2014 Christmas Ornaments

Hello!  Yes, I am still among the living!  I can't believe how fast this whole year has gone by, but November was a complete and total blur!!  Christmas is quickly approaching and I haven't posted ONE THING I've made yet!  Shame on me!  Well, I'm going to make up for that right now.  Get ready for picture overload! 

Some of you already know that every year since 1990 (yes, you read that right!) I've been making polymer clay Christmas ornaments.  I design and create each one individually by hand.  Each design is limited to an edition of only 5 ornaments.  Someone recently asked me why I only make five of each.  Well, a couple of reasons.  One, I only have so much time, and I would much rather have a variety of designs than a dozen of one.  And two, to be honest, I'm pretty much 'over' the design by the time number 5 is finished....I'm ready to move on to another design. 

This year I started out the season with 12 designs.  Unlike previous years, I worked really hard for a couple of weeks in JULY and got ALL FIVE of every design finished so I wouldn't have to be scrambling to get them done like I have in the past.  I used to start by making 3 of the 5, and then filling in as they sold.  Well, I'm so happy to have done it differently this year!  It made my studio time much less stressful knowing that they were all finished. 

Here are photos of the first 12 designs.

A STAR FOR CHRISTMAS

BRIGHT CHRISTMAS

DEAR SANTA

GINGER ELFIN

HAPPY SNOWBALLS

JOLLY JINGLE

MITTENS AND SKATES

NORTHWOODS SANTA

PENGUIN PALS

RUDY

WINTER WONDERLAND

SANTA'S BIG BUNDLE

 

I'm thrilled to say that only ONE of these ornaments remains available!  Thank you so much to my wonderful customers who snatched them up so quickly.  So quickly, in fact, that I had to get busy and make some more.  You see, I have a BIG family.  And they all EXPECT to have one hanging on their own trees come Christmas.  As the supply was dwindling, I did a count and realized that I didn't have enough to cover my family, keep a couple for myself, and still have a few to sell at the shows I still had to do.  So I added four new designs.

 

FALLING FLAKES

FROSTY FLAKE

LITTLE SANTA, TINY TREE

MERRY CHRISTMAS TRIO

 

And then I added another one for good measure:

 

LIGHTING UP CHRISTMAS

 

And because I sold a few more of those than I expected, I decided to add two more!

 

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

POLAR PENGUIN

 

And now I am FINISHED!!  I am NOT making any more 2014 ornaments. 

 

I still have a VERY LIMITED number of these ornaments left, and I listed them in my etsy shop last night.  If you want one, you better hurry! 

 

Show season is finally winding down.  I have my last show this weekend at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  If you are in the area, come and see me! 

 

Even though shows are about over, I still have plenty of work to do in the studio.  So I better get to it! 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Lisa





 

 



WINNERS!! WINNERS!!

IT'S TIME TO ANNOUNCE THE WINNERS IN THE 2ND ANNUAL WITCHES OF GIGGLESWICK BLOG HOP!! 

 

And the winner of my Happy Haunt Jack is............

 

 imsteelefullofscrap! 

 

 YAY!!  Congratulations!  You will need to email me your mailing address ASAP so I can rush this adorable jack o'lantern off in time for Halloween.  My email address is apieceoflisa@cox.net

 

Thank you to everyone who followed along on the hop and entered to win one of our great prizes.  I hope you all had fun and I hope that you discovered some great artists and fun blogs along the way.  I look forward to hearing more from all of you!  The hop was a big success, and we all have YOU to thank!! 

 

 

 

Here is the complete list of winners:

 

 LORI PLATT

won the prize from Carly Smith of Boggy Bottom Bayou

 

 LYNN from Life on the Weinee Ranch

 won the prize from Arlene Sander of Dreamed by Arlene

 

 CRYSTAL BOWEN

won the prize from Becky McClure Federico of Federico-Fantasy-Art

 

LEEANN E.

 won the prize from Brenda Griffith of The Rusty Thimble

 

CHICKZILLA

 won the prize from Chuck McClenning of C.R. McClenning Studio

 

DARLENE

 won the prize from Cortney Arndt-Rector of Cortney Rector Designs

 

 T. JOHNS from SC

 won the prize from Darla Walk of Dark Forest Folk Art

 

DOGSMOM

 won the prize from Marguerite Noschese of My Witchy Women

 

IMSTEELEFULLOFSCRAP

  won the prize from Lisa Ammerman of A Piece of Lisa

 

 JOE. M

 won the prize from Karen Blevins of Witch is Why

 

AUTUMNWIND

 won the prize from Jean Wheelock of Treasures 'n Whimsy

 

 SARA ANDERSON

 won the prize from Heather Milliott of Witch Hollow Primitive

 

 JANICE MOORE-PETTY

 won the prize from Debb George of HalloweenJinglesbellsBoo

 

 WENDY @ RAVENWOOD WHIMSIES

 won the prize from Susie Kirchbaum of The Irish Witch

 

FRAN CASWELL

 won the prize from Sheryl Parsons of Mother's Dream Artworks

 

GRIFFINWYSE

 won the prize from Karen Brady Hammontree of Brady Bears Studio

 

 DEANNA WARD

 won the prize from Joyce Tenay of Ragpatch Prims

 

BRENDA from PUMPKIN HOLLOW PRIMITIVES

 won the prize from Jorge de Rojas of HoHoHalloween

 

WICKED FAERY QUEEN

 won the prize from Patrick James Gill of  EveryWitchWayLane

 

 CHERYL BARCUS

 won the prize from Faith Conroy of The Primitive Black Hat Society

 

 SANDI @ THE PRIMITIVE SKATE

 won the prize from LeeAnn Kress of Charmed Confections

 

I hope you all enjoyed the hop!  We sure had fun sponsoring it!  If you are one of the lucky winners on this list, please go to that site, contact the artist and make arrangements to receive your prize!  CONGRATULATIONS to all of our winners!  And, again, THANK YOU to everyone who hopped along!

 

HAPPY HAUNTING!

Lisa



THANKS FOR HOPPING!

Well, the 2nd Annual Witches of Giggleswick Blog Hop wrapped up at midnight last night.   We are now in the process of tabulating the entries, verifying results and the 21 lucky winners will be chosen very soon!  Thank you so much for participating!  I'm thrilled to have gained so many new followers and I'm pleased that many of you who have been following for a long time have tossed your hats in the ring for the prizes as well.  I wish each and every one of you GOOD LUCK!  There are so many nice prizes up for grabs!  Here is another look at what I am offering:

 

Soon HAPPY HAUNT JACK will be making his way to his new home!  Stay tuned to find out if it will be yours! 

 

Thanks again for making our blog hop a big success!

Lisa

The Second Annual Witches of Giggleswick Blog Hop is Here!

Welcome to the 2^nd Annual

Giggleswick Halloween Blog Hop!

Beginning Sunday, Oct. 5^th – Wednesday, Oct. 15^th

All 21 lucky Winners will be announced

on each of the participating blog sites on Sunday, Oct. 19^th!

 

 

I'm Lisa Ammerman, the artist here at A Piece of Lisa.  I really enjoy creating whimsical, one-of-a-kind figurines and art dolls.  Each of my characters is individually hand sculpted from polymer clay, and then embellished with a variety of materials that bring out its unique character.  Halloween is especially fun, because I can let my imagination run wild!  Anything goes for Halloween!

 

I'm so happy you've stopped by to join us for this blog hop!  There are many talented artists participating, and I feel honored to be among them!

 

Twenty-one lucky followers will win one of our terrific prizes.  This is what I am offering.  Happy Haunt Jack.  He looks like he's been spooked!

 

 

HERE ARE THE RULES:

To be entered into the drawing you will need to hop to all 21 blogsites and do Steps 1 and 2 below. 

Step 1 - Follow this blog -- Look for the blue Google "Join this Site" link.  It's located over on the right side bar.  Click it and follow the prompts....it's as easy as that!

… next …

Step 2 - Leave a comment below this post telling me that you are a new follower or that you are already following my blog. 

PLEASE NOTE: 

To be eligible to have your name in the drawing, you need to visit all 21 blogsites, follow them through Google, and leave a comment on each site. 

