I can't quite get this right...

I love the idea of having these spiky balls as the background (I'm late to noticing I can upload my own pics, huh?)... but I just can't get the whole text thing to work well with them against the background... so, y'all be patient with me while I play with it over the next few days...

While I work out that little glitch... let me share the ArtsyBlogger links for the week...

Mo(o)re Whimsies
New projects with Creative Paperclay and Viva Las Vegas Stamps

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Add beautiful kaleidoscope effects to your hand made cards with iris folded designs.



And I just want to remind everyone that you can participate in an extraordinarly worthy cause... you don't have to be a world renown artist... you just have to make a butterfly... maybe you could even use the techniques that Barbara and Eileen share in their posts this week...Check out my post here for links to the information you need to participate.

Checking in...

It's been a lovely few days... the kiddos where here. I swear, they seem more like real grown ups all the time...

















I've had the chance to put a few things up, although the trees are still out. I made these guys this year. They spent the season hanging from the mantle, and I like them so much I really don't want to put them in hiding. At this point, they have found a home on a small table. Not sure they will stay there, but we'll see.









My Big One loves Moleskine notebooks, he carries one around with him everywhere, which is pretty interesting... I just read a report that suggested that creative people do that. I wanted to give him one as a gift, and while out searching for his black one I found a set of three covered in a "craft" paper sort of covering. While I am not as much a fan of the Moleskine (I hear you all gasping now...) how could I pass up that blank cover? I did a little doodling.


And, this morning, while gazing out the kitchen window sipping my coffee, I saw the dogs nemesis... He's made his home in the huge holly trees I have out back. A few days ago, while I was taking the dog out, he came out of his nest to investigate what was going on. The dog, totally oblivious to everything but the scents on the ground, totally ignored him, prompting the little guy to come a bit closer, then a bit more so... until the dog noticed... and tried to pull my shoulder out of joint to get to him.

He obviously thought it was quite fun, as he now seems to lie in wait for the dog to torment. Could be a long winter... wonder if my shoulder will stay intact.

Now... the rest of the house cleaning will wait... I am off to begin a project or two, or twelve...

Happy Christmas...

It's here... for those of us who celebrate the Christmas holiday, the day has finally arrived... although it's almost over on the other side of the world. Today my children who live up north will pile their stuff in the car... not so long from now actually... and make their way home for gifts and a feast. We'll spend a few days as a family, then everyone will get back to their busy worlds. It strikes me that life has moved very far past when they were children. By now the gifts would have been unwrapped and paper flung everywhere...

I think that's why I do so love these Christmas ornaments. Each and every one of them are tangible evidence of magic. They hold memories of Christmases past... if that isn't true magic, I don't know what is. The cutie above is made from my very own baby quilt... that means he's more than 50 years old. Doesn't look it, does he?

My son, the budding artist, created Santa when he was about six. He's gone on to create graphic novels... and now makes ornaments for he and his beloved... one day their tree will reflect the same sort of magic. (And, yes, that is a small plastic dinosaur tucked into the branches... thanks to my Little One... they have been tucked everywhere around here.)

I often created ornaments for them that reflected their particular interests over the year. This was his for his 11th Christmas. Trekkies will recognize this one.

This one...

And this one...

And even this one... made from the most simple of ingredients, flour, salt and water... a dash of imagination... and you suddenly have a vessel that holds the memories of the magic of that year.

Before I get to the business of the day, creating the magic for this year, I wanted to stop in here to send my wishes to all of you...

May your day be filled with heartfelt laughter... may you find a moment or two of quiet solitude before the hustle and bustle... may your roast beast be filling... may your happiness know no bounds. I wish that you may know peace, and joy, and hope... and most of all, may you love and be loved, for that my friend, is the true magic, not just of the season, but of life...

'Tis the night before...

NORAD reports that Santa is on his way to the States... I hope everyone has the cookies and milk ready to set out...

