cake handmade congratulation... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day - Week 12

Published: 05-06-2013 03:07pm
Posted In: Countdown to Mother's Day

It is with somewhat of a heavy heart that this is week 12 of the Mother's Day Countdown hosted by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions! Week 12 - the last week of shared handmade and vintage items - where, oh where, did the time go? Many, many thanks to Julie and Blu for hosting such a successful Countdown! I'm sure everyone will agree that the Countdown was great fun with so many wonderfully creative items that are perfect for even the hardest-to-please Mom! Mother's Day is Sunday, May 12 - almost here now. If you haven't done your shopping, there is still time. A perfect place to shop is at Julie and Blu's Mother's Day Gift Ideas ... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day - Week 11

Published: 04-29-2013 01:46pm
Posted In: Countdown to Mother's Day

Oh my gosh, can you believe we are on week 11 of the Mother's Day Countdown hosted by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions!?! Eleven weeks of handmade and vintage items - where did the time go? Oh, I know - some of it was spent promoting all the wonderful items that have been shared these past weeks (: I'm sure everyone will agree with me that the Countdown has been LOTS of fun with many, many of spectacularly creative items perfect for even the hard-to-please Mom! Mother's Day is Sunday, May 12 - almost here now. Have you done your shopping yet? There's still time! A perfect place to shop is at Julie and Blu's Mother's Day Gift I... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Week 10

Published: 04-22-2013 02:28pm
Posted In: Countdown to Mother's Day

It's week 10 of the Mother's Day Countdown, hosted by Julie and Blu of BlueMorningExpressions! Remember when we started and Mother's Day seemed such a loooong way off?!? LOL! Only two more weeks left. I'm sure all will agree that the Countdown has been loads of fun with lots of spectacularly creative items shared and promoted. Mother's Day is Sunday, May 12 - not too far in the distance now. Now is definitely the time to start shopping for Mom if you haven't already done that. A perfect place to do your shopping is at Julie and Blu's Mother's Day Gift Ideas Countdown, a collection of handmade and vintage items any Mother will love t... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Week 9

Published: 04-15-2013 01:50pm
Posted In: Countdown to Mother's Day

The Countdown gift collection for week 9 is closed. Week 9 - Wow! Can you believe that there are only 3 weeks left of the Mother's Day Countdown? I'm sure you will agree with me that the Countdown has been LOTS of fun with LOTS of wonderfully creative items shared and promoted!Mother's Day, Sunday, May 12, is fast approaching! If you haven't already started shopping for your Mum, now is definitely the time! A perfect place to do your shopping is at Julie and Blu's Mother's Day Gift Ideas Countdown, a collection of handmade and vintage items any Mother will love and cherish. The Countdown will run for another 3 weeks, which, when it ... » Read More

Welcome to ArtFire!

Published: 04-12-2013 03:54pm

ArtFire has great forums - you can learn so many new things and make such good friends! Every couple of weeks, I check the the threads where artists of newly opened ArtFire studios introduce themselves and also the studios that have had their (exciting!) first sales. In this post, I thought I would share a few of these studios with you as a "Welcome to ArtFire"!The first studio is called SpiritArt and is owned by Janeane. I have to say, I am so totally taken with her mystical, ethereal art. Trees figure greatly in many of her art pieces, and being a tree hugger from way back, I especially love those. Here are two pieces of Janeane's art:... » Read More

Girls Gotta Have Pearls!

Published: 04-10-2013 02:01pm
Posted In: Collections

Before Mikimoto in the early 1900's perfected the process of culturing pearls, natural pearls were so rare and expensive that only the nobility and the very wealthy could afford to wear them. According to Victoria Finlay, in her book "Jewels, A Secret History", Julius Caesar, who was obsessed with pearls, might have invaded the British Isles in 55 B.BC. to guarantee a constant supply of his favorite jewel. Roman historian Suetonius recorded that General Vitellius financed an entire military campaign by selling just one of his mother's pearls (who he later was said to have starved to fulfill a prophecy). Richard Burton paid $37,000 for a perf... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Week 8

