More Ornaments

December is upon us, and it's about three weeks to Christmas!  Time is zipping by and I am beginning to panic!  I don't know why.  Things always tend to get done, somehow, but when your to-do list is as long as your arm it gets a little bit stressful!  How, exactly, does Santa manage? 

I thought I better show you a couple more of the 2013 Limited Edition Ornaments today.  I'm sure you all have your trees up and decorated by now, but these ornaments also make wonderful gifts!  I still have these designs available in my etsy shop.

JOY

 

Some people like Santa.  Some people like snowmen.  Some people like both!  This ornament has a little bit of everything!  Candy cane-striped letters, a snowflake with a Frosty face in the middle, bows and holly, and a tiny Santa hanging from the side of the Y.  Christmas Joy for everyone! 

DECK THE HALLS

 

This jolly Santa is set against a glittered bright blue background.  Holly and a classic ball ornament complete the scene.  I used teeny-tiny pieces of clay to create the holly garland trim on his hat and coat.  It adds just a little 'something' to the design. 

 

 

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving and are greeting the Christmas season with hope and joy!  I love this time of year, even if my to-do list makes my head spin!  Speaking of which.....I better go get a few things crossed off!

 

Lisa



Santa and Elves

Time to show you a few more of my 2013 Limited Edition Christmas Ornaments.  How about Santa and a couple of elves?

Ho! Ho! Ho!

 

This is actually one of my more simple designs.  I feel I need to have a wide range of ornament designs in my collection.  While I love the ones I make that have lots of tiny pieces and minute details, those are more labor intensive, and therefore more expensive.  Buyers might appreciate them, but they might not be within their budget.  So each year I design a few ornaments that I can produce more quickly and sell for a little less money.  This Santa fits that bill.

 

He is dressed in his bright red suit and green mittens, holding a sign with his classic holiday greeting.  The "Ho!Ho!Ho!" is cut from very thin coils of clay.  "Merry Christmas" is handwritten in bright green ink.  A sprig of holly and the year 2013 trim his hat.  He is simple, but cute!! 

 

Ho!Ho!Ho! is still available in my etsy shop and also at Pfatt Marketplace.

 

Elvin

 

This adorable little elf is another example of one of my more simple designs.  He is dressed in a green and red elf suit, trimmed with white.  I used red striped baker's twine to tie a little silver jingle bell to the tip of his hat.  I love his pointy ears and his big, mischievous grin!  Has he been naughty or nice?

 

You can find Elvin in my etsy shop.

 

Peppermint Patty

 

One of my favorites this season!  She has quite a bit more detail than the Santa and the first elf.  She is dressed in classic red and green, with striped stockings and holly on her hat.  She is holding a big candy cane and a disc edged in candy-cane stripes.  Nothing is painted on this ornament except for the tiny white dots in her eyes. 

 

Peppermint Patty has been sold out already, but I wanted to show her to you anyway.  I think she is really adorable!

 

 

I  actually finished up the remainder of the 2013 collection last week!  YAY!!  Normally it's a scramble right before Christmas to finish up and have enough ornaments to give to my family.  This year it's done early!  YAY!!  (did I already say YAY! ??)  Unless I have a huge selling run at A Piece of Lisa on etsy, or at my final show, I should be OK for the year and not have to add another design or two.  (My family would NOT be happy if they missed out on their ornaments this year!)

 

The ornaments may be finished, but there is still a lot of other work to do in the studio, so I best be off to do it!!  Have a great day!

Lisa

 



Let's Get Started....

with the 2013 Limited Edition Christmas Ornament Collection!

Each year since 1990, I have put together a collection of ornaments.  The first year I just made random designs, all basically one of a kind.  Maybe I would make another of a particularly cute design if it sold right away.  The following year I decided it would be fun to create them in limited editions.  I chose to do five of each design.  I thought that would be a manageable number.  I was also doing five holiday craft shows that season, so I figured that is one per show.  And that is how the tradition of my limited edition designs started!  I have now created somewhere in the neighborhood of 450 designs.  Multiply that times five and that's a whole lotta ornaments that I have cranked out, individually, by hand, over the years.  It sort of makes my head spin!! 

Every year I think it's going to be harder and harder to come up with interesting ways to portray the classic Christmas characters we all know and love.  Santa.  Snowmen.  Gingerbread.  Baby Jesus.  I admit, it does present a challenge, but somehow I am still able to pull a few new ideas out of my head each year! 

Snowmen are a perennial favorite.  Who doesn't love Frosty?  After making dozens of designs in the classic, perfectly-round-ball style, I decided why not switch it up a bit?  Give him some personality.  A few quirks.  An odd-ball shape.  Here are two designs in which I have done just that:

Friendly Frosty Faces

 

I happen to love this one!  I was inspired by my own collection of Quirky Snowmen that were published in the 2012 issue of Holiday Crafts Magazine. (More about that here.)  I like the flat oval shapes of their heads, contrasted with the unusual shapes of their black hats.  Even the size and shape of their carrot noses is something out of the ordinary.  I placed these two quirky guys on a light blue pearl background scattered with snowflakes.  All of my ornaments have the year on them in some way.   

Mr. & Mrs. Snow

 

I took the oval shaped snowman and turned it on the side to create these two tall skinny snowmen.  (Well, one is a woman of course!)  This happy couple is dressed up in sweaters, scarves and mittens and each wears an unusually shaped black hat.  She is holding a long candy cane.  I built this ornament on a background of light blue pearl clay scattered with snowflakes, and a drift of snow.  It's edged with silver and a sprig of holly adorns one corner.

 

 

Each of these designs is currently available in my etsy shop.  But you should hurry if you want Mr. & Mrs. Snow, because as of today there are only two left in the edition. 

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa