Something Sublime

A Gifting We Will Go

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

Sir Winston Churchill

I've been out antique hunting this weekend and came across something I'd like to gift my readers with.  There's a little peek above.  To see more, visit my blog at Artpub.  Make sure you visit the other artist's blogs while you're there.  Several are offering great tutorials and other freebies.

I got a fabulous, surprise boxful of goodies this weekend from my sweet friend Mija, my fellow Oregonian...for no other reason than simply to encourage me and thank me.  This crucifix was one of the treasures in the box, along with a length of vintage ribbon in my favorite color.  (As you can see, I'm still doing the macro love dance with the new lens!)

The thing I love about what Mija sent is that each object in the box is perfect for me.  Even though we've only met in person once, Mija knows exactly what I like!  She's very intuitive and you can see that sensitivity in her artwork.  (Make sure you check it out.)  Or, maybe she's just really generous and really smart.  I think she's all of the above!

prayer cards...

vintage religious medals...

an antique key...

old books, filigree metal thingies and...how does she know I collect vintage butter knives?!

Oh, and look at this awesome, old, serving spoon my friend Colleen gave me.  It's a Christmas pattern...maybe from Germany?

And, from my sweet friend Katie Kendrick, this gorgeous, vintage, silk kimono!  I've been overly blessed with material gifts this year but the best part is the care, love and support behind the gifting.  For that, I am very thankful!

The Spirit of Inspiration

"Spirit" by Deryn Mentock

One of the projects I'm getting caught up on over the holiday break is this "spirit card" swap hosted by the lovely and talented Susan Tuttle.  We all have times when we wish we could pull inspiration out of the thin air.  Knowing that ideas don't come from thin air, Susan thought it would be fun to get a group of artists together to make small packages (atc size) filled with inspiration.

my folder

Each artist designs a folder to be embellished by all the other artists working in the project.

Ruth Rae's embellishment to my folder

my embellishment to Ruth Rae's folder

Ruth Rae's folder (more of my embellishment)

Trudy McLauchlan's folder (my embellishment)

The folders are passed through the group and each person creates an atc according to the theme of the folder.  For instance; my theme was "fruits of the Spirit" and I listed "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" as the words for each artist to incorporate into her card.

"Love" by Trudy McLauchlan

"Peace" by Ruth O'Connor

"Patience" by Marilyn Healey

"Goodness" by Liz Smith

"Faithfulness" by Susan Tuttle

"Joy" by Caren McNee

"Gentleness" by Christine Shebroe

"Self Control" by Fiona Mortimore

"Kindness" by Ruth Rae

When I need a little inspiration, all I have to do is reach for my packet of artwork!  Here are the cards I did for various folders:

"A Pure Heart"

"Be"

"Challenge"

"Flutter"

"Ruth's Virtue"

"Sacrifice"

"Prayerful"

"Vision"

"Wish"

Thank you to everyone who contributed to my folder and especially to our fearless leader, Susan!

Gifted

Well, Christmas day has come and gone but, I swear, I'm still feeling the love.  At my house, it was a wonderful Holiday.  Of course, Christmas vacation means the mini men are home from school and that always makes things interesting and fun.  Son Number One passed an important milestone...popping his first champagne cork.

Into the neighbor's yard...naturally!  He's not old enough for mimosas but learning life skills is important to us.

There were other exciting activities afoot...

Wife Whisperer is a great shot...

Number One is even better!  I searched far and wide for those red replacement bulbs.  Hmm...

Targets that spew foaming liquid into the air are even more fun.  But seriously...I was truly gifted this year not only with presents under the tree but with time, well spent, with my guys.  They were extremely thoughtful in their Holiday gift giving and a few special items brought tears to my eyes (and I'm not one for crying!)...

The mini men gave me this beautiful Tower of David to go with my "Little Town of Bethlehem" village.  They were so excited to watch me open it!

