Snowmen and Snowmoons!
Been having fun with the clay recently,..sculpting tiny and big,..her are some of the tiny works in progress,...


I like to sculpt tiny first thing in the morning as I'm drinking my coffee!


Later in the studio I finish pieces,..today it was this Snow Moon Lantern,..

And a Snow King Tree Topper,..
A handful of fun,... these are works in progress,..have since been painted further and are hung glittered and drying,.. for our new tinsel style feather tree!

And the biggest snowman I ever created,..a large snowman floor lamp created last year and sold to a favorite collector last Christmas!
I want to make another one! But am working on a pair of tabletop ones,..with a different kind of nose,..
More pics to follow of that project later!
This guy below,..went on eBay tonight,...



Thanks for stopping by!

Something for the Nice and Something for the Naughty!
Two new and completely different lamps from my studio this week! Here is my Snowman,..his crown is re purposed from a carafe! It reminds me of more things that could come from Santa's Magical Workshop and the North Pole as I thought of them as a child. The lamp base is a functional electric lamp with a roll cord on the switch. I painted the lamp and used a very cool new type of glitter paint in aqua. I found a very old tiny bluebird flocked ornament that I sprinkled with a touch of the same German glass glitter I used on the Snowman, and I perched him permanently onto the glittered candy cane the snowman has in his mouth. The crown comes off of the snowman, revealing a lantern shaped hole in the top, that lets out light. There are two tiny holes in the top of the snowman on either side of the lantern hole so he could also be strung with wire and hung as an ornament or lantern.

To bid on the Snowman Lamp,..click here

He uses a nightlight sized bulb and I like it lit with white light,...

Here he is unlit without his crown!

Unlit with his crown,..
Here in this photo below, you can see a hint of the next fully decorated feather tree to come!
We love the vintage glass ornaments, and the indented ones, too. We also got lucky enough to find a vintage strand of mercury glass beaded garland to use on our next tree (in pastel Christmas colors!)



A look close up,..

And NOW for something COMPLETELY different! I hope your children weren't naughty this year. I really do,... I would hate for Krampus to come to your house instead of Santa. I would beat him with his own switches! But I just love the old German tale and really anything about devils. They're just so fun and kitsch! Here is another fully functional lamp. Much like my Halloween Devil lamps,..except with the lolling Krampus tongue and green eyes. I just love how this one turned out....

He's so creepy!!!
He looks best with a flicker bulb which comes with him. I even put a faux candle wax drip on the lamp's sleeve in black...
If you like him,..too,..click here to bid! He
starts tonight at ten pm EST.
I also have a small Krampus ornament,..here, and a snowflake ornament here!
Look for an adorable miniature SKeLLy cHRisTmas LaMp soon,..our next feather tree,..and some more moon ornaments and tree toppers!
Thanks for your support of Handmade!!

Feather Trees From Studio 136!
Dusti and I love trees,..especially feather trees! We made one from scratch about a year ago, from a wooden dowel, heavy gauge wire, and black feathers. We mounted it on an antique metal lamp base and we have enjoyed hanging Halloween ornaments from it,..and taking it to shows. Ever since making it we have wanted to do more! (More is always better!) One a month, or, this time of year,..one a week! So we have been collecting and or making trees that have the feather tree shape, and putting them on a variety of wonderful bases. We have urns,..vintage wooden pedestal stands,..old metal Victorian looking lamp bases,..and other fun salvaged items to turn a tree into extraordinary! On this tree, our first, we took a vintage wooden cake stand and painted it in a bright red enamel,..and added a fence which we white washed. Traditionally German Feather Trees came with fences surrounding them. I just think it is so cute! We also found a vintage wooden toy train ornament and thought it went perfect under this tree!

Toot Toot! Jingle Jingle! All aboard!


Our first tree is a "Christmas in Toyland" theme,..it started with a find of some vintage rocking horse ornaments and a few others we have been saving. When we were little,..we had plenty of these miniature wooden ornaments with felt hats and painted faces on our tree at home! There were elves, santas, animals, and snowmen. They all came to life in my little girl's imagination, like toys that came straight from Santa's workshop just for the tree! Just like this tiny snowman, holding a wee broom!

So now as find these kind of ornaments, we keep them, and even restore or fix them up as necessary. We started this tree out with a few of our favorites. Here is a vintage wooden rocking horse with a brown chenile mane and tail! There is a mouse with spectacles also hanging nearby,..and the star was one of three made just for this tree by me!


