Something Sublime Christmas Ornament Blog Hop Party 2015!

Well hello there! It's been a long time since I've visited this little online home of mine! Let me dust off the cobwebs so we can sit and chat!

Deryn Mentock of Something Sublime is an incredibly talented artist I've admired for a number of years now. I have had the privilege and pleasure of taking two courses in person with her (my 50th birthday present to myself!) and several online classes with her (it's just like being with her in person, she gives that much attention to the detail/quality of her online classes and discussion forums). Last month she launched the first of an annual online class series devoted to handcrafting artisan Christmas ornaments. Be still my heart! I mean, my blog is named Artfully Ornamental for a reason after all - just ask my Caitlin (who secretly has her name on a large selection of my Christmas ornaments - I'm sure she'll have to fight her brother and sister for some.....). The first of this series is The Merry Men of Winter. Love! I've scored a couple of resources for this project as Goodwill this week. They'll be gracing my tree and in a couple of vignettes next Christmas!

Deryn inquired in her Facebook group if anyone would be interested in a blog hop. Count me in (though I'm late to the party with my posting - work.....)! I have multiple ornaments for my kiddos in process, but none are finished. So, I've chosen this sweet little ornament to share with you.

The main medium I work with is stained glass and paint. This sweet little birdhouse is a tiny bit wonky (you'll see when I show you the back). It's the first 3-D ornament, or any stained glass item, I've made. I've embellished her not only with paint, but with contemporary and vintage glass flower beads and a sweet vintage Swarovski connector as an entrance hole. That an entrance with style!

You can see a little bit of the wonky on the front roof line..... A tiny bee is interested in these lillies.

A sweet little ladybug is interested in this colorful flower patch.

A bluebird is visiting a neighbor's house.

And a snail is out taking a stroll (this is where the wonky is at its worst...). Hopefully the next one I make won't have as much wonk, but my home isn't perfect - I suppose most aren't. Thankfully it's in the back!!

Thanks for stopping by my little spot on the internet! Please check out the others who've participated by visiting Deryn's post about the ornament hop and clicking on the links at the bottom of the post to see the beauties the other participants have created! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!!

2013 ABS Ornament Blog Hop

Well hello! Welcome to the fourth annual (my third) Art Bead Scene Ornament Blog Hop! A great big thank you to the lovely Heather Powers of Humblebeads, Art Bead Scene and Earrings Everyday for hosting this fun hop! I love, love, love collecting and making Christmas ornaments - thus, Artfully Ornamental.

Nearly every ornament on my tree is handcrafted either by me or by an artisan who I bought the ornament directly from. I love that! I have sent two boxes of ornaments away with two of my children, now that they've established their own homes. I have the ornaments of my other two still on my tree. It's fast becoming too full! Next year, I think I may buy - I can't believe I'm going to say this - a tall, narrow artificial tree (the hubster and I have only ever had a real tree) to put in another room with one of my ornament groupings on it. Not sure yet which grouping - ocean themed, trees, angels - there are other collections but those 3 are the largest, will go on the tree. We'll see!

The ornament I created for this hop has been on my mind for over a year. I just had to figure out the mechanics of it, and find the time to create it! I present: Walking In A Winter Wonderland

This is a sweet little snowboy snow globe! I also painted snowflakes on a red resin bead attached to the ornament hanger.The sweetest part of this ornament for me is that it's interactive - it works like a snow globe! I am so, so happy with how this ornament came out!

See the glitter at the bottom of the globe? See how it's in a drift on the right side of the ornament in the picture above this one, and how it's in a drift on the left in the photo above? Squeeee!!

See!?! The glitter moves!!

I also painted a snowflake on the back (which I'll be removing and repainting, it's a bit too scrunched together - easy fix though). Sigh...

Thanks so much for stopping by! I hope you enjoy your hopping today and are enjoying a cup of hot cocoa while you hop (click here for links)!

As a treat for you, I'm sharing a recipe I've made for years: Hot Fudge Sauce! It's a recipe my friend Julie shared with me. Last Christmas I gifted small containers of it to my co-workers, they loved it (I used the small snack sized Glad containers)! My family is disappointed when it's not in the fridge. I always double it (or more.....), but this is the standard recipe (and yes, I made a double batch last night - yum):

Hot Fudge Sauce

1 1/2 squares unsweetened chocolate (I use Ghirardelli 60% cacao)

1/4 cup unsalted butter (I use Land 'o Lakes)

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Ghirardelli)

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup light cream

1 teaspoon vanilla (use good quality real vanilla, not artificial)

