12 December 2013

Art Bead Scene Ornament Blog Hop

Where do you think you're going? Nobody's leaving. Nobody's walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We're all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We're gonna press on, and we're gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he's gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse. 
 ~ Clark Griswold, Christmas Vacation

Ahahaha! I love Christmas Vacation!

Thank you for joining me for the 4th Annual Art Bead Scene Ornament Blog Hop!

[I apologize for the pictures... my camera lens has been broken since early October and my phone has stopped allowing me to snap pictures, so scans it is! Picture if you will a beautiful sparkling white light tree branch...]


First up, a nod to one of the best scenes in the Christmas Vacation movie, a SQUIRREL!
This pretty porcelain image is from White Swan Illuminations. And what would a squirrel be without a NUT? I made this one from a huge acorn bead cap (I really should get better about reading dimensions in listings...) and a really cool brown and copper leaf peeled paint bead from Jeannie Dukic. It is the only bead in my studio that can fit that cap! Little peanut beads and a sari silk ribbon scrap complete the ornament.

Did you know that squirrel was my now 15 1/2 year old son's first word?
And you will have to ask me sometime about the Great Squirrel Quest of 1974.
My dad battled a family of squirrels getting it on in the attic above his bedroom that rivals anything that Chevy Chase has done!

Next is a pretty little bauble that I whipped up by accident. 
Classify this as things-that-were-just-lying-near-each-other inspiration! 

I used a cool swirly glass headpin from Genea Beads. To that I added a polymer clay blackbird from Heather Powers of Humblebeads. On top I added a faceted golden crystal moon. I used some tiny faceted crystal rondelles to the outer edge but miscalculated the amount of wire I needed. I wanted it to go all the way around. Happy accident that I just eyeballed it. I quite like the assymetry. And then I ran out of steam to finish the top so I used a little bit of silk cord from Marsha Neal Studios. However, now that I look at this, I think I will make a little beaded swirl hook using the same crystals to carry the curve. Picture it in your mind....

And finally, I thought I should use one of my own Simple Truths for an ornament. I actually made a whole lot more ornaments this year for sale at the Gallery Q (see two below), along with some great beaded ornaments with art bead toppers a la Heather Powers' tutorial from last year which I don't have pictures of. I guess I didn't get around to listing them in my shop. Sorry about that! Message me if you think this this something you are interested in. If there are any left after the holidays, maybe I will have a flash sale. ;-)


{Jewel of Bleak Winter and Flor de la Bueno Noche ornaments with swirly beaded hooks (not shown) $25}

 I do these limited edition quarterly birds in my Simple Truths style.
For Winter 2013, I introduce the Snowflake Bird.

Again, I got a little lazy with the top and just used some silk cord from Marsha Neal, and I might leave that since it matches the silver tone of the snowflake so well.

I have these cool little branches in my stash and I wired one to the bottom so that it looks as though the birdie is perched there. There are little holes in the branch, so I added a little leaf shape from some fold formed copper that I made at my class with Stacie Florer at ArtBliss in September. I stamped it with the year and decided that a tiny gray crystal was needed for a little flash. 

My husband and I have a tradition where we gift each other an ornament every year and don't buy gifts. 21 years. This will be my special gift to him {he doesn't read my blog - I'm not even sure he knows what a blog is - so I am sure he won't see this!} ;-)

Thanks for hopping along with me. There are plenty of talented people taking part in this blog hop. So grab a cup of hot cocoa, a candy cane, put on some festive tunes and have fun seeing all the ways we add a little sparkle to December!


27 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow, you've gone all out! So many ornaments! And they are all superb (although the squirrel one is my favourite - makes it all the cuter with you sharing the story about your son!).

Happy Christmas!

Jill said...

Some lovely ornaments, thanks for sharing them through the blog hop

kerensky said...

You have been busy indeed, looks like you had a lot of fun, very pretty pieces.

DVArtist said...