Oh yeah...squishy bowls and backpacking flatware.  Yes, this definitely brought a tear just thinking of the pain that  backpacking trip down the Lone Star Trail is going to cost me.  I've managed to put it off for most of the year but, I think my couch potato days are almost over.

Ok now, this one really did make me cry!  Not only that, I skipped around the Christmas tree doing the happy dance and looking foolish for the better part of the morning.  I've wanted a macro lens for oh...about 12 years or so!  Yippee!

Another serious tear jerker.  This one was from my mom.  Her class ring.  Very cool because we graduated from the same high school (not the same year, of course!).  When I called to thank her, there was another round of blubbering...  Thanks mom, I adore it!  (Wow, that macro lens really works!)

These didn't produce the Niagra of tears that the class ring did but still, very touching!  My great-grandmother used to make this type of knitted slippers and I love them.  Mom knows that about me and gifted me with this ultra-cool, blue and green pair.

This has nothing to do with Christmas gifts except to say that the new macro is incredible!

Another non-Christmasy shot but, dang!...this lens is awesome!  Anything is fair game now...

Ummm...my pink poinsettia...

Ok, enough with the macro shots for now.  I hope you all don't mind joining in on my macro adventures.  I think I'm addicted!

Just One More...

I was just visiting my good friend Sally's blog and realized that I was a total shmoe in neglecting to post the beautiful Christmas card she sent me!  As in all of Sally's work, this card is stunning.  You know what I like about her stuff?  It's always colorful and always intriguing.  With Sally, you'll always get a little taste of the unexpected.  Peek inside her studio, shown on her Artpub blog, and you'll see where her creativity takes flight!

Deck the Halls

The Christmas rush is almost over...it's practically here!  Welcome to my holiday home!  Come on in, have a mimosa or a cup of cider and I'll show you around.  Last week it was 82 degrees here but early this morning everything was covered with a silvery layer of frost.  The fire is roaring, the Christmas carols are softly playing on the stereo...so, let's get started!

Decorations on the tree...

The most gorgeous pink poinsettias I've ever seen...  This particular variety has small, round, pink and cream flowers that look like someone crunched them up in their fist then turned them loose.

Vintage bottle brush trees, of course!  Believe it or not, one year I found a box of these at a garage sale for three bucks.  The vintage ones are getting more scarce every year.

Jingle bells...

Handpainted Christmas village (bet you didn't know, I have a past life as a decorative painter!) And, a forest of bottle brush trees.

Cherubim and Seraphim...complete with lamb...

Vintage ornaments adorn my fabulously chic, vintage, tinsel tree.

About half the ornaments on my splendid tinsel tree belonged to my beloved Grandma.

White porcelain ornaments...a big part of Christmas at my house.  My mother has been gifting me with these every Christmas since I've been married.  Over 22 years...count 'em...22!

 

A very special, lighted Santa.  I found him last year at an antique mall.  He's exactly like the one that spent every Christmas on the front porch of the home where I grew up.  I was so excited to welcome him to my own home now!

Angels we have heard on high...this one from Mexico.

What would Christmas be without packages, boxes and bows?

Part of my collection of sugar Santas.

Jeweled Christmas birds nesting on my front porch.  This fabulous nest blew down one windy autumn day.

 

More of the Jolly Old Elf...a giftbox-turned-ornament that was made by a friend.

Twinkling Christmas lights...

Yuletide by the fireside...  As much as we enjoy the fire, my little dog is who you'll find here.  She loves to lay on the hearth.  She gets so close to the flames, and so hot, it seems she might spontaneously combust!

 

And, the reason for the season, the Holy Child.  The real meaning behind the giving of gifts, the shining lights and glorious tree...the King of Kings, come to earth in the form of a tiny baby!

For my family and friends who are far away, for friends who are near and for my kind readers, I hope you enjoyed my little tour.  Happy Christmas!  I hope your holiday season is blessed and your new year bright!