If you fail to follow through on your 21 visits, your name will not count in the drawing. 

Below is the list of blogsites and links for you to follow: 

 

Carly Smith

 Boggybottombayou.blogspot.com 

LeeAnn Kress

Charmedconfections.blogspot.com

Debb George

 Halloweenjinglesbellsboo.blogspot.com      

Darla Walk

Darkforestfolkart.blogspot.com

Marguerite Noschese

 My-Witchy-Women.blogspot.com

Karen Brady Hammontree

Bradybearsstudio.blogspot.com

Susie Kirchbaum

 Theirishwitch.blogspot.com

Brenda Griffith

 Therustythimble.blogspot.com

Heather Millott

Witchhollowprimitives.blogspot.com

Arlene Sander

Dreamedbyarlene.blogspot.com

Joyce Tenay

 Ragpatchprims.blogspot.com   

Lisa Ammerman

 Apieceoflisajane.blogspot.com

Becky McClure Federico

 Federico-fantasy-art.blogspot.com 

Jean Wheelock

treasuresnwhimsy.blogspot.com

Chuck McClenning

 wwwthechasmaciancraftercom.blogspot.com    

Jorge de Rojas

 hohohalloween.blogspot.com

Courtney Arndt-Rector

 Cortneyrectordesigns.blogspot.com 

Sheryl Parsons

Mothersdreamartworks.blogspot.com

Patrick James Gill

 Everywitchwaylane.blogspot.com

Karen Blevins

Witchiswhy.blogspot.com

Faith Conroy

 Theprimitiveblackhatsociety.blogspot.com

     

Good Luck and Happy Haunts to You!

 

Like me on Facebook!  Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/APieceofLisa When you click this link, click the "Like" button below my banner.

If you have a blog, add me to your favorites list and mention this giveaway! This Giggleswick Witch will be most grateful!

 

Mark Your Calendars

....and get ready for some fun!

The 2nd Annual Witches of Giggleswick Blog Hop is quickly approaching!  There will be new blogs to follow and lots of terrific prizes in our giveaway.  Here is the prize I am offering to one lucky reader:

Happy Haunt Jack

 

He looks like he's been a little spooked himself, doesn't he? 

 

This adorable pumpkin man along with many other wonderful, handmade works will be available in our giveaway.  The Blog Hop starts this Sunday, October 5th, so be sure to stop back then and get the scoop on how you can enter to win! 

 

 

I hope you'll join in the fun!

Lisa



Show Preview

One week from today I roll out of town for my first show of the season, the Holly Berry Folk Art Festival in Colorado Springs.  I've never done that show before, so I am a little bit nervous.  But I'm also very excited about it, too.  Not just because it's a great show and I'm excited to show all my new creations, but also because my niece, Hilary, lives in Colorado Springs, so I will get to spend time with her as well!  Two birds, as they say! 

I thought today I would just post a series of pictures of some of the characters that have been haunting the studio this summer.  I have been a busy, busy girl, I tell ya!  I'm not sure where summer went, but I know where I was!  I'm so happy I spent a good chunk of winter remodeling, because it has been so much more pleasant to work in there this year.  I didn't feel like I was being deprived of summer afterall!  (For a studio tour, click here.)

HHMMM....now which little spooks shall I show you today? 

How about these......

Frank and His Bride

Greedy Goblin

The Bone Collector

Deadra and Dolly

All Hallow's Eve

Owl-O-Ween

Autumn

 

These are just a taste of what I will be showing in a week!  I've had such a great time working on Halloween.  As you can see, the range of characters is very wide!  Anything goes! 

 

I'm going to try to be back later this week to preview some of the Christmas pieces I've been working on.  Oh, yes!  Christmas, too! 

 

Thanks for dropping by!  I'd love to hear what you think of these little spooks!

Lisa

Raven

 

Say hello to Raven.  She is one of my very, very favorite witches of the year.  I adore her!

 

She's rather a classic looking witch, dressed all in black.  I love her pale skin against the stark black of her clothes and her wild curly roving hair.

 

She has hand-painted grey eyes and subtle dark shadows and a quirky little smile.  A little raven has perched on her wrist.

