The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”

 ~ Albert Schweitzer

I wouldn't be where I am today without people who believed in me. I am not unaware of this fact at other times of the year, and I do hope that people know that I appreciate them always. But this is the time of year when we turn inward and realize our blessings are abundant and then turn outward to be sure to let those in our world know this. If you are reading this, you are part of my world. You are the lighter of my inner flame. You have helped me to become the person, the artist that is within me. For this, I am most grateful.

I am celebrating this thankful time with family and friends. There will be a whole lot of turkey and mashed potatoes and candy apple salad (not sure you can call a dish that is filled with chopped up Snickers candy bars and whipped cream a 'salad,' but I won't be complaining!) and red velvet cupcakes and cheesecake and pumpkin pie consumed tomorrow. I am sure there will be some football on t.v. And hopefully the first showing of one of my favorite holiday movies, A Christmas Story. We will be working on making the house festive this weekend, including putting up our customary forest of lit trees on our front porch and painting and crafting a whole new mantlescape that I will hopefully share with you in a few days.

I know that people are starting their holiday shopping. Are you one of those shoppers who camps out or makes a plan of attack for Black Friday? Not me. I can't believe that there will be people spending time in line at stores to save a few bucks on some things, rather than spending it with those they love focusing on them. I just don't get it. I haven't even thought about making out a wish list, and I have no idea what I might be gifting to anyone. But that doesn't stop me from creating holiday themes. And I love a good online sale. So I am debuting these to you now rather than waiting until the frosty month of December rolls around. And read on for the sale.

Every year for as long as I can remember I have created an ornament. It started with my favorite project of 3rd grade made from slices of toilet paper rolls painted white and dusted with glitter, poked through with toothpicks and held together with a healthy dose of white glue. Last year I debuted my first Simple Truths ornaments. This year I am carrying on the tradition.

I like themes that stand the test of time, something I can leave up for more than just one month, and snow is the first thing I think of for winter. When I was a teacher I would wait for that first real snowfall. You could tell that it was coming because the kids would be really squirrelly the day before. They are good barometers. I would then drop the lesson plan for the day and break out the white paper and scissors and teach them all about the right way to cut a snowflake. Always with 6 sides. I would show overhead pictures of the first microscopic photographs of snow crystals. It still thrills me to see them! These Simple Truths are called "Frosted Flakes" because that is what they look like to me! They are tiny little charms that would look sweet on a simple necklace, or dangling from your ears or off a charm bracelet, but they could also be made into a sweet and dainty ornament. Since no two flakes are alike, each pair will be mismatched. That is how they are in nature, that is how they are here. The silver lacy bezels are 'Frosted Flakes - Steel' for their icy color; the brass lacy bezels are 'Frosted Flakes - Ginger' like the frosting on the roof of our traditional gingerbread house.

Frosted Flakes - Ginger

While I love the idea of snow, I really dislike being in it. I like it through the window, but not so much up close. Still, snow is very beautiful and I have quite a collection of snowfolk including handmade stockings with individual snowfolk on each of them. Each year I make a new snowfolk ornament. I don't repeat them, so that makes them collectible from year to year. This year I have created three different snowfolk. These are shown without a message, but I had originally intended to put a message on them of 'let it snow.' I can't believe I forgot. But I like them as they are. They have quite the personalities! They are available in shiny silver as shown, and in a few days I will have my new shipment of bezels in antique copper, antique brass and antique silver as well.
 

l to r
hooray for snow
it's snow, man
snow much fun

 The final ornament of 2012 is from one of my favorite childhood memories. I can recall when there were only two channels on my television and we would wait all year until the Christmas cartoon specials were on. And for those of you younger than me (considerably younger!), you might not realize that they were not run on channels ad nauseum until the Big Day. There was no such thing as the '25 Days of Christmas' cartoon countdown. You got to see them once and that was it. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (really, all of those same stop action animations) is one of the best and most iconic. I found a reindeer that is not really Rudolph looking, but I wanted to class it up. I call this 'Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?' and it is an ornate reindeer in brown and beige with a bright red Swarovski crystal nose.
 

Won't You Guide My Sleigh Tonight?

I am participating in the Artisan Whimsy Market 2012 Holiday Collection. A whole group of talented jewelry designers and art bead makers are in on the fun. For one week, there will be discounts in all their stores (45!), including mine, and plenty of giveaways, too. Over $1300 worth! Here are the participants:

If you are on Etsy you can find participating shops by typing in AWHOLIDAY to bring up listings that will link you to their shops. AWHOLIDAY is also an event wide discount, with each store offering something special from Friday, November 23-Friday, November 30th. This is our way of saying thank you for shopping handmade and for supporting the artisans and makers this holiday season.

Here are my codes good only in my Etsy Shop:

• AWHOLIDAY = 15% off your purchase (discounts do not apply to Sampler Clubs)
  OR
• FREESHIP = free shipping on all domestic and international orders

These offers will only be available from 11/22-11/30. Orders will start shipping on Monday, November 26th. And if it is a made to order item it will take a few days for me to complete. Please be patient!

I will be sharing a giveaway next week. And the Challenge of Color is coming up with the reveal date on November 30th. Would it freak you out to know that I haven't even started on mine yet? It is freaking me out a bit! But I will make it work!