Christmas Cards

Apparently, there are quite a few of you out there who are able to get your Christmas cards out on time (unlike myself!).  I've received some beautiful handmade cards from friends.  Here are a few...

by Angela Cartwright

by Marie Otero

by Deb Trotter

by DJ Pettitt

by Pilar Pollock

by Pilar Pollock

And this gorgeous ornament by Lorraine George.  Lorraine stitched hand-decorated paper in layers of vinyl and added a Christmas light bulb set into a bezel.  Beautiful!

I'm so thankful for friends and for my readers and I hope you all have a blessed Christmas!

Another Thing...

Whew!  I've been really busy with the holidays.  Between decorating, making cards, attending parties and forcing the mini men through finals, I've hardly had time to spend in my studio.  I did manage a few pieces.  Here's a little of what I've been working on...

"Bless"

"Bless"

""Goo Goo Good (Listen)"

I hope this little, silver dolly doesn't look too much like she's hanging from a noose!  She was created from a mold I made of an antique charm.  This project was a special commission and a bit challenging.  It was fun though and I'll be showing more of it later.

"Azure"

"Spiritual Pleasure"

"Stones"

I got these terrific, faceted, turquoise stones from my local bead shop (yes, the one I swore I'd stay away from!) back during the summer.  When I got home with the strand, I decided the faceted turquoise was so special, I went back for the other strand.  No will power!  They are gorgeous though...

No studio time tonight either...  I'm off to see the stage production of "It's a Wonderful Life", one of my all time favorite movies.  I've seen it a million times but never re-enacted in bun-o-vision.  Amazing what you can find on the internet...

And the Winner is...

Cindy in Carolina!

Remember these?  Cindy, you're the lucky winner of the amazonite earrings in my last post!

Thank you all so much for playing and for the lovely comments to my Artpub blog.  It's amazing to me how many readers I have and I'm thankful for every one of you!  Cindy, please email me with your info and I'll get your earrings in the mail asap.

Meanwhile, I've been working on a few other things...

"Spiritual Life" available on Etsy

"Spiritual Life" detail

"Spiritual Life"-detail

I've got a few more pictures of this necklace posted to my Etsy shop.  It's a beautiful piece with the links, clasp and focal all hand fabricated.  The focal uses a vintage chandelier crystal with a transfer of one of my original cemetery photographs.  I took this some years ago at Galveston, Texas.  There's an old cemetery there, right after you get on the island, and it's full of lovely statuary.  I have quite a collection of cemetery photos I've taken over the years and this is one of my favorites.  You can see some text in the background that came from an antique Bible.  The blue stones are chalcedony mixed in with wrapped, freshwater pearls.

"Wrapped" (Sold)

These were made with sterling earwires and fabric, wrapped with steel wire and iridescent, glass beads.  Red jasper and more glass dangle below.  I'm really liking these long, dangly earrings...especially for the holidays!

Speaking of holidays...my Christmas cards aren't even done yet!  I'm afraid I've been easily distracted by fun Holiday activities and preparing Christmas cards isn't one of them.  Is anyone else having this problem?!

Fa, La, La, La, Giveaway!

sterling, vintage crystal, tiger eye, gorgeous faceted amazonite

While the excitement of opening an incredible Christmas ornament every day may be over (waaah!), the fun here on my blog is not!  I'm giving away this lovely pair of earrings to one lucky reader.  Here's what you have to do:  visit my new blog at ArtPub Studios and leave me a comment.  Everyone that leaves a comment there will be entered into a drawing for the earrings.  I'll post the winner's name on Monday.  Come on...you know you want 'em! 

You can get to my other blog by clicking on the Artpub icon in the right sidebar or click this link.  Don't forget to leave a comment and make sure you visit all the other blogs there.  My ArtPub friends are offering all sorts of fun things on their Pub blogs as well!

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas...

...my friend Melissa David gave to me...

...this amazing assemblage ornament!

Melissa has the biggest collection of goodies you have ever seen and she certainly knows how to use them.  Every year, I look forward to her ornament because, she doesn't just do things halfway...she goes over the top!  Her ornament is always spectacular...

On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me twelve drummers drumming.