Melt the butter and chocolate in a medium sauce pan over low heat. In a bowl, mix cocoa powder, sugar & salt (I whisk them together, it breaks up the cocoa powder). Remove pan from heat and add cocoa mixture to the pan, mix well. I add the powdered mixture to the pan in either 1/2 or 1/3 increments, stirring 'til blended - this will be thick. Add the light cream slowly and stir 'til smooth and blended. Again, I add the light cream in either 1/2 or 1/3 increments. I've found this is the best way to easily incorporate it into the thicker mixture. Return the pan to heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Stir to mix. Pour into your container(s). Cool, then refrigerate and keep refrigerated; it thickens as it cools. I portion out a couple of spoonfuls and zap it in the microwave for 5-10 seconds to pour over my ice cream. Enjoy!!

Holiday Bling 2 Blog Hop

 Good day to you! Welcome to the Holiday Bling 2 Blog Hop hosted by the lovely Shelley Graham Turner and Marlene Cupo. Thanks, ladies, for hosting such a fun event so very close to my heart! This go-round I was paired with Chandra Merod of Juniper Goods from sunny California. It's finally decided to be winter, temperature wise, here in Maine. I think I'd prefer the temps in California better (at least after Christmas - we may have a white one this year!)!

Chandra is both an artist and shop owner - how wonderful is that! I'd love to be able to create all day! She sent me two beautiful felt ornaments - love them! I just love adding new handcrafted ornaments to my tree each year. So much more special when someone makes them just for you! She sent me a sweet little gingerbread house. So special! My girls decorate a gingerbread house together every year and my youngest daughter had, what I refer to, gingerbread palooza at our house when she was a sophomore in high school - 20 girls decorating their hearts out! It was bedlam, yet a wonderful memory!

As the person who makes the special ornaments for my family every year, it's nice to be the recipient of lovely, handcrafted ornaments! The second ornament she sent to me was a beautiful little tree. Again, so special because I just love my tree each and every year. I love to get up early in the morning and sit and enjoy the tree lights while drinking my coffee. Such a wonderful way to start the day ('course it makes it hard to leave for work too!)!

This year's tree. Sorry for the bright flash, but it wasn't showing up any other way. Presents are not wrapped and under the tree yet.

Last year we had a family craft evening and made ornaments for my daughter Caitlin's first tree away from home. It was fun (well, hilarious actually). We did it again this year for my son's first tree away from home with his fiance in the home they've just purchased (tree's going up this weekend!). I think I'd actually like to make it an annual date with my family. 

Sneak Peek of the ornament I made for Chandra! Hop on over to see it!

Now, go hop along and see what these other lovely ladies have sent and received! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you all!

Shirley Moore http://www.beadsandbread.blogspot.com
Lori Bowring Michaud http://artfullyornamental.blogspot.com - You are here!
Catherine King http://catherines-musings.blogspot.com
Dyanne Cantrell http://deelitefuljewelrycreations.blogspot.com
Sonya Stille http://dreaminofbeads.blogspot.com
Elaine Ray http://elaineray.blogspot.com
Gina Hockett http://freestyleelements.blogspot.com
Jo-Ann Woolverton http://itsabeadifulcreation.blogspot.ca
Debbie Rasmussen http://kepirasmussen.blogspot.com
Renetha Stanziano http://lamplightcrafts.blogspot.com
Ginger Bishop http://lilmummylikes.blogspot.com
Miranda Ackerley http://mirandack.com/category/thoughts
Sandra McGriff http://skyescreativechaos.blogspot.ca
Tammie Everly http://ttedesigns.blogspot.com
Alicia Marinache http://www.allprettythings.ca
Melinda Abrahamson http://www.firstreetcrafts.com
Rita/ Toltec Jewels http://www.jewelschoolfriends.com
Chandra Merod http://www.junipergoods.blogspot.com
Mary Govaars http://www.mlhjewelrydesigns.com
Kelley Fogel http://www.mylifeonebeadatatime.blogspot.com
Tiffany Goff Smith http://www.southerngalsdesign.blogspot.com
Heather Rats Otto http://www.thecrafthopper.com
Anitra Gordy Boyers www.leelucreations.blogspot.com
Marlene Cupo http://amazingdesigns-marlene.blogspot.com
Shelley Graham Turner http://www.shelleygrahamturner.blogspot.com

2012 Art Bead Scene Ornament Hop

Good day to you! Is it though, I'm not sure - think I should have stayed in bed this morning. I had a lovely update written to replace my ABS Ornament Blog Hop sneak peek with my reveal at 7:00 this morning. Just as I was uploading my last picture so I could click "Update" my internet went down. I franticly tried to copy and paste into Word so I could repost, but that was to no avail. Thank you Road Runner.....Anyhoo, I'll try it again.....

