The Magi

I've always been fascinated by the story of the wise men.  So yesterday, I went about putting together a new ornament, celebrating the hope and joy this story brings.

The background is from an old French ledger.

The star is applied by hand with fine silver glitter.

It's really pretty on the tree under low light.  This is one of the most favorite ornaments I've made, hope you enjoy it too.

Wishing you a  Merry Christmas full of laughter and love, and a very happy 2012!
~Martha

More Snow Globe Mason Jars & Giveaway Winner!

Here are more waterless snow globe mason jars!  I finished one with white trees, and another with a church.  It's pretty time consuming cutting out, gluing, and glittering the little houses, but really fun.

 The church took a little while longer to make with its steeple, but I like how it turned out.

 I bleached the trees and some worked out, but a few I left in the bleach too long and they basically fell apart.

On to the winner of my pet silhouette giveaway!  It's Maria from Garden Path Beads.  She has a darling little Chihuahua named Molly.  Congratulations Maria!  And thanks to everyone who took the time to enter.  Hope you have a wonderful week ahead, and a very Merry Christmas!

Take care,

Martha

Custom Pet Silhouette Giveaway!

I have 2 dogs.  They're both Golden Retrievers, but they're both completely different.  One is very active, wants to go on walks all the time, and one isn't.  This is the one who isn't.

His name is Stormy, and we named him that because our first dog is named Sunny, and well being creative thinkers, and the fact it was raining when we got him, the name fit.  The reason we bought them, was because I was in extreme pain, grieving the loss of our beloved black lab Toby.  He was with us for 11 years, and was part of our family as our kids were growing up.  I missed him so much, and the best thing I did was quickly get a puppy.  It really did help.  

Pets are such a huge part of our lives, and provide unconditional love, and loads of joy.  Sometimes when I've had a crummy day, I just give my puppy a giant hug, and his softness and warmth makes me feel much better.  He never judges me either, he just wags his tail, and I feel that things will be OK.

So I wanted to create a special keepsake for our furry friends.  

On to the giveaway! It's for a custom soldered silhouette of your pet!  Complete with name and date. Just leave me a comment here about your pet, and what makes him or her so special to you, then I'll put your name in the hat.  Oh, and if you sign up to follow this blog or Facebook, I'll put your name in again.  

 And if you win, all I need is a profile picture of your pet.  I know, easier said than done, but what helps is to offer them a cookie or something and get them to stand still for a split second.  I had my son help me, and also took this with a tripod, because I'm too shaky from all the coffee I drink.

Here's Stormy posing with his ornament.  What a dog!  Just looking at that cute face in this photo makes me want to give him a big kiss!
Have a great week, and I hope you win!
Take care,
Martha

Anthropologie Inspired Snow Globe

 Well the holidays are fast approaching and I wanted to share a little project I've been working on.  It's inspired from my favorite store, Anthropologie.  I thought I'd make mine with a glitter house.

Above are the Anthropologie version with trees inside.

I changed mine and added a vintage zinc lid.  I love the more vintage look.

 I bought a package of tiny trees from Michaels. The trees were green, I used straight bleach to dye them.

 I created the little glitter house from a pattern I found online here.  I scaled it down so it would fit inside the jar.

 Here's what it looks like when you flip it upside down.

 Then I added clear german glitter glass.  If you use any other kind of glitter it sticks to the glass making it hard to see inside, so I splurged and bought the glitter glass.

 What do you think?  It took a bit of time, but I think it's kind of cute.

I'd like to make different sizes of these with a church and other houses, and will do it if I get the time.  This was loads of fun, it looks great under low light.  Maybe you'd like to give it a try!  Or if you're interested in this one, check it out here.
Take care,
Martha

December ~Free Shipping!

Happy December! Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one.  I'll have free shipping offered over at MJ Ornaments for the whole month.   I'll also be traveling to Palm Springs next week Dec. 8th for their weekly craft show.  Come out Thursday night if you can, it's lots of fun from 6-10 at night.

Take care,

Martha

p.s. been working on those Anthropologie mason jar snow globes.  Making glitter houses to fill them, so stay tuned!