Karmyn is hosting this Fun Monday - and wants us to show our "crafty side." Now, I could have gone a lot of directions with this, but since I actually DO make crafts by hand, I figured I should just stick with the traditional interpretation of her assignnment. She said, "I've asked everyone to show something they've made. It can be ANYTHING - burnt pot roast, a crooked knitted sweater, scrapbook pages, that junior high shop class table - WHATEVER - as long as it was made by hand."I really thought this would be easy, because I remember having photographs of my crafts SOMEWHERE. I must have looked at a million discs to try to find the close-up photos that I KNOW EXIST. My craft is Victorian-style Christmas ornaments, but they are packed away in a very high closet, and getting them down would have taken all weekend. So the best I can do is give you an idea by taking photos of our Christmas tree and cropping them up so you can kinda see what I do. My favorite one is in this photo - the red one, middle left - I actually won 1st prize at our county fair for this very ornament!
I use satin balls, pins, beads and sequins to make these. It is time-consuming work. I started off with the traditional kits that you can find at any craft store, and then moved on to make some original designs. The top ornament in this photo is an original - while the star below is from a kit.
I'm really hacked off that I can't seem to find the closeup photos - they really showed off my work. The Santa and reindeer are also pin/sequin creations. There are snowmen somewhere, but I couldn't readily find photos of them.
Lastly, another shot of the prize winner - bottom left. It's a shame these aren't closer - because that ornament in particular has crystal dangles and beaded rope chains - it was exquisite, and lots of fun to make.
Sadly, now that I've filled up an 8-foot tree with these suckers, I don't make them much anymore. I have lots of ribbons and materials, but my porn-star fingernails make the process near to impossible. I plan to get back into the craft, though - once my vanity wanes. OH! And YES...we do have a contest winner! But I'm going to keep you in suspense until tomorrow. It's a Monday, and I do have pressing needs at work...but be assured, I have chosen a winner!
Now go check out some crafty bloggers, who have better photos!
17 comments:
Those are beautiful. You've really left the "kit" behind and created some magnificent work. You must have the patience of Job.
These are definitely a double wow they are beautiful, and how lovely to be able to enjoy them each year.
LOL porn-star fingernails LOL The ornaments look great and the tree is beautiful!
Those are beautiful - I like the one with the big nose too! (hee hee - too cute).
My grandmother made some similar that she gave me once - but I haven't taken the best care of them and they are falling apart. Now I feel bad.
Oh, I just love these! I have a couple of old ornaments my grandma bought at church bazzars (do they still have those?) that are kind of like yours, but not nearly as sparkly. You're so talented!
I love Christmas crafts!
Now thats a craft that you really can display creatively EVERY year.
gorgeous.
We have a few balls that the hubby's mom made.... but they are falling apart so I leave them in the box.
I like your craft. You can add more ornaments to the tree each year. If you have too many, people always like beautiful ornaments as gifts.
Very nice!
I made some from kits when I was a kid.
Those ornaments are truly beautiful. They don't look 'crafty' - they look elegant and very well finished. I'd hang those on my tree!
I almost posted my Christmas tree but did my crap pile instead. If I did show my tree you would see about 50 ornaments just like yours!! My mother and grandmother made them for years. They are my all time favorites.
They are just beautiful. I once made christmas decorations for each of my family with different coloured glitter, glass baubles and glue. They kind of looked like a kindergarten craft attempt. But my mum still hangs them on her tree.
My grandma used to make those, and my dad still has them on his tree. It's wonderful that you do that. Something you can pass down.
Most excellent crafty work Tiff!
min - Actually, part of the reason I started this was to LEARN patience. And thanks for your compliment.
chrisb - the only bad thing is that when I take them out, I find that several need repair. They are quite fragile.
joy t - Thanks! And I figure at least one part of my body could look like a porn star, you know?
karmyn - I have some that my mother made, but they are delicate. I found a trick - by dipping each pin in a little bit of glue before shoving it in, the ornaments tend to hold together better.
melissa - I know the kind you are talking about. They tend to have more fabric. It would be nice to have a tree that had more "homey" ornaments, but I'm all about the glitz.
amy w - Me, too!
pamela - I wonder if you could try to put them back together? I may try that with my mom's ornaments - hers were more exquisite - using peacock feathers and more lace.
mjd - what a great idea! I never thought of using them as gifts - I'm going to do that. For sure.
kila - I got a couple of kits for my kid, but it was too time-consuming for her. Sigh.
tiger lamb girl - I did glitz them up a bit - if I ever get back into the craft in a big way, I'll have to send you one!
bethany - I would LOVE to see photos of your tree. I can't do anything near as nice as the ones made by my mom - I'm sure the ones made by your mom and grandmother put mine to shame.
theotherbear - I still treasure the silly little ornaments made by my daughter - and what is Christmas without some handmade stuff?
woodlandmama - you need to make sure to get those ornaments someday! I wish I had my mom's - hopefully I'll get them in her will. Oh, wait, I'm an only child - I probably will.
willowtree - Thanks! And the winner will be announced later today - my front desk girl is on vacation this week, so my time has been hijacked.
Wow. Those are amazing. They look like they take a tremendous amount of work. Detailed work, too. Well done!
I can remember my mom making some. I have seen several that I want to make, maybe this year I can get one done. :)
Those or just beautiful! :)
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