Thanks for stopping by to see the ornaments I created for this wonderful hop hosted by the lovely Heather Powers of Humblebeads, Art Bead Scene and Earrings Everyday. Handcrafted Christmas ornaments are near and dear to my heart. Our tree is covered with them each year. I love looking at our tree and remembering either where and the artisan I purchased an ornament from, creating them myself, or with the kids. We have some lovely ornaments our beautiful TJ's Godmother created for him when he was a little boy.

Back at the beginning of October I attended Art is You...Stamford and took a mini-class with Laurie Mika. It was wonderful and introduced me to a new obsession - polymer clay. The class was wonderful, Laurie is a fabulous teacher, and the techniques were stunning yet quite simple. These ornaments, though nothing like those from the class, are very simple yet oh, so sweet!

I created these gingerbread folk using a special ingredient. My girlfriend Roxanne's grandfather, Wilfred, died a number of years ago. Wilfred and Arlene, her grandmother, raised her. They were l ovely people. We watched South Portland's annual Memorial Day parade every year from their front lawn. Some of my favorite memories from childhood right through to this past Memorial Day - we still watch from there even though Walter and Arlene have passed. Roxanne moved far away years ago as well. When Wilfred was at the end of a battle with cancer, Roxanne came and stayed with my family in order to spend time with him, and then make his funeral arrangements and everything associated with the home she grew up in. It was a whirlwind of activity and a bit overwhelming. We helped her some, my husband and boys moving the things she wanted to keep, but she handled the bulk of the Herculean effort. I say Herculean because Wilfred had owned a vacuum cleaner repair business since leaving the miliatry. Man, was there stuff!

Rox sorted through the things she watned to keep, sell and trash. There were a few things she didn't want but the hoarder collector in me, couldn't let them go - so I saved them waiting for the right time to make something with them. These ornaments are the first. The "icing" on my gingerbread folk are freshwater pearls from a multi-strand necklace Arlene wore. The pearls still smell of her perfume. Other ingredients I used are Swarovski flat-back crystal pearls and crystals (in Light Siam for the Mr. and Indian Pink for the Mrs.) as additional decoration. Believe it or not, the hangers took longer and were more difficult to make. I used pearlized lampwork beads by Adriana Sauceda of San Antonio, Texas to decorate the hangers. I truly hope that was German silver wire I was using instead of my sterling - there was a lot of scrap!

These, along with a few other things, will be winging their way down to Roxanne in South Caronlina shortly. Thanks so much for stopping by, and a HUGE thank you to Heather for hosting such a sweet hop! Now, go visit these other lovely artisans to see what they created!
Art Bead Scene
Humblebeads
Treasures Found
Song Beads
Viki O'Dell
Sue Beads
Modern Nature Studio
Diane Hawkey
Suburban Girl Studio
Jen Judd Rocks
Ellie's Bijoux
Island Girl's Insights
Life By The Seat Of My Pants
Too Aquarius
Shelley Graham Turner
Artfully Ornamental
Charis Designs Jewelry
Harrison Hollow Designs
Silver Nik Nats
Bead Soup Mix
Toodles and Binks
Bead Recipes
Play Sculpt Live
BeeTree by M.E.
Billi RS Rothe
A Half-Baked Notion
Kimis Jewelry and Gifts

A Giveaway at Jangles!!

Have you met Jennifer Heynen, aka Jennifer Jangles yet? Well, if you haven't, you should! Jennifer is the creative force behind Jangles - she's a multi-talented artist from Georgia. She creates the most colorful, whimsical clay beads, buttons and components for jewelry artists, mugs, ornaments and other pottery, she is an author, and most recently she has been designing playful fabric lines and sewing patterns. How she does it all, I don't know - home, young family, business...my family is grown and I can't begin to accomplish what Jennifer does!

I've been reading and being inspired by Jennifer's blog for several years. Each year in the fall she sends out her Holiday Projects Newsletter, ten weeks of newsletters, and hosts giveaways for her readers as part of the fun. This year she asked her readers if they'd like to contribute prizes for some of the giveaways. Well, I took a huge leap, for me, and sent Jennifer an email with pictures of some of my hand painted, stained glass ornaments - ornaments I've been making for my family and friends for years. She said yes, and here we are!! Thank you for this opportunity, Jennifer!

Today is my giveaway! Hop on over to Jennifer's blog and leave a comment and you could win my Mr. Snow ornament! The winner will be announced on her blog next Wednesday, October 31st! Don't forget to sign up for her Holiday Projects Newsletter while you're there (the newsletter sign up is on the right side toolbar on her blog)!

