It's SPRING!

It's amazing to me that the last time I was here I was posting about Christmas, and now Easter is just days away!  Where does the time go? 

Mostly, I take the month of January off from working, since I usually am so crazy busy making custom orders right up until Christmas.  Last year was no exception, and I finished my last order at about 3:30pm on December 23rd!  Cutting it a little too close, I know!  So, January was a deserved month of rest from the studio!

I have been making my way back to work, and itching to get busy with all the new ideas I have banging around in my head.  But this week I had another custom order to work on, and I'm going to show it to you today.

A customer who purchased several snowmen from me at one of my fall art fairs contacted me about making a group of Easter bunnies for her.  Since I didn't do any spring shows this year, and I've been slow to get back to work and get things listed in my etsy shop, I wasn't sure I would be making any spring pieces.  It was nice to have to do these.....they were so much fun!

This is Ellie.  She is a small girl, about 6-1/4".  A pink or purple dress was requested, so I did a bit of both.  The polka dot fabric reminds me of Easter eggs, so I pulled the pink out to make her clay bodice, and then trimmed it with purple ribbon, crepe paper and Swarovski crystals.  She carries a basket with little eggs.

Tessa is wearing a teal dress, with a floral patterned skirt and clay bodice.  I didn't have crepe paper to match this color, so chose to use white.  I added the white lacy ribbon to balance the collar.  She has eggs and little yellow ribbon roses in her basket.  She is much taller than Ellie.

Vivian is much like Tessa in both size and the way she is dressed.  I love this vibrant violet color.  The little purple flowers in her basket are a nice match.

I was asked to create one little boy, wearing a short blue suit, and here he is.  I named him Will.  After taking this picture, I decided he needed a little 'something', so I added a lavender felt flower with a yellow Swarovski crystal center to the lapel of his suit.  It is s subtle but nice finishing touch. 

 

These two pictures show the difference in the sizes of the bunnies.  The client asked for two small ones and two larger ones.  The small girl and the boy are for her grandkids.  The bigger girls are for her daughters.  I will be delivering these tomorrow.  I hope she loves them as much as I do! 

 

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure am ready for spring!  We didn't have that much snow in my neck of the woods, so we were lucky in that regard.  But we had some very bitterly cold weather.  Personally, I would rather have the snow!  Of course, someone from Boston or one of the other cities that got nailed really hard would probably disagree!  But now it's over, the trees are budding, tulips are blooming, and my lilac bush is about ready to pop out full of wonderfully fragrant blooms!  We had a nice rain storm last night, and the grass is even greener this morning!  It's a wonderful rebirth!

 

I hope you all have a joyous Easter!  I promise to be back soon!

Lisa

 

 

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Oh, one other thing to share with you.  This is one reason why my studio time has been compromised in recent weeks.  On December 6th I got the best Christmas present ever!  An adorable Brittany spaniel.  I named him Rudy. 

 

This is what he looked like a couple days after I got him.

 

This is what he looks like now!  It's amazing how fast they go from roly-poly puppy to looking like a real dog!  He's a handful, but a ADORE him! 

 



Bunnies and Carrots

Seems like bunnies and carrots just go together. Every year the rabbits in our neighborhood manage to find our carrot patch and mow them off.  Frustrating, to say the least, but I suppose they have to eat, right? 

Today I have two different versions of a bunny with carrots to show you.  Both are newly listed in my etsy shop, A Piece of Lisa.  These are not really Easter specific bunnies....more of a spring thing.  I hope you like them.

CHOCOLATE CHUNK WITH CARROT

 

I've had a thing for these sort of egg-shaped bunnies this year.  They are a different approach than I have taken before and I really like them.  On this one I added some big buck teeth....he's ready to get chomping on that carrot.  I used green tinsel rope for the carrot tops.  Isn't he cute?

 

GARDEN FRESH

 

This big white bunny has been out working in the garden all day.  He's wearing his work overalls and a white crepe paper collar and carrying his shovel.  He's gathered a nice bunch of carrots for his lunch.

 

 

I hope you are all enjoying your spring.  It's supposed to be lovely here today....nearly 80 degrees!  I think, perhaps, winter is finally over!  YAY! 

 

And hey, two blogs already this week!  Maybe I'm back on track....

 

Thanks for stopping by!