I'm offering up the ArtsyBlogger links for the week... go visit...

Mo(o)re Whimsies
Merry Christmas

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Learn how to make cute little patterned rosettes to embellish your paper crafts, including where to download some pretty patterned papers which can also be used for tea bag tile folding.

By the way... today, Christmas Eve is Eileen's birthday... make sure you wish her many more!

Beading Arts
It can be a bit hard to find nice ornament cover patterns that are free, so Cyndi has rounded up a few goodies for you!

I have kidnapped the plants...

Yup... the whole bunch of them.

We have a few interior offices around here, and soon, our doors will be closing for the Christmas vacation... we'll be gone 11 days. I really didn't want the plants from those offices in the dark that long. Since my office has a window... here they are.

So, I kidnapped them.

I guess, considering it's 11 days, I may actually have to run over and water them too...

Down to the wire now...

I've spent the weekend cleaning, finishing the wrapping, doing a few more ornaments, grabbing some groceries, and even spent barely a few minutes just breathing deeply.

While breathing deeply, I took a few photos of some of my favorite ornaments and thought I'd share with you...














My tree is a "pencil" tree. It's about 7 1/2 feet tall (I have 10 feet ceilings downstairs). There are 700 lights on it... 400 colored, and 300 white. (Seriously, who would think you could get that many lights on the tree?) That glass tree topper way up there... it adds another 12" to the height of the tree, and my daughter just loves that thing.













Every ornament on the tree has a story, and every year as I put them up it's a walk through my Christmas history...

This one is a simple wooden shape, just painted with a simple little face... and just a touch of glitter














This one was made by The Little One, when she really was little. She was 4 or 5 when she created this little bunny. It's complete all the way down to pearl earrings and little flowers on her shoes.















You find lots and lots of needlepoint ornaments on the tree, the majority of them I designed.














And there are a few on the tree that Kate stitched... she's created many ornaments since that first bunny way back when.















Since we all have a whole lot going on this week, I'm going to keep it simple around here. I plan on sharing more ornaments and decorations, the ones that I'm finishing up and more of the ones on the tree... and then... I'm sure I'll find something to get into...

What a week...

Whew! Last week was what I affectionately refer to as hell week at work. Happens every year... year end reports, quarterly reports, new reports going out, the yearly winter meeting of our inspectors... and all the usual day to day stuff. You know, when you add that to the holiday stuff going on, it's a wonder I keep even a shred of sanity. Although, I admit there are those who might say I don't.

Today I get to regroup and finish up a few things and I am momentarily off to do just that, but before I get started, it's time to share the ArtsyBlogging links for the week... go see what everyone's been doing. Eileen has a whole lot of Christmas ornaments going on over on her blog... and Cyndi has an amazing give away happening... don't miss out!

Beading Arts
Every new year should bring a new challenge. How about getting inspired by the Ring A Day challenge...and maybe win a copy of the book?

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Make these cute clothespin Christmas ornaments. Eileen shows a skier, but you could also do a nutcracker or skinny Santa.

Patterns, patterns, patterns...

Here we go everyone... patterns! All in one place even... If you go to the 15 Ornaments 15 Days page all of the patterns have been set there under the photos of the ornament. All of them are in .jpeg format. To get them to print, right click on the pattern and open in another window. You will most likely get a little magnifying glass if you put your cursor over the picture, click on it... that enlarges the pattern to the original size. From there, hit print and you should have it.

Of course, we all know that just because that should work, it doesn't for everyone... so if you need the .pdf version, email me... the addy is over in the left side bar.

Now, since I've shared all of these with you guys... if you make them, share with me and send me pictures... I do love to see how everyone makes them their own!

Goodness y'all...

Between "the season" and work I am way behind (just read that the way I really meant it... I've gone over the edge of crazy and have moved well into my own lost little world). I have so much more to share, promise, but since I meant to do this yesterday and didn't get to it... let's try it today...

