Holiday Time, Ho, Ho, Hum

 Moving right along, Christmas has been showing up everywhere since around Halloween. 

As we're urged to shop for the things we don't need and can't afford anywhere.

This is my response:

I cut up 2 sheets of red and green colored paper and made a miniature paper chain to trim the orange tree that I grew from the seed of the snack I was having one day.

I plan to use the image in one of my stores either as a photo, drawing or painting with the caption "Ho, Ho, Hum". What do you think of the idea?

I realize that it's risky posting all of this here but Christmas is a season of giving and if you're able to do a better job with this than I am then it is my gift to you. Just let me know how it works out for you or send me a copy- Thanks. 

This wildly fun pair of florals were the result of sorting through my art and craft designs while writing to a friend. I can't wait to hear what she thinks of them.

I usually post the horse photos in my dala horse blog but this snowflake idea will span all sorts of media, objects and surfaces so it really needs to appear here as well.

I suppose showing my notebooks is a risk as well but I would hope that no one reading this wants to hurt or steal from me. What I want you to see here is that I collect snowflake pictures anywhere I find them and just keep practicing until I can can come up with a snowflake that combines bits of these different ideas.

I am entirely self taught and I guess I'm vain enough to hope that some of you may want to learn from my methods.

 Along with my sketches I include some inspiration photos as I let the ideas  "cook" until I'm able to get back to them they are figuratively "on the back burner".

Hopefully by the time I get back to it I'll have a fresh approach to the whole thing.

This next page is inspiration photos as well and a bit of practice with collage.

Well, none of us are perfect. Especially in our sketchbooks so I really had to laugh when I discovered I had spelled Ideas wrong on my label maker when I put that page together and I'm far too busy to go back and fix it now. You get the idea, don't you? LOL

Holiday Art and Crafts in the Studio

Looking around my place over the Christmas season you can sure see that I've been busy. I designed, carved and painted all of the Dala Horses. Here are a few of the hundreds I've made in the last few years.

The Christmas Stockings were made almost 20 years ago. I started by designing and sewing a patchwork fabric that I cut into the stocking shapes. before assembling the stockings I quilted the patchwork areas and did some embroidery. 

After getting them put together the finishing touches were to add the fabric yo yo's and buttons.

They're a great way to display and enjoy all of your favorite buttons or award pins and be able to enjoy them and at the end of the season you know that they're all stored safely.

Here I'd sewed the valances and trimmed the lamp shades. I'd also designed those thermal mugs with some of my artwork on them.

The tiny tree show's off some small wooden dala horse ornaments that I had designed, carved and painted. 

I used a kit to make the paper chains because my arthritis makes it hard for me to cut out all of the paper strips to make them with.

I've been making paper chains every year since I was a very little girl and it's still one of my favorite parts of holiday decorating.

It's not fancy here but it feels like a hug.

May Your Holidays Be Filled With All Of The Things That Make You Happy,
Julia 

Poinsettia Horses

The first thing you'll notice about these is that I never paint both sides of an item the same way. It's more fun to just let the design flow and makes them much more interesting to look at. If you get bored looking at one side of it you can always flip it over and see something new.

 I did the top horse first and was either tired or a lot more relaxed by the time I started on the second one. There's quite a difference in my approach to the subject.

 A. side, horse # 1

B. side, horse #1

 A. side, horse # 2

B. side, horse #2