 

 

I love when I find the perfect embellishment!  This black feather fringe makes the perfect cape for a witch named Raven, don't you think?

 

Raven was just listed in my etsy shop.  I have lots of fun Halloween spooks haunting my shop.  I hope you will go have a look around.

 

 

****************************************************

 

I will be loading up and leaving for my first show of the season just three weeks from tomorrow!  I'm excited and nervous at the same time.  I've never done the Holly Berry Folk Art Festival so I don't know exactly what to expect.  I hope they love my little people!  I've been working hard all summer to have a really nice selection of one of a kind pieces to show.  I can't wait to see them all displayed in a big group! 

 

Well, I still have lots of things to make for the upcoming shows, so I probably better get back to the studio.  Thanks for stopping by! 

 

Lisa

 

 

 



Pirates

I've spent a good chunk of the last few months working on Halloween characters for my upcoming shows.  One morning I woke at 5:30 and the first thing that popped in my head was pirates...."I think I should make some pirates."  Ideas come to me at odd times and all hours of the day.  It keeps me on my toes, for sure! 

Now, I suppose pirates are not really Halloween.  These guys are not kids dressed as pirates, but the real deal. 

 

First up was Bartamus.  I had Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in my head when I was creating this one.  I spent several long minutes shopping the yarn aisle at Hobby Lobby to come up with the right one to make dreadlocks.  I'm pleased with the results.

 

Initially I didn't put a beard on him, but I thought he needed one after the fact.  I gave him a '5:00 shadow' instead with some black pastels.  He just looked too clean-cut without it! 

 

 

Next was Cortez.  I wanted to do one that had Pirate's treasure in it, and also try my hand at a tri-corn hat.  I made the tiny chest and filled it with gold pieces and Swarovski crystals and some gold chain.

 

I love his long, pointed nose.  He does have a sinister look about him, doesn't he?

 

Of course, all self-respecting pirates drink their fair share (and then some) of rum, so I couldn't let this pirate theme go on without one having a bottle of rum. 

 

 

I like the combination of dreadlocks and the hat on this one.  The feather is a nice finishing touch.  Oh, and his name, of course, is Captain Morgan!

 

 

And this is Argus.  Perhaps the scariest of the bunch.  Peg-legged and carrying a walking stick made of a skull and bones, he's not one you would want to cross. 

 

I think he represents all things pirate. 

 

I intended to make one more, with a parrot on his shoulder, but it was time to move on to other ideas that were screaming to get out of my head.  I had a lot of fun with the pirates and am anxious to hear what you all think. 

 

It's a rainy day here today and a good day for working in the studio without feeling like I'm missing out on summer!  I'm working on Santas today.  Never too early to work on Christmas! 

 

Hope you have a great day!

Lisa

 



Art Doll Quarterly

Once again I am thrilled to announce that two of my witches are gracing the pages of Art Doll Quarterly Magazine!  YAY!!  The fall issue will be available on newsstands on Friday, August 1st. 

 

 

This is the fourth time my work has appeared in this magazine, but it still excites me so much to see my dolls on these pages with so many other talented artists.  As an artist, I am always second guessing myself.  I think all artists do that to some degree.  But when your hard work is acknowledged by a publication like Art Doll Quarterly, it makes you feel like perhaps you are doing things right!

 

Here are some pictures of the dolls in the magazine.  I know, the scans are blurry here.  Sorry about that.  

 

 

Here are pictures of the actual dolls, Clara and Hagatha Crow:

 

When ADQ contacted me about my acceptance into the magazine, the asked me to send in Violet as well.  She appeared in the online preview of the magazine, but for some reason she was taken out in the final edit.  I don't know why.  I thought I would show her here, too, so she doesn't feel badly about getting edited.  



 

Three of my artist friends have awesome feature articles in this issue:   LeeAnn Kress of Charmed Confections, Marguerite Noschese of My Witchy Women, and Carly Smith of Boggy Bottom Bayou.  (You should remember them from our awesome Witches of Giggleswick Blog Hop last fall.)Well done, Witches!

 

Thanks for dropping in.  I hope you have a great day!

Lisa