Guest Designers
Art Elements Team
Friday, December 22, 2017
Art Elements December 2017 Ornament Challenge
I was really excited when an ornament challenge was chosen for the Art Elements blog challenge this month. I have loved making Christmas ornaments since I was a child, for even longer than I have been beading! Every few years I still make an effort to make a large batch of ornaments for the whole family, and lots of friends. This is more difficult to do with a full time day job now, but that is the main reason I am glad for the challenge theme this month.
I procrastinated quite severely though, due to both a lack of ideas and too many ideas. The problem was that I have made lots of different types of ornaments before, but didn't want to repeat something I've already done and couldn't make up my mind on something new to try either. Then a package arrived from back home, and my mom included two little gnome hats she had made. This hat is cut from a worn out wool sock. Apparently her original idea was to make little gnome ornaments with them, but this is as far as she got. So she threw them in the Christmas package and sent them to Tennessee for my dolls! There are two hats, but one got used up in this challenge...
Because now I have a Christmas Gnome!
I used a circle of felt for the head, and a circle of boiled wool fabric for the body. Ran a gathering stitch around the outside of each, stuffed, and sewed the two balls together. Then I sewed on the hat, and glued the beard to the face.
The scarf is also glued on, and positioned to separate the beard and mustache.
I used a piece of wire pierced through the hat to make a tree hook.
And glued on a couple of buttons for eyes.
Christmas Gnome wishes you and your family the very best holiday! Stay warm and cozy with some beads and maybe some kitty snuggles! He hopes you will hop along and see what everyone else has made too!
Guest Designers
Guest Designers
Thursday, December 21, 2017
Tacky Holiday Earring Blog Hop
I had to join my friend Diana's Tacky Holiday Earring blog hop when
she announced it on Facebook recently. I don't wear earrings regularly
any more because my dayjob involves being on the phone wearing a
headset for most of the day. BUT I LOVE MAKING EARRINGS. They are true
instant gratification projects. To fulfill the tacky part of the
challenge, I dug into my bin of plastic beads and things, on the hunt
for some little things I knew I had squirreled away...and the adventure
began...
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| I have had these little Domo-kun charms for years. They are from a movie theater vending machine. |
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| Devil Domo's are selected...perhaps you sense what is coming next... |
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| SNIP SNIP. Are you laughing yet? They are so distressed! |
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| It all starts with some red felt, white mohair, and a hot glue gun... |
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| Hair styling... |
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| Beard and jacket happen at the same time, because the edge of the collar will hold the beard in place... |
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| A corner of the fabric is snipped to make the shawl collar. |
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| Snip off the other corner and the jacket is done...but some accessories may be needed... |
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| Oh, that's right, a belt with a gold buckle... |
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| And the hat! |
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| I attached a wire to the charm's loop before attaching the hat, then slid the hat right on the wire! A slight trim to get the hair out of his eyes, and a teeny pom pom finish it off. But don't you need another for a pair of earrings? |
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| Yes, you do! Everything starts the same... |
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| But, this one needed an extra tuft of hair... |
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| Because the finished hairstyle is a granny bun...you can tell where this is going next, right? |
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| A simple a-line dress needs lots of accessories, right? |
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| Like a pearl necklace, and poinsettia in her ? |
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| Plus a hair ribbon and fancy gold "brooch"! |
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| Introducing Domo Claus and the missus. I hope you all had as much fun following along as I did making this pair! |
Please hop along and see what other tacky holiday delights everyone has come up with!
Heather Boardman