At the very top is a crescent moon I also made, to tie in with the stars and some of the other yellow ornaments on the tree. He has a hole in the bottom, and the top of the tree fits snugly in it.

What better to top off a tree?
Here is another of my favorite ornaments,..a little elf in a felt hat sitting on a present! I added the pom pom, (or "hat dot" as I hastily called it, running for my glue gun!) As I added hat dots,..Dusti painted fences and bases and measured and hung trim in ribbon pom pom and tinsel. I painted my dried moons and stars and we talked about several other trees we are working on at the same time. (More to come about them soon!)

Here is another star,...

I just love this combination of tinsel in a warm white gold color paired with traditional polka dot and red stripe ribbon! And the shiny red beaded and tinsel trims brighten the tree and tie it all together!

Here is the other side of green eyed moon topper,..

Dusti made this "naughty and nice" scroll list ornament!
We had some private fun deciding the names to go on each side! She sheallaced the scroll to stiffen the paper and hold it in its scroll like shape.

There are a few wooden Santas on here,..and here are one of two brightly painted toy drums,..

another star,..
a look up at the moon,..
And so much more can be found on this beautiful tree!
These are all the pics I have for now. We will finish this tree up tomorrow,..photograph the entire tree, and list it on eBay for a 7 day auction which will end on Black Friday. We are busy elves this week! To bid on this tree,..click here
Thanks for stopping by!

More Ornaments! And Some Pics From 136!


Here is my Krampus! Those Germans new how to spin a tale! This creepy Christmas Devil came and hauled off all the bad boys and girls. That sure alleviates the need of the old "coal in stocking" threat.

The one I sculpted here is 5.5" without the wire hanger,..hollow with a hole in top,..just like a miniature lantern or candy container. He'd look great on the tree!

Painting his eyes and sculpting his lecherous tongue were the most fun!

Here is another skelly lamp,..13" tall,..

I don't care what time of year it is,..I love to see him flickering in the dark!

He makes me happy and I love making the faux candle waxed dripped sleeves on my lamps,..
tiny details like this are best seen in person!

Here are the ornaments of the week,..minus a snowflake I left at the studio,..all of these are available on my STJ page tonight at midnight....

This Black Cat Santa is my favorite! 7" high,..

He just looks so dashing in his yuletide finery!

I love cats! Especially the black, hissing kind.

No matter what the holiday!


I almost forgot,..my first Christmas lamp of the year! The colors,..texture,..and detail are really rich in person. He's a jolly Snow Moon!

A swirl of candy pink and icy blue colors meet with German glass glitter and candy cane goodness,..the lamp base itself has the same treatment!

Reminds me of everything kitsch,..sweet,..and Santa Claus-Townish that was exciting about Christmas when I was a little girl!


All these and more hail from a huge new workspace! I am so fortunate to have recently moved my work into a fantastic studio I share with my sister. We are already beginning new projects in holiday art as well as paintings, lighting,..some furniture,..and mirrors. Now that we have a full wood shop,...space,..tools at hand,..and each other,..the sky is the limit!
Here is "her" end,..although we share and share alike,...notice how neat and organized,..although check back in a month,..I guarantee once we really get going, it won't be so pristine anymore!


Here is the very end of "my" end,..I am way less orderly,..more like a happy tornado,...

Still moving things in,..but also having to still work,..I figure it will come together more or less on its own,..I organize and create new "stations" as I go,..

It's nice keeping the holidays apart,..and paint apart from trims,..trims apart from tools,..glue and epoxy away from everything else,..dremmels and tools and dust in its own spot,..paper mache bowl in their own,..etc...Finishing stages kept away from beginning stages,..and when I am done,..I just walk out and go home! Oh and packing and shipping and photographing pieces,..plenty of room for that,..too!!

The studio is part of a group of studios for artists in my town,...our group is called Clearwater Studios. We are Studio 136 within this wonderful art mecca! Our first open house is next Friday night,..November 18th! If you are in the area, I would love to see you there.

Thanks for stopping by!!

Christmas Ornaments Are Here!
I am so thrilled to report have a large new studio! I am still settling into it but have had to jump right in to Christmas before I could even get re-organized! I have many crescents,..snowflakes,..moon and snowmen ornaments in process now,..here is just a sampling. These three are also on eBay this week but I have also started taking orders. Feel free to e mail me if you would like some,..or just bid if you see one you like!
Here is a crescent moon with German glass glitter,..can be found here


This a 3" moon ornament/candy container,..he has also been dusted with German glass glitter!
His auction is here



And the snowflake is here
Thank you for stopping buy! Back to making glitter fly for me!!