I'm in the process of creating items for my Etsy shop, but please check back - I'll hopefully have some ornaments listed by this weekend!

As an added bonus, I'm going to host a little giveaway here as well! Leave a comment below and I'll pull a name out of the hat ('cause I'm all low-tech like that) next Tuesday evening (cut off at 9 p.m.) and post the winner's name on Wednesday, October 31 (make sure your comment either links to email or you leave me your email address so I can contact you)! The lucky winner will win Mrs. Snow:

Holiday Bling Blog Hop - Reveal!

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Time Flies!

Where does the time go? I haven't posted in 6+ weeks, not that many read the blog (my kids do - hi!) very often. It was summer the last time I posted! I had made a promise to myself that I'd post at least once a week; I so look forward to reading new posts on my favorite blogs and am sometimes disappointed if a blogger hasn't posted in a while. This is my busiest time at work and I'm mentally drained when I get home. It doesn't leave much time for being creative. Oh, how I wish I could work from my studio full-time - perhaps someday.

I have, however,  managed to fit a small amount of creativity into the last few weeks though! Saturday, October 6 is the reveal day for the Holiday Bling Blog Hop ornament swap hosted by both Shelley Graham Turner of The Fabric of My Life blog and Tori Sophia, and Marlene Cupo of the Amazing Designs blog. Well, this is right up my alley! My blog name is in large part due to the fact that I love handcrafted Christmas ornaments. I've been making them for my kids and giving them to family and friends for years.

 Gabi's original plaid skirt ornament.

When my youngest graduated from high school several years ago, each girl in her class received as part of her graduation present from the school an ornament that I designed. Gabrielle attended a small, all-girl Catholic high school and part of her uniform was a plaid skirt. This ended up being a group effort involving family and friends gathered around my dining room table working on a  project they hadn't signed up for. While there were only 59 girls in her class, I had bit off a bit more than I could chew. I had a plan and drew up a calendar - knew what I needed to do, broke it down into small pieces..... In the midst of this I had surgery. I thought I'd be physically able to do more than I ended up being able to do.

The production crew. You can't see the supportive husbands drinking beer in the living room! 

I was WAAAYYYY behind the 8-ball. I mentioned it to one of the moms, who rallied a couple of our friends, who brought several daughters along with my mom and oldest daughter. Each person had a task and each ornament was passed from person to person to complete each assigned task. It was wonderful! At the end, each girl had a very special, unique ornament to remember her high school years with.

Why are there 3 additional, different ornaments? Gabrielle already had a skirt, blouse and lion face so I made her a mortar board. Another friend had a skirt and blouse so she got a lion face and a third had a skirt already so she received a blouse.

Sneak peak of the ornament I've sent to Heather

For this swap I have been paired with the lovely Heather Otto of The Craft Hopper blog and Mama's Craft Room. I so hope she likes her ornament, sent with love all the way from the crisp fall air of Maine to the still very warm state of Texas! Heather describes herself as having CAADHD - Crafty Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder - whelp, that about sums me up. I haven't met a craft I didn't like! I have the materials to do a good many things I haven't attempted yet. I can't even list them for you because it's so embarrassing. I need to win the lottery so I can stay home full-time again and just create. I feel like Heather and I are kindred spirits - we are both married to Tims, I too stayed home with my kids when they were young, we both have a bunch of kids close in age (I managed to fit one more into the mix), and we both love to dabble. So, stop back on October 6 for the reveal! I've received my ornament from Heather and I'm blown away at the artistry and craftsmanship. As many ornaments as I've made and gifted, I've never had an ornament made just for me. It is so lovely I just want to cry!

I'll have to write and schedule my post because I'll be at my first ever art retreat, Art Is...You in Stamford, CT! I am so excited I can't stand it!!

Photo and earrings by Diana Ptaszynski

Following all that excitement is the Mismatched Earring Swap reveal on October 16 hosted by the ever lovely Diana Ptaszynski of  Suburban Girl Beads and Suburban Girl Studio. This was a challenge on multiple levels. Not only have I never made a truly mismatched pair of earrings, but I am paired with Lesley Watt of Thea too  her handcrafted metal clay jewelry component shop and THEA jewellery her artisan jewelry shop. Lesley is one seriously talented woman. She is an amazing jewelry designer, it's a bit daunting. Each earring must contain at least one art bead. I made mine, again daunting. I so hope she likes the earrings I've sent to her. Gabrielle liked them (and wanted them) so that's a plus in my corner! Please be sure to check back on October 16th for the reveal!

Sneak peak of the earrings I've sent to Lesley

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!