Published: 04-08-2013 09:33am

Wow! Can you believe that as of this week, we are 2/3 of the way through the Mother's Day Countdown? Am sure you will agree with me that the Countdown has been fun, with LOTS of wonderful items shared and promoted!Mother's Day is going to be here before we know it, Sunday, May 12! Now is the time to start your Mother's Day gift list. A perfect place to do your browsing/shopping is at Julie and Blu's Mother's Day Gift Ideas Countdown, a collection of handmade and vintage items any Mum will love The Countdown will run for another 4 weeks, which, when it ends, will make 12 weeks total. Last week 83 beautiful handmade and vintage items we... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Week 7

Published: 04-01-2013 02:18pm
Posted In: Countdown to Mother's Day

Wow! Can you believe that we are a bit over 1/2 way through the Mother's Day Countdown? It's April 1st today! Where does the days go? Hmmmm . . . a good part of the day is sent right here in front of the computer - LOL! With Mother's Day is fast approaching, Sunday, May 12, now is the time to start your Mother's Day shopping. A perfect place to do your shopping is at Julie and Blu's Mother's Day Gift Ideas Countdown, a collection of handmade and vintage items any Mum will love The Countdown will run for another 5 weeks, which will make 12 weeks total. Last week 96 wonderful handmade and vintage items were shared. This week we... » Read More

Earth and Sky

Published: 03-26-2013 08:25am
Posted In: Collections

Pablo Picasso once said, "The artist is a receptacle for emotions that come from all over the place: from the sky, from the earth, from a scrap of paper, from a passing shape, from a spider's web". That quote really stuck in my mind, so I decided to curate a collection that features "earth" and "sky" jewelry creations from the members of the Jewelry Creators Unite in Numbers (JCUiN). As you can see from the pieces chosen, the JCUiN is a very talented guild. "Earth and Sky" is the collection and here are the creations that caught my eye:Copper bracelet with ceramic beads and bird charm by Tammi of PinkSunsetJewelryDesignsEarth and sky togethe... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Week 6

Published: 03-25-2013 10:03am
Posted In: Countdown to Mother's Day

Mother's Day is fast approaching, Sunday, May 12! And here we are at week 6 of Julie and Blu's "Mother's Day Gift Ideas Countdown". The Countdown will run for another 6 weeks, which will make 12 weeks total. Last week 94 wonderful handmade and vintage items were shared. This week we are up to 96 items: jewelry, woodworking, sewing, all sorts of different items and techniques! Mother's Day will be here soon so it's definitely not too early to start planning/shopping for your Mum. Shop early . . . shop often! Purple cloisonne earrings with birds and crystals by Mary of PrettyGonzoSellers who have a studio/shop on ArtFire, SupaDupa, ... » Read More

Looking Forward to a "Partly Cloudy" Day!

Published: 03-21-2013 07:43pm
Posted In: Other

I just had a nice surprise from Joanne of Nelson Jewelry & Gemstones. She emailed me and said that my "Partly Cloudy" necklace is featured on her blog today: Sodalite Teardrop and Pearl Necklace. The beautiful blue sodalite teardrops were purchased from her several months ago, along with a couple of other strands of gemstones. I found the quality that you get for a very reasonable price is outstanding! And I love it that Joanne also includes any treatments that have been given to the stones: dyed, heated, waxed, etc. That's important for jewelry designers who want to give the best information we can to our customers. Now if I can ju... » Read More

Countdown to Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Week 5

Published: 03-18-2013 01:19pm
Posted In: Countdown to Mother's Day

I think my biggest question lately is "Where does the time go"? Last week sped by and now we're more that half way through March! In addition, this week is week 5 of Julie and Blu's "Mother's Day Gift Ideas Countdown", which runs for another 7 weeks, 12 weeks in all. Last week 91 fabulous handmade and vintage items were shared. This week we had a few more, 94 items with a couple of new people joining the Countdown. Mother's Day will arrive before you know it, so it's definitely not too early to start planning/shopping for your Mum. Shop early . . . shop often! If you have a studio/shop on ArtFire, SupaDupa, Zibbet, Etsy, stand alone... » Read More

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