Winners of the second drawing for ornaments:

Carol

Cherie

Rocky Cross

Deb

Quilter Laura

Send me your mailing addresses!

(Oh... and the final patterns for ALL of the ornaments will be up before 10 am tomorrow morning, I am having a BEAR of a time trying to get them converted properly.... arghhhhhh!)

Winners and ArtsyBloggers...

Woo hoo it is the weekend... the shopping is done, wrapping today, a few last minute gifts and I am finished! I didn't meet my "by Thanksgiving" deadline... but I am beating Christmas... Counts in my book!

OK, winners first:

Carol (Beads and Birds)

Deb (Learning to Just Breathe)

Rocky Cross Studio

Diane (So Many Years )

Barbara (Mo(o)re Whimsies)

Gill, my friend, what have you done to piss off Karma? You are such a great follower, and always leave all those comments... MUST be something. I know how to get around that. I'm going to do something specifically for you. (Have no idea what, but I'll make it good, I promise.) So email me your address too.

Felt Eiffel Tower Ornaments

Cherie makes some more ornaments out of felt.
Also spotted on CraftGossip... congrats Cherie!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
"Santa Claus is coming to town." Are you ready for The Artful Crafter’s annual Christmas Parade of Crafts?

Beading Arts
Wanna learn to work with chains in your jewelry designs? Cyndi has a copy of "Chains Chains Chains" up for grabs!

It's not midnight yet...

So this still counts as a post today... ornament number 15!

This month is always a very difficult one, besides all the holiday stuff going on, it's the end of the year at work, which makes for exhausting days. Sometimes I need that ray of light to remind me that there is an end to the tunnel. So, I decided the last ornament would be a catawampus little star, just a wee bit off kilter, sort of like me... to remind me of just that. The star holds a heart in its center too... to remind me that it's important to hold to what is important.





This one is simple, but I really like the way it turned out. Start with a piece of the background fabric of your choice... of course, mine is hot pink felt. Cut out the largest heart in the grouping (the patterns will posted on Sunday) for the ornament in another color. Mine is white felt, and I used a light orange floss to stitch it to the hot pink.












On top of that is a layer of another coordinating fabric. For mine I used the light yellow that I had used in the moons, and I stitched it down with a dark yellow floss.














One last layer of a star, this time in a bright orange (with hot pink in it of course) cotton fabric...















And, finally, a heart... centered in all the light from that star... reminding me that I need to always center my own heart with what is truly important...











The background was trimmed leaving a bit of the hot pink, and another star of the hot pink was cut... and then stitched on, as a backing. I chose not to stuff this one, but I may go back and do that later. I haven't quite decided that one yet. And then I ran a piece of brass wire from the left arm to the right arm of the star just like I did on the Grateful Heart Ornament. And there you go... the star to shine the way.





Patterns, images and instructions copyright 2011, june crawford. You may not copy, sell or distribute the patterns as your own. These patterns are for your personal use ONLY, not for making profit. If you choose to make an ornament for charity, please notify me. ALL of the money from the sale of that ornament must be donated to that charity.

Number 14...

A million years or so ago, in what seems like another life, I designed needlepoint. This little guy was one I created during that time.

He's finished on a 4 inch styrofoam ball, with lots of fabric and ribbons and cording. He can hang on a tree, or, he even has legs that he can use to sit on a table top... which is where he currently resides... on my coffee table. 'Tis the season after all.

I thought I'd create a less huge snowman that might take up a little less room on the tree (by the way, I'll be sharing my tree and some of the ornaments on it next week, in case anyone is interested).





While it doesn't look like much now, just you wait... this pile of stuff turns into probably my favorite ornament of the series.

What I used... felt, cotton fabric, floss, polyfil, and some larger glass beads.



How I did it...









