Amazing Butterflies!

I had a vague idea of making butterfly brooches for spring, getting some pretty silks and whipping some up, and then selling them on my etsy shop. Well, I am amazed and somewhat intimidated by the gorgeous butterfly images already available! I've discovered some on the Front Page, and others in a showcase or the gift guides. Hats off to these excellent artists, and I think I'll stick to mosaics and bird pillows for now!

The one above is by Dolan Geiman, one of my favorite artists. This is a panel painting; it's on my favorites list and I may even buy two! They are not only beautiful but also very affordable! This Swallowtail butterfly linocut is by Gwen Ottinger Artworks. I love the black and white, but she also makes colored prints. And since I love everything blue, I also fancy her blue elephant. Go take a look!

This Monarch butterfly brooch is by Edera Jewelry. The artist uses lace-making and needlework techniques along with traditional jewelry making techniques. Look at the intricacy and beauty of this piece! I don't think it gets any better than this!

Gifts & Swaps

Here are a few brooches I made for my sister and her daughter this weekend. I sent them off to the USA yesterday with about 50 of my brand new business cards enclosed! I thought since she's going to be passing them out, the least I could do was to make her a few little gifts.

This one is for my niece, Sarah, to whom I gave a big set of seed beads in lots of colors for Christmas. Perhaps this will inspire her to try felt too!

Speaking of business cards, I also sent out a few cards to another etsy seller, and she's sending me some of hers. If you would like to do a card swap, let me know in the comments. I would love to include them with my orders, in the USA or internationally!

handmade ornaments

I'll admit we have a fake tree. We've had it for about fifteen years; it was bought for our daughter's first Christmas. However, I can proudly say that almost all of our ornaments and decorations are handmade. By me, by the kids, at school (some of their best work was done in kindergarden) at home on rainy days. We get them out each year and decorate our home. Here are a few of our favorites.

Camille made a skinny Santa marionette with movable limbs. Achilles made the Rudolph sculpture, next to which is a shiny gold box of candies (long since eaten!) We made the ceramic ornaments using slabs of clay and cookie cutters, engobes and copper oxide for the metallic effect. Camille and Achilles still make beautiful things, but I love the charm of the decorations they made when they were little!