Into the New Year!

Oh my, how time flies! 

I intended to get here and wish you all a very Merry Christmas.  Oops!  That didn't happen because I was swamped with custom order work, and then I left to spend time with my family over the holidays.

I intended to get here and wish you all a very Happy New Year.  Oops!  That didn't happen because I sort of crashed when I got home.  I mean, I did NOTHING for the first week back! 

Now we are already 11 days into 2014 and I am finally here!  So, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I'm starting the new year off with some exciting news.  I was selected to be the Featured Artist over on the PFATT Marketplace site.  YAY!!  I'm still so honored to be represented on that website with so many fabulous folk artists.  And to be chosen as featured artist for the month is really icing on the cupcake! 

 

So head on over there and check it out!  http://www.pfattmarketplace.com/

 I also am offering three pieces on my Marketplace selling page that are exclusive to PFATT Marketplace this month.  Two snowmen (well, one is really a girl!) and an adorable Valentine Bee. 
http://www.pfattmarketplace.com/apieceoflisa.html

 

 

In other news....I'm remodeling my studio!  I've had thoughts of doing it for a while, but this week I WENT FOR IT!  I emptied the whole room out and put it all in the next bedroom.  It looks like an episode of Hoarders should be filmed!  OH MY!  There will be some purging happening before the studio is reloaded.  No more details for now!  But I will keep you posted! 

 

I'm off to Home Depot!

Lisa



Woodland Winter

It seems winter is going to start here today, with snow in the forecast.  Not a big snow, but snow nonetheless.  So in the spirit of our first snowfall, I think I will introduce you to a few of my newest snowmen.

I've had this 'woodland' theme in my head this year, and I'm really pleased with the direction it is taking me.  These three winter friends are all dressed up in toggle coats, pants, boots, warm wool hats and scarves.  My sister once told me that she liked the snowmen with clothes better than the 'naked ones', and I always think of her when I am putting clothes on a snowman! 

All three Woodland Snowmen are available at A Piece of Lisa on etsy

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Woodland Wreath

 

A red coat, dark pine green houndstooth wool scarf and hat, a bottle-brush wreath trimmed with a red bow.  A tiny felt poinsettia trims his hat. 

 

Woodland Garland

 

An olive green coat and brown pants, with a lovely red houndstooth wool hat and scarf.  He holds a garland with red berries.  A tiny sprig of greenery is tucked in his hat.

 

Woodland Tree

 

A navy coat and moss green houndstooth scarf and hat.  He holds a tiny snow-dusted tree.  A burgundy felt flower trims his hat.

 

 

I love the hats and scarves.  I buy these beautiful hand-dyed felted wools from two different shops on etsy.  They are so soft and pretty and the colors are just lovely.  You can find them here, at Three Sheep Studio, and here, at Quilting Acres.  Both shops have lots of gorgeous wools.  Some of them are just too big of a scale for my work, but I would love to have a swatch of EVERY ONE!  Mostly I stick to the houndstooth because the pattern works so well for my dolls.

 

Do you have a favorite shop on etsy that sells wonderful supplies?  I would love to hear about it!  I'm always on the hunt for interesting things to use on my dolls, and I love to support small business when I can!

 

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



Christmas Ornament #2

This year I made 15 limited edition Christmas ornament designs.  I shared one with you last week here, and today I'm going to share another.  Eventually I will show them all individually here on my blog, but if you are impatient and can't wait for days between them, you can always pop over to my etsy shop and view the whole collection. 

So, we had a Santa last week.  Today we'll take a look at a snowman design.

Shorty, Slim and Slick

 

Just as people come in all shapes and sizes, so do snowmen.  I don't think all snowmen should be made from three perfectly round balls of snow.  I think it's fun to mix it up a little bit--that's how Shorty, Slim and Slick were born.  While Slick might be a typical snowman, his friends Shorty and Slim are both made from egg-shaped balls.  Shorty's are stacked on the long side, and Slim's are stacked on the ends.  Even their hats are quirky shapes--tall and skinny and short and flat. 

 

 

This fun ornament is handcrafted from a custom-mixed, pearly white polymer clay that has a subtle glimmer, much like real snow.  Each snowman wears a colorful scarf and a top hat trimmed with silver hatbands  The tiny holly leaves, the little gold star and the small blue bird are all cut from clay.  The only painted details on this ornament are the tiny white dots in their eyes. 

 

As with all my 2012 ornaments, this one is limited to an edition of five, but none of them are exactly alike.  Each is individually handmade, and signed, numbered and dated on the back.  A signed certificate of authenticity is included with each ornament.

 

I love these three frosty friends.  Maybe because they are a little bit quirky, like me! 

Lisa

 

A little Reminder:

Would you love to win this set of four quirky snowman faces? 

