More Christmas Ornament Ideas

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, caning, Christmas decorations, Christmas Gifts, Christmas Ornaments, Felting, Feltmakers, Hand Made, Holidays, inspiration, Materials, Polymer Clay, Polymer clay new techniques, problem solving, Seasonal decorations, YouTube, , , , , 1 Comment on More Christmas Ornament Ideas

It’s the time of the year for Santa’s workshop to be in full swing.  I am making ornaments again, and this year I am incorporating felting with the polymer clay.  I could use some elves to do the needle work for me, but I find needle felting very relaxing (when I don’t stab myself with the needles-thankfully not too often) and mixing the different yarns and color of roving reminds me of painting.

The ornaments here are mostly needle felted over styrofoam balls.  I wet felted one base and decided that needle felting worked better for me.  The embellishments are pom poms, additional yarn and roving, and polymer clay canes and beads.

The Internet is full of sites offering free felting directions. Feltmakers List FAQ is a good place to start.  YouTube has lots of videos and some are quite good.  And since crafters  have diverse ways of doing the same thing,  it’s always helpful to read a few sets of instruction and watch a few different videos.

Bob’s Urban Garden at the End of Summer.

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art from recycled materials, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Community Art Groups, Happy, inspiration, Koi fish, Koi Pond, Pennsylvania, Personal Growth, Personal History, Philadelphia, Photography, risk taking, Seasonal decorations, South Philadelphia, South Philly, Trees, Turtle, Urban, Urban Artifacts, Urban Gardening, Urban Landscape, , , 2 Comments on Bob’s Urban Garden at the End of Summer.

The End of Summer

By: ornamento.blog
art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Design, Personal Growth, Personal History, Seasonal decorations, Solar Light, South Philadelphia, Turtle, Uncategorized, Urban, Urban Artifacts, Urban Gardening, Urban LandscapeLeave a Comment on The End of Summer

I know that summer is at an end when I start seeing pumpkins at the supermarket and I have to start thinking about pulling out warmer clothes. Things change and we have to readjust.  Fall never fails to remind me of the passage of time.

Bob’s garden has taken over the the front of his house and is starting on mine. Soon the fish and turtles will come inside and the  plants will whither away.  I hope the garden returns next year.  In the meantime, here’s an end of summer look at the garden.  Hasn’t it grown since June?

Bob’s Urban Garden 2008

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Blogroll, Gardening, Happy, inspiration, Koi fish, Koi Pond, Landscape, Light, Lighting, Lilly pad, Materials, Personal History, Philadelphia, recycled art, recycling, repurposing, Seasonal decorations, Solar Light, South Philadelphia, South Philly, Turtle, Uncategorized, Urban Gardening, Urban Landscape4 Comments on Bob’s Urban Garden 2008

I wrote about my neighbor Bob’s Urban Garden last year.
Since then, he’s built a wooden Koi pond complete with solar lights that keep it lit at night. Three of the Koi fish from last year are back and bigger (literally!) than ever. They have smaller Koi fish and two turtles to keep them company. Bob’s added a new ceramic fountain, Lilly pads, and an additional wooden tub of flowers in front of our house to give it badly needed curb appeal. Loki the cat is still around checking under cars for hapless pigeons. Barbara the Macaw had a good time mugging for the camera. While I was taking pictures, several people stopped by to admire.

Enjoy the slide show.

Polymer Clay Christmas Ornaments

By: ornamento.blog
Art, art, creativity, crafts, inspiration, Christmas, Christmas Ornaments, mixed media, Philadelphia Polymer Clay Guild, Photo transfers, Polymer Clay, Polymer Clay Photo Transfer, Polymer Clay tutorials, Seasonal decorations, UncategorizedLeave a Comment on Polymer Clay Christmas Ornaments

ornament-2.jpgornament-4.jpgornament-1.jpgornament-3.jpg

Here’s an easy idea for a Christmas ornament that people will love.  Make a photo transfer using the method of your choice.  The above pictures were digital images loaded onto a computer and reversed.  Then I played with the software to get rid of distracting backgrounds.  After making  and baking my transfer, I mounted it on green clay or gold  rolled to the thickest setting.  I used my wavy blade and needle tool to make holly leaves and berries.  You could also use a leaf cookie cutter.  On the ornament of Max the dog, I cut a bone out of bone colored clay and scribed his name in with a needle tool.  After baking, I rubbed in brown ochre paint and wiped it off.   I drilled holes at the top of the ornaments and used 16 gauge copper wire with wrapped loops for the hangers.  On two of the ornaments, I  drilled a hole in the bottom and looped store bought tassels through.

People who have a new baby in the house love these ornaments.   Here is an example, made in a slightly different way, but you can get the idea by looking at the picture.

Ornament

For more information on polymer clay photo transfers,  check out the Philadelphia Area Polymer Clay Guild’s blog, The PAPCG Reporter, Dotty McMillan’s instructions, and Donna Kato’s blog.