More Handcrafted Gift Ideas on Etsy

I've created a Treasury of Great Christmas Gift Ideas On Etsy!

So much nicer than shopping corporate America, keeping it local, supporting wonderful  crafts people and Etsy Christmas gift ideas finding something unique for those you love.

While you are there take a look at my star ornaments for gift giving or holiday decoration. As a gift they let your loved one know how they light up you life! As an ornament, they are a keepsake from you to be remembered every Christmas.They come in assorted colors and custom orders are welcome. Hope your holidays are bright!

Christmas Is Nearer Than You Think!

Fantasy Wire Fairy Sculptures by Robin Wight

It's not often I fall so in love with every piece of an artist's work but I think these are incredible and wish they were mine! Some of the weather vanes spin, the fairy with the dandelion is my favorite! You can visit the artist's websitehttp://www.fantasywire.co.uk/index.html for info on purchasing his works that apparently come in any size you want and you can see many more of his works. Enjoy.

Three Cats and a Rat

We recently adopted three new members to our family, The first was Miss Leta, a young, female, feral cat from the local no kill shelter. Miss Leta was considered to be a "barn cat" as she was sweet but very anti-social. We needed a hunter as the mice were moving in, so Miss Leta promised to help us with that problem! I set up a place for her high in my kitchen so that she would feel safe, with a pillow and her food, a litter box close by. As we packed her into the cat carrier to bring her home, the sweet volunteer from the shelter said to me that she bet it would be a month until we saw Miss Leta again as she would be in hiding! She warned me not to let her out of the house or we'd never see her again. Once at home I put her on her safe high pillow and she disappeared! I had to find her as I needed to be able to feed her. We have two dogs that would eat her food, if I just put it out. Each time I found her she disappeared, finding a new hiding place! Finally, she ended up in my glass room, behind my glass table. The bins under the table hold my glass, so they are way too heavy to move. Miss Leta won, she found her extremely safe hiding spot and she's been in there for nearly two months now! The routine has been that I check her with a small flash light, call her name and talk to her quietly, show her the food bowl, turn out the light and close the door and she comes out to eat .

After a month of Miss Leta hiding I called the shelter for advice. They told me to be patient. It so happened that I came across a local website, advertising six kittens for adoption. Apparently, the mother cat had been hit by a car soon after their births, and a local family saved them and had been bottle feeding them, they were 8 weeks and ready to go. They were socialized with children, dogs and people in a home environment, and they were toooooo cute! The family wanted them to be adopted in pairs and so we adopted them in the hopes that they would lure Miss Leta out of her hiding place, show her the world is okay to live in and that she would teach them some street smarts! So it came to pass that we now had three cats and 1 rat!

The little tuxedo is Bugsy Malone and the tortoise is Dollface Annie. They have grown immensely in the past month, and they play a good part of the day and night, taking turns chasing one another and exploring their new home. Now they can jump up on the kitchen counter. It took a month but they have lured Miss Leta from her hiding place, she just couldn't resist the fun they were having. At first she was a little afraid of them and swiped at them but they looked at her like she had two heads and ignored it or swiped back in play. Just last night they raced, Miss Leta also through the living room and into the kitchen. Leta ran into my Basset Hound, whom she quickly slapped hard, so he leaves her alone and my sweet, very neurotic, rescue dog lived in the park for so long, she knew to keep walking. Miss Leta has now parked her butt on the couch in the living room!

Miss Leta still hasn't allowed anyone to touch her, but we're allowed to look at her now. She walks past us, to hide! She still hasn't explored the entire house but she's been making progress quickly the last couple of days. It's a real joy to watch these poor lost and frightened animals recover and become loved members of the family. Hopefully before winter sets in Miss Leta will be comfortable enough to keep the mice away but for now I have tree cats and a rat!

I Adore You ~ You are my Sure Thing ~ 

Artwork by Katey of Blue Eyed Duck, Glass work by me.

Ready to Foil

blueyeduckstudios

57 minutes ago

The song behind the art ...


Listen Here:

I Adore You 
(lyrics/music: Phil Joel)

"Disappointment cuts me like a knife
But I won't be afraid
Strange operations happen all around
The audience escapes unscathed
You are my fortress in the storm
I will cling to You 
Like a sailor lost in the wind
It's all about turns
Turn about face
It's all about knowing
More of Your grace
I know now
You are my sure thing
You know my heart
You know my sould
You know my comings and goings
You know it all
And I adore You
There are questions
There's no doubt
I trust You
And that matters now
I, oh, I adore You
To the prisoner inside
This mind of mine
You know
I only know so much
Still You and You
Alone have shown
The lighthouse glow
That leads me home again
'Cause You are my sure thing
I will wait for You
Every moment of this life
Journey closer to be refined
I will trust in You
Far beyond this line of sight
Journey closer to be my guide

Some of the beautiful colors in a piece of stained glass

The glass used for the girl's dress

Jesus' robe

Not too much more to cut, the border and sleeve, some minor adjustments and I'll be ready to solder!

I hope Katey feels I did it justice. Too soon to tell.

Matthew 9:21-23

21 She said to herself, “If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed.”

22 Jesus turned and saw her. “Take heart, daughter,” he said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was healed at that moment.

23 When Jesus entered the synagogue leader’s house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes,

This wonderful little painting was created by Katey of Blue Eyed Duck . I purchased it a few years ago because I love it, so much so that it is the screensaver on our computer also.

Recently a good friend was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's Disease. Fortunately, she is a person of very strong faith. Naturally you want to do something for those you love  in crisis, so I asked Katey to allow me to reproduce her lovely artwork in stained glass to give our friend. Katey graciously agreed for which I am very grateful as her image is perfect in this situation. My sister in law Judy purchased the supplies, the pattern was generously donated as were some other supplies but I'm not sure the donors would want their names publicized.
And so the project begins.

In stained glass your cut line needs a way out, so faces unless painted on are a problem so Katey's artwork had to be changed some. Here is the pattern~

I should tell you that if you love this image Katey still sells prints in her Etsy store.

I've almost finished cutting out the panel, those outside squiggly lines were a killer but I'm really enjoying making this. I hope it reminds our good friend to hold on to her faith in this time of trial.

The glass for Jesus' robe is being hand picked and donated by a glass supplier that I do business with, so I'm waiting for delivery to complete that. I sure hope it gets here soon, but I can start foiling now, in order to keep moving along. We still haven't decided whether or not we will put the writing on it.

This morning I woke almost startled with the idea of replicating this panel In Memory of my deceased husband and donating it to his church. I wonder if Katey would allow me to use it twice? I wonder if the church has a place for it? I love Katey's artwork.

Origami Wedding???

Stained Glass Origami "Love Birds" the Peace Crane, symbol of fidelity, longevity, prosperity, being sold in my Etsy Store!

Origami Centerpiece for Bridal Table,