 

Well, it's easy to enter.  All you have to do is sign up to follow my blog.  You can do it either by submitting your email address in the little box in the upper right sidebar OR you can sign up to follow through google by clicking the blue 'join this site' button, also on the sidebar.  Once I hit 30 followers (and we are SOOOO close now) I will randomly draw a name to receive this adorable set of ornaments.  Have you already signed up?  Tell a friend!  Let's get this giveaway going!!  

 





A Sneak Peak

First off, I apologize for the photo.  Perhaps I should have ironed the fabric, yes?  But anyway, here is a quick little peak at this year's limited edition ornament collection:

 

I will be featuring each design separately in the coming weeks, and they will be available soon in my etsy shop.  Until then...

 

Back to work.  I sure wish I had some elves to help me out!!

Lisa

Free Stuff!

To celebrate having my work published in Holiday Crafts magazine (if you missed my blog about that, click here), I've decided I am going to give away a set of the four quirky snowmen Christmas ornaments that are featured in that magazine.

All you have to do to be eligible to win these adorable ornaments is sign up to follow my blog.  It's as easy as filling in your email address in the box at the top right of this page and hitting submit.  You will receive email updates whenever I post something new here.  I WILL NOT use your email for any other purpose, except to contact you if you win a giveaway! 

If you are a Blogger, you can add my blog to your dashboard and follow me that way.

I know there are some of you out there that are reading my blog regularly, but you haven't signed up to follow just yet.  Well, now is a great time to do so!  You could WIN THESE ADORABLE ORNAMENTS! 

Once I hit 30 followers I will randomly draw the name of one of them to receive these snowmen.  So, submit your email, and then share my blog with your friends and tell them to sign up, too.  The more the merrier!

If you need a bit more incentive, here are individual shots of each quirky little face.



Now, be honest....wouldn't you LOVE to win these?

I look forward to seeing lots of new followers very soon!

Lisa

PS--If you love these ornaments so much you can't wait for the giveaway to have them, they are available in my etsy shop.

Holiday Crafts Magazine

I have been BURSTING with anticipation!  I'm so excited about this news I am about to share with you, I can barely contain my glee!

MY WORK HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN A MAGAZINE!!  I have a project featured in Better Homes and Gardens Holiday Crafts 2012!  WOOHOO!!

Way back in JANUARY I was contacted by a representative of the magazine asking if I would be interested in having my four quirky snowman face ornaments featured in this year's issue.  Well, DUH!  Yes, of course I would!  This is a first for me, and I was beside myself with excitement.  I had to rush a set of the ornaments off to them immediately.  And then I had to wait.  And wait.  And wait some more.

But, Oh! was it worth the wait!  I received my copy of the magazine about ten days ago, and this is the amazing feature I was greeted with:

Don't my little snowmen look AMAZING?  They mounted them on patterned paper and framed them, as an alternative to hanging them on a tree.  Very clever!  I am so pleased with how they look!

Since this is a how-to magazine, the ornaments are also featured on this page with instructions on how to make them:

Here's another view of the two pages:

I know, I know.  They sent me ONE magazine.  I have since bought 3 more issues!  I mailed one to my Mom today.  Not sure why I need 3 copies for myself, but I will think of a reason soon! HA!

If you are heading out to find a copy, here is what you need to look for:

It's actually a really great magazine with over 100 very nice projects for Christmas and Halloween.  And it is a real bargain at only $5.99!  If you are crafty at all, you might want to go out and grab a copy.

Normally I don't give out my 'secrets' on how to make my items, but this was such a HUGE opportunity I absolutely could not pass it up!  These ornaments are actually quite easy to make, and probably some of my most simple work.  But if you are not inclined to make your own set, I have them available in my etsy shop.

Four Quirky Snowmen

Whew!  I am soooo glad I was finally able to share this with you all! 

Have a great day!

Lisa

PS--Jay Wilde is the photographer who did such an amazing job taking the pictures for the magazine.  I apologize for the not-so-great quality of my pictures.  Do you know how hard it is to take a picture of a photograph?!











100 Degrees and Snowing

I like summer.  I really do.  But this is ridiculous!  Omaha has been stuck in a heat wave, like much of the country, and it's been unbearably miserable.  Not only do we get temperatures in the high 90s and 100s, we get the added bonus of humidity, so it seems hotter than it really is.  Yesterdays high: 103.  Add in the humidity and it's somewhere in the neighborhood of, oh, about 1003.  Anyway.  Not much we can do about it, right? 

Since I can't tolerate being outside is this oppressive heat for very long periods of time, I have taken to my studio.  I have so much work to do to prepare for my upcoming busy holiday season that I don't feel like I'm missing out on much by staying inside all day. 

I've tried to beat the heat by thinking snow....in this case snowmen.  I've spent the last several days making these fun little guys, and thought I would give you all a sneak peak today.  Maybe they will cool you off a bit.

I hope you are all finding a way to beat the heat.  As for me, I'll just keep working....

Stay cool!

Lisa