Thirteen Days of Christmas Days 7 and 8

Wow, the days are just flying by. I held off on this post and the last one, thinking I would get better pictures if I took them in daylight. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get my camera and the ornaments in the same room during daylight hours! At least I'm getting lots of other things crossed off my to-do list as Christmas gets closer and closer.

Day 7 Artist is Vivian of Viv's Whimsy.

I just adore this little snowman. I could see a bit of him peeking through the packaging, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on him!. That little face is so sweet. I don't know if you can tell from the photo or not, but his  head is coated in glitter, giving him an icy-snowy effect.

Every little detail on this guy so perfect. I think I may need to name him!

Day 8 artist is Corinne Gilman

Look at the fabulous garland that Corinne made! My whole family was impressed with this one.

Here it is without our Christmas stockings in the background. I just love the colors! It has all of the colors that I've used on my little silver tree. In fact, it is on my little tree now, but it blended so well with it, that the photos didn't do it justice.

Here is an even closer view, so you can see all the wonderful colors and textures in it. After Christmas it will go in my studio. This will brighten up even the most dreary February days.

Thirteen Days of Christmas ~ Day 5 and Day 6

Day 5 artist is Patti G. of Patti's Creations. 

This ornament is so inspiring. I have wanted to make an art quilt for the longest time, and now I have my own beautiful art quilt ornament. It is made of muslin, music paper and cheesecloth blended together in the most ethereal way!

Here is a close-up of that sweet vintage image of a girl and her dog.

Patti's package came wrapped in muslin and lace. Maybe they can be the start of my very own art quilt.

Day 6 artist is Martha Brown

Look at the adorable packaging she made from a bird seed bag! I borrowed this image from her blog, because, as usual, I opened my present without taking a photo of it first.

The theme of this ornament is joy, and it brought me great joy when I opened it! The ornament is made of glass, and the joy collage is showing through the glass. 

But wait, there's more! The back is collaged as well. This is a collage on the opposite side of the "joy". Doesn't it look perfect on my little silver tree?

The Thirteen Days of Christmas Day 3 and Day 4

Ready for more Christmas-y goodness?

 The Thirteen Days of Christmas artist for day 3 is Elizabeth Woodford, our fearless coordinator.

Look at the beautiful stitching and button details on this ornament. It had a lot more candy in it when I got it, but somebody got into it. That somebody would be me. I love, love, love peppermint! The inside lining is barely showing in this photo, but I had to mention it because it is a beautiful dark green velvet. 

I had to show the back, too, because in true Elizabeth style, she went as far back in the process as possible to bring us an original piece of her art. The cone is made from one of her hand-dyed sun print fabrics.

Day four artist is me!

This is my group of ornaments before I sent them out:

and here is a single ornament:

Apparently these snow people are mischievous little travelers. If you go to Barbara Burkhard's site you can get the full story. First, the tag popped off and attached itself to the day 8 packaging. Then, once it was open, the snow people apparently decided they didn't need to be in the basket. Hmmmm.... They are affixed to a little wooden clothespin which was attached to the branches of the tree. I say was, because Barbara's snow people clearly have left the building --er, basket!

The Thirteen Days of Christmas - Day 1 and Day 2

Photo by Elizabeth Woodford

I am so excited to be part of  Elizabeth Woodford's Thirteen Days of Christmas Swap. There are thirteen artists in our group. Each of us made thirteen little gifties and sent them to Elizabeth. She redistributed them so that each artist got thirteen different gifts to open. And now, we are opening them one day at a time. Fun!

Photo by Elizabeth Woodford

Day One Artist is Barbara Burkhard. 

This ornament was inside Barbara's package. I should've photographed it from the side so you could see it better. It is a glass ball with a snowman image and lots of sparkly jewels at the bottom. A silvery bow with a little jingle bell tops it off.  I can't wait to make some of these myself. They are wonderful.

But, wait! There's more! Inside the box was also this beautiful cuff bracelet. It has a felt base with lace and netting and buttons and it is just gorgeous. I have gotten so many compliments on it already. 

Photo by Elizabeth Woodford

Day 2 was just as amazing as Day 1. Notice that all of the packaging pictures are taken by Elizabeth. That's because I get so excited, I forget to take a picture first!

Day 2 artist is Mary Zimany

This ornament is made from a small tin, and it has a wonderful collage image inside. Here is a close-up of the collage:

Isn't it wonderful? One of my favorite holiday sentiments, as well.

I have to show the back of this ornament, too. Look at the sweet little button at the top, and the way Mary used alcohol inks on the tin. It is just gorgeous!

Bip! Bam! Pow!

Christmas is fast approaching, and the days are just flying by! Here is a sampling of what I've been up to.

The first batch of comic book wallets that I took to the PonShop sold out, so I dropped off another dozen just in time for First Friday (and Christmas shopping) last week.

I also completed 13 Christmas ornaments for a "13 days of Christmas" swap. Here are the packages on their way to coordinator, Elizabeth Woodford. More on that soon!

Karen Scudder

Terry Pitzel

On Thanksgiving weekend, I participated in a "painting around" group inspired by Ro Bruhn. We gathered in Elizabeth Woodford's brightly colored studio, and each artist placed a blank canvas on the table. Then, we chose a color palette and a theme -ours was circles- and started painting.

 We painted on our own canvases, and on everyone else's, too! It was really, really fun! We worked for about two hours, stanidng and walking around the table the whole time. Then we took a break for lunch,. At the end of the break, we each settled into working on our own canvas.

This is my piece at the end of the day. Quite a departure from my regular color palette. In fact it seems that everything I'm working on this month is brightly colored...stay tuned to see if this trend continues.

Ice Resin and Steampunk jewelry

Here are some photos of my newest work. I am still finding new and interesting things to do with ICE Resin, but filling a bezel with some dictionary paper and bits of vintage costume jewelry is so simple and so satisfying that I still do a lot of pieces like that.

I adjusted some settings on my camera in an attempt to get better photos.Obviously, it didn't help much.  I have plans to take some lessons from Donna Hopkins, a kindred spirit, and amazing photographer. Check out her blog to see her gorgeous photography.

Here is another resin piece. Thanks to Barbara Hawley for sharing this dear little deer with me.

And another foray into my steampunk phase. I have just started doming my gears, and using micro bolts to attach them together. I wish I had the time and space to experiment all day! Don't we all?

The JEWELRY Show

Leslie Brier, Brier Design Studio 

I'm back! The power supply went out on my old computer about 3 weeks ago, and it made more sense to get a new one than to fix the old one. It ended up taking quite a while for me to get  everything up and running again. During that time, I've made a lotta lotta art and  I'll have lots of catch-up blog posts coming soon. 

This month my work will be featured in The Jewelry Show at the PonShop Studio and Gallery along with five other jewelry artists. I have completed about two dozen pieces, and am really looking forward to seeing the whole show put together. The opening reception is this Friday night, November 4 from 6-10 pm. If you are local, I'd love to see you there. If you are far away, I'll have pictures soon. The show runs through November 27. What a great opportunity to buy handmade and get your holiday shopping done!