I first traced the scarf shapes onto the back of the cotton fabric I used. Sewed around them, cut them out, clipped all the curves and turned them. The outline is the stitching line, I haven't included any seam allowance. It wouldn't be a bad idea, if you have an iron handy, to press them at this point. It's not a necessity... but doesn't hurt either.

I stitched the blanket stitch all the way around one of the pieces and sat it aside.










The next step was to stitch the snowman to the background. When I cut the shape out of the felt, I cut a bit extra around the bottom. Once it was stitched on, I trimmed the excess off. It's a great way to make sure the edges match.















Remember the piece I sat aside? it's one of the ends of the scarf. I used just a couple of stitches to attach it to the body of the snowman. Note that it hangs past the edge of the ornament.















The horizontal portion of the scarf goes on next, and it will cover a part of the end you just stitched on. Just like a real scarf would... see how that works?













Now that the basics are in place, you can judge the placement of his carrot nose. Stitch it on, and after that, the last edge of the scarf. This piece has no stitching around the edge when you begin.







When you get it positioned where you like, stitch around the upper portion of it (think about it like a "U" shape), from the left side, through all layers. When you get to the bottom seam of the horizontal part of scarf, stitch ONLY through the little piece of scarf that doesn't have stitching on it. What happens is you have two ends of scarf, both finished with stitching, that are "free" of the ornament.

Notice I added some "snow" to the background (sorry for the blurriness of the picture).









The back was attached to the front, blanket stitch again, with white thread. The hanger was added as I stitched around the ornament, and before it was completely closed off, I stuffed him. Cute, huh? See that scarf hanging off the edges?









It still needed something to add a bit to it, so I decided some larger glass beads would add to the "snow" effect on the edges. I attached them relatively evenly all the way around. (I skipped two of the blanket stitches between each bead as my spacer.)

And there he is... the finished snowman....

I think he's my favorite... but don't tell the others.






Patterns, images and instructions copyright 2011, june crawford. You may not copy, sell or distribute the patterns as your own. These patterns are for your personal use ONLY, not for making profit. If you choose to make an ornament for charity, please notify me. ALL of the money from the sale of that ornament must be donated to that charity.

Well... it was a day...

Goodness... was it ever a day...

This is what was in our parking lot at work this afternoon. Now... I will admit, it was a pleasure to look at what was in our parking lot this afternoon... and we all did look. Well, we girls anyway.

But it started when a wee bit of smoke started coming from some seed that someone was drying in a microwave. Not something that is usually done, and not something I recommend... I'm just thrilled it wasn't me doing it.

The smoking seed was moved to the grass in front of the building, but the alarm was pulled, so off we all went to our designated places in the parking lot to await the fire department.

You know.. seeds can smoke for a very long while it turns out. And, just when you think things are under control, they can actually burst into flame. Fire... wow. We've had an issue with our fire alarm in the building before, so we've had visits with fire trucks with some frequency. This is the first time we've actually had smoke with those visits though.

Definitely an exciting afternoon.

This isn't what I had planned for this post, but after all the excitement I decided to go with something easy, oh so simple, and very fast.







This little thing is perfect for a package accessory, an ornament... and, it's something that you can get the kiddos in on.

Here's what you need... Wire, pliers and a bunch of fabric torn into strips, then cut into about 3 inch lengths.










You need something that you are going to be able to bend the wire around to make a circle. In this case I used a ring you find on a pint mason jar.



















Make a loop on one end, thread the other through it and make a wee little bit bigger loop.
















And now all you do is tie those little strips of fabric you tore up in knots all the way around the wire. I alternated red and green, but you can use any colors you prefer.
















Before you know it, you have a wreath accomplished.


















That larger loop we left earlier when we were making the form... it is the perfect place to add a ribbon for hanging.














And, there we go, number 13... a cute little wreath, perfect for the tree or as a package topper. Add a few buttons, or a couple of jingle bells, maybe a gift tag... and there you go.















And ladies... I know that you will allow me one more photo and that you will join me in appreciating... the professionalism of our firemen...