You have done a wonderful job on these. That first one is my favorite.
Well done.
Nicole/Beadwright

Lori Bowring Michaud said...

Oh, my, goodness Miss Erin! Lovely, each and every one of them! I love the happy little accident that ended up with the asymmetry in the second ornament! I also love that you and your husband have gifted each other ornaments through the years. Wish I had thought of that. I think I'm going to suggest it to my children and their significant others to begin this year!

Maneki said...

All the ornaments are very pretty, but I just love that Snowflake bird ornament! It's just gorgeous!

baymoondesign said...

All of the ornaments are wonderful, but I am partial to the squirrel. We had a merry time with a squirrel family that moved into our upstairs crawl space while we were in Florida for the winter.

Kylie Parry Studios said...

Beautiful as always, love the squirrel! my family has a tradition of watching christmas vacation every Christmas :) Where is eddie? Doesn't he eat these damn things...

:D

la mar de bonita said...

Beautiful Erin! Such unique pieces, never thought a squirrel could fit so well for a Christmas ornament, it's charming!

Charis Designs said...

The squirrel is sublime :) The acorn bead/cap is the perfect touch.Your snowflake bird is lovely. I always enjoy seeing your creations, and the range of creativity you demonstrate. Christie

Charis Designs said...

The squirrel is sublime :) The acorn bead/cap is the perfect touch.Your snowflake bird is lovely. I always enjoy seeing your creations, and the range of creativity you demonstrate. Christie

Unknown said...

I especially love the bird on the branch. There's no reason it couldn't be out all year, not just at Christmas.

Lilik Kristiani said...

Always love your handmade =)

glassbead, isinglass design said...

All of these ornaments are so cool! I love the acorn you put together. And that last bird ornament rocks!

Anonymous said...

what a beautiful collection of ornaments you have there Miss Erin! I especially love the first one, and the bird on the branch of course! What a nice ornament to give to your husband!

Keith@ Vintage Crab Jewelry and Crafts said...

I think these are my favorite ornaments yet! Just gorgeous!

Jean Katherine Baldridge said...

Just totally awesome! We love all nature here and your wonderful ornaments are so sweet (and fun too)!
Love your 2013 "Snowflake Bird" and the ribbon does look great with it!
xox jean

Anonymous said...

The Snowflake bird is amazing. You did such a lovely job putting everything together.

Islandgirl said...

My family doesn't read my blog either.. I can say anything I want to about them and they would be clueless! Lovely ornaments! Not sure which I like the best!

Anonymous said...

I don't like to play favorites but that adorable little squirrel just made my day! He is so happy! Squirrels are so darned funny with their antics! All of your creations, as usual are beautiful.

SueBeads said...

I love your ornaments, and that's so nice that you and your husband don't stress on the craziness of gifting! I love the idea of an ornament - very meaningful in and of itself!

Karen Williams said...

What a wonderful tradition! Your Snowflake Bird ornament truly sings.

I had to smile at the movie reference as I've never seen it, but it keeps seeming to come up in casual conversations with friends. Will have to add it to my queue.

Niky Sayers said...

All beautiful but I really love your black and yellow one

Ann Schroeder said...

All of your ornaments are great. So fun to see and read about. I love the "near each other on the bead table" technique. I use it often.

Becky Pancake said...

Hi Erin, Your ornaments are fabulous. I too have been making ornaments since the 80's but yours have really inspired me with several new ideas. I would not have thought of a squirrel for Christmas but you are right that is a hilarious scene. I can picture the fancy hanger on the black bird ornament and it's a great idea. Your husband is lucky to receive that beautiful snowflake bird.

Katie Hacker said...

Erin, thanks so much for your comments on my blog. I love your snowbird. So pretty! Thank you for the inspiration you share here and everywhere. Hope you have a lovely holiday season.

Anonymous said...

They are all beautiful ornaments, especially the last bird one. I love how the squirel has a big dinner all wrapped up with a bow :)

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