Second Half of the Twelve Days of Christmas Swap

I just took my little tree down, and enjoyed every one of these all over again. Here is a peek at the days you haven't seen yet.

Day 6 was this sweet fabric ornament by Martha Brown. It has lots of white-on-white layers. The photo doesn't do it justice!

Day 7 was this wonderful Jello Jane created by Janet Moss.Her neck is a bobbin with thread on it, and her skirt is a vintage jello mold. I love those vintage molds!

 

Terry Pitzel created this mixed media ornament. Lots and lots of layers of paper plus fibers and buttons and it all goes together seamlessly. You can see more of Terry's artwork at: http://theravenswhim.blogspot.com/

 

This gorgeous poinsettia ornament was created by Melissa Terlizzi.

There is so much detail in the veining of the leaves, and the leaves are as thin and delicate as an actual poinsettia. So beautiful. She is an Artful Dimensions artist. Hop on over and see the new, wonderful, big-haired ladies she has created!

 

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Linda Morgan's work. Once again this year, her piece blew me away. I just love the way everything comes together in this piece. You can see more of her work here: http://purplecatcards.blogspot.com/

This ornament came from our group coordinator, Elizabeth Woodford. This ornament is created on a tiny canvas.

I had to show you the back, too. It's wonderful every way you look at it. Elizabeth is an Artful Dimensions artist and has a blog as well. Her blog is: elizabethcreates.blogspot.com.

Sadly all good things must come to an end. This swap has a happy ending, though! This delightful box was created by Fredericksburg painter Nancy Williams. She has a unique style of brushwork, and I'm so happy to own one of her pieces.  My little tree of handmade ornaments was so lovely this year. I can't wait to see what next year brings!

 

 

Published! Amy Powers' Inspired Ideas Christmas Issue 2012

by Leslie Brier, Brier Design Studio

Amy Powers has done it again. She puts together a gorgeous magazine, with lots and lots of projects that are so appealing, I can't wait to try them.

http://www.amy-powers.com/mag/subscribechristmas2012.html

Here are the opening pages of my two articles:

This article has instructions for my ICE Resin Christmas Ornaments.

 

 

This is my New Year Fairy project.

 

This issue is packed full of projects, and it's only $3.99. You can click on the link below the photo above, or go to the sidebar. And Amy's blog is one of my favorites: http://www.inspireco.blogspot.com/ hop on over for some amazing eye candy!

Twelve Days of Christmas Swap Part 1

by Leslie Brier, Brier Design Studio

One of my favorite parts of Christmas last year was the Twelve Days of Christmas Ornament Swap. I was delighted to get to participate again this year. Each morning, there is a fun surpise waiting for me underneath my little silver tree. This is a fantastic way to start the day, especially the hectic days before Christmas! Here are the first of the treasures that I have received:

Day 1 - Alice Early aka The Amazing Alice

This sweet little bird is sitting on a nest rimmed with vintage buttons. It's so sweet. I think it will have to stay out all year.

Day 2 Barbara Posey of Artful Dimensions

I've long admired Barbara's felted creations, and it is wonderful to have one of my own!

Day 3 Christine Lush Rodriguez of Artful Dimensions

This gorgeous snowflake came from Christine. The colorson this piece are absolutely stunning. I just love everything about it.

Day 4 Patti Gramza, http://pattis-creations.blogspot.com/

This is a fiber piece that just makes me swoon. It has a little velvet milinery leaf and flower, and netting around the edges. Under the little girl it says "enjoy the journey" and the snowflake dangling from it says "believe". 

Day 5 Leslie Brier, Brier Design

That's me! Here are my packages before they were shipped:

And this was what was inside:

I created the labels in Adobe Illustrator, then cut them out, put plastic in the window and wrapped them around the inside of a match box.  In this photo you can see how small the ornament is:

Tiny, right?

 

New ICE Resin Pendants - Birds, Hearts and Flowers

 I just finished a group of pieces for the PonShop. I thought I was going to create a group of gritty, dark-colored pieces that involved a lot of hammering and soldering.

My creative brain had other ideas.

 Everything I touched turned to hearts and flowers.

 Eventually, I decided to go with the flow.

Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts.

Divine Secrets of the Junking Sisterhood

by Leslie Brier

 

 A few weeks back my friend Janet treated me to the most divine weekend of junking. We spent three glorious days stopping at every single antique shop, thrift store, and junk pile between Fredericksburg and Smith Mountain Lake. The junking was punctuated by button sorting, good food and lots of chocolate.

Janet and I have truly mastered the womanly art of junking.
If it was rusty or dusty, we stopped to look at it.

 

 When I go with my husband, and see an enticing pile of rust by the side of the road, I'll usually get one of three responses: "Huh?" "I didn't see it." or "You should have told me sooner".

 

Janet has catlike reflexes that allow us to go screeching into the seediest of roadside junk shops in the blink of an eye. 

 We didn't miss a single roadside stop, even when our knees and backs were begging for mercy.

 

Black Dog Salvage in Roanoake was one of the highlights.

 

 We came home with tons of good stuff, and I was even to recipient of two freebies - random acts of kindness from dealers who knew how much we appreciated their wares. I can't wait to get started making robots and jewelry from the goodies that we found.

 

Canning Jar Party Favors

by Leslie Brier

My husband and I recently attended his 30th high school reunion. He comes from a small town, with one high school for the whole county. Everyone seems to know everyone which makes it really fun.

 

 He was on the reunion committee, and I jumped at the chance to make the favors.  I purchased tiny canning jars at the grocery store and filled them with green and gold candies. Then, I put a circle of paper on top of the lid and under the rim of the jar, and decorated it with paper flowers. I have a paper punch that punches out a pinwheel that can be folded into a 3-D flower. (Of course, I forgot to take a picture until they were loaded into the back of the car.)

They favors were easy to make, and we were able to make them for under  $1 each.

Meet Sailor Jerry

Sailor Jerry is at the FCCA Show this month. He is riding on a little "boat" made from an old filmstrip projector.

He has a lot of navigation equipment to help him get where he's going.

In his well in the front, he has the catch of the day - an octopus. In my next post, I'll show you "what lies beneath!".