Lisa

 



Spring Lambs

It's about time I get back to blogging!  I've been working on all sorts of new pieces, but haven't taken much time to photograph things until today.  Spring is here, and Easter is just around the corner, so it's about time I show you some of the adorable spring creations I have ready.

Spring isn't all about bunnies.  What about sweet little lambs?  I am IN LOVE with these two precious lambs, all dressed up in their pretty spring dresses.  And these girls are not just for Easter.  No, you can leave these out all spring....or all year if you are so inclined.  (Wouldn't they be adorable in a baby nursery?)

Baa-Baa Birdie

This sweet little lamb, Birdie,  is dressed in an adorable green gingham paper dress with a crepe paper collar.  She wears bobby socks and Mary Janes and a pretty lavender flower is tucked in her ear.  A little blue and white bird has landed on her wrist.  I used real kid mohair for her curls. 

Baa-Baa Blossom

Birdie's sister, Blossom, is dressed in a pretty lavender top and a flowered paper skirt trimmed with a blue satin ribbon and crepe paper collar.  She carries a bouquet of freshly-picked flowers and has another one tucked behind her ear.  I used kid mohair for her curls.

 

 

I had so much fun creating these little lambs.  I hope you enjoy them. They will soon be listed in my etsy shop.

 

Have a great spring day!

Lisa



Spring is coming, right?

It's been a harsh winter.  While we haven't gotten very much snow here in Omaha, our temperatures have been brutal!  I'm really ready for spring, and I think I'm not alone!  So now that I am finally back to work in the newly remodeled studio (posts about that coming this week, I promise!) I have been working on a few new Easter pieces. 

These three Easter sweeties can be found on my Pfatt Marketplace page later today. 

Bonnie Bunny is all dressed up in her finest Easter dress.  The bodice is sculpted from lavender clay, and the skirt is hand sewn from a cute polka dot print and edged with ribbon and lace.  I finished the look with a crepe paper collar and Swarovski crystals.  She wears a clay hat trimmed with flowers and holds an Easter basket filled with moss and tiny eggs, tied with a pretty silk ribbon.

Eggbert with Bunny Ears is another version of a design I did last year.  I love him!  My sister says he reminds her of the m&m guy, and she's right!  He is sculpted from blue clay with yellow and pink accents.  His grey boots are trimmed with pink chenille and blue Swarovski crystals.  I made his bunny ears from wool felt and fluffy chenille.  A bit of wire allows them to be bent at a quirky angle.  His clay basket is filled with moss and tiny eggs and trimmed with a pink satin bow.

Chocolate Chunk with an Egg is a different style of Easter bunny than I have done before.  A bit more egg-shaped with a quirky face and hand-painted yellow-green eyes, she has a pretty pink gingham bow on her ear.  The big egg is sculpted from yellow clay with pink and white flowers and is covered with very fine pink glitter.  It looks like it's sugar coated!  The brown clay is the color and sheen of chocolate, so this bunny looks good enough to eat! 

 

I hope you will hop on over to Pfatt Marketplace this afternoon and have a look around.  And not just at my page.  Check out everyone!  I'm sure there will be lots of sweet Easter surprises over there.  I know for sure my friend LeeAnn Kress of Charmed Confections has one ADORABLE bunny!  You MUST go have a look!  Pfatt will update around mid-day. 

 

Oh, and the time change.....UGH!!  I think we'll all agree about that, right?

Lisa

 

Remember, if you click the links to Pfatt and you see my snowmen, the page hasn't updated yet.  Be sure to go this afternoon, and you will find the newest listings!





Friday Favorite--Dianne's Baskets

As I was trying to decide what shop to feature today on Friday Favorites, I tried to think of something different than I have shown you before. Since Easter is just around the corner I wanted to feature a shop relevant to the upcoming holiday.  I searched first for chenille bunny, and didn't find anything that immediately spoke to me.  Then I thought, "How about a BASKET?"  Duh!!  An EASTER BASKET!!  There has got to be a nice shop on etsy that sells beautiful handmade baskets, right?  RIGHT!  Dianne's Baskets!

I know people joke about taking 'basket weaving' for an easy college credit, but those are the people who have NOT done basket weaving!  It is NOT a simple little granny craft!  It takes talent, and skill, and precision to make a beautiful, well-made basket, and Dianne shows that she has all of the above. She has an extensive collection of baskets in her shop, from purely utilitarian to wonderful works of art.  She weaves each basket by hand in her Wisconsin studio, from the finest quality materials available.  I hope you will take the time to go have a look around her etsy shop. 

Here are a few of my favorites:

Pastel Colored Bowl-Type Basket

 

Round Easter Basket

 

Round Quatrefoil Basket

 

Bucket Basket with Wire Handle

 

Egg Basket

 

Carolina Charm Basket

 

Wouldn't any of these be lovely filled with Easter treats?  I hope you have enjoyed this little taste of Dianne's Baskets and that you will go have a look around her etsy shop.

 

Have a wonderful weekend!

Lisa

 

 

 



Who Doesn't Love Chocolate?

A couple years ago, when I began making these new whimsical bigger pieces, I started with a batch of Easter bunnies.  I wanted to make a dozen to have for a spring show.  As I was making yet another white rabbit, I thought, why not make a chocolate bunny?  Everyone loves a chocolate bunny!  Now, two years later, I'm still making versions of my chocolate bunnies.  They always seem to bring a smile to anyone who sees one.  This is my favorite chocolate bunny from this year's collection:

Chocolate Bunny with Egg



I sculpted this bunny using Premo polymer clay. This clay has a soft sheen to it that helps with the illusion that this is a chocolate bunny. He looks good enough to eat, but don't bite his ear off! 

 

 

He has a frilly sky blue crepe paper collar and two little pink and yellow clay flowers down his belly.  He is holding a striped clay Easter egg that matches his outfit. 

 

Easter will be here in about two weeks.  Are you ready? 

 

Happy Day!

Lisa  

 



Easter Eggs

I wanted to come up with some unique Easter figurines that were not bunnies.  Or chicks.  Or ducks.  Something clever.  Different.  Then it hit me.  Why not EGGS? 

"Eggbert" came to mind.  I could call him Eggbert!  Silly, I know, but what's life without a little whimsy?  I'm going to show you three of my eggs here today.

Eggbert Wearing Bunny Ears

 

This Eggbert has been on the Easter Egg hunt.  He's got a basket filled with a half-dozen pastel eggs.  He wanted to dress up for the occasion, so he's wearing his bunny ears headband, made from wool felt and a white chenille stem. 

 

 

You can find Eggbert here, on my Pfatt Marketplace page this month, along with a couple of bunnies. (Yes, I remembered to get it posted on time this month.  If you remember from this post, I totally forgot to send my listings in last month!)

 

Happy Easter Eggbert

 

I had these cute cupcake picks in my stash of stuff and thought it would be cute to make an Eggbert holding one of these as a sign.  I sculpted the egg to match the colors in the greeting, and then added a cute paper party hat trimmed with pink chenille. 

 

 

Happy Easter Eggbert is available here, in my etsy shop. 

 

Eggberta with a Blue Bird

 

This is Eggbert's little sister, Eggberta.  She is a pale yellow egg with white polka dots.  All dressed up for spring, she's wearing an adorable pair of grey Mary Jane's with Swarovski crystals, and a darling 'straw' hat made from twisted coils of clay and trimmed with a blue dotted ribbon and a little yellow flower.

 

 

Eggberta is also available in my etsy shop.  You can find her listing here.

 

I had a lot of fun creating this whimsical little eggs.  I hope you enjoy them!

 

Spring is coming!!  Only this time of year can you have 8 inches of snow on the ground AND have tulip bulbs starting to peek out of the earth! 

 

Have a great day!

Lisa













A Pretty Pair of Bunnies

Spring is coming, right?  After 9 inches of snow last week, I'm hoping it is coming soon!  (Truth be told, I don't HATE snow.  I actually sort of like it.  Of course, I don't have to go out in it if I don't want to, since I work from home.  But it's getting to be that time of year when I am longing for spring.)

With spring, comes Easter, and Easter is early this year.  Did you know that already?  I checked a few weeks ago so I could plan my spring accordingly. Which of my spring shows will fall before Easter and which will be after?  How many bunnies will I need to make? 

This pair of bunnies is actually left from last year, but I love them so much I wanted to share them.  Don't they make a lovely couple?

 

 

 

 

 

These two adorable bunnies are currently available in my etsy shop.  Click here to find the boy.  Click here to find the girl. 

 

I've been working on this year's batch of bunnies and hope to have some new ones to show you very soon.

 

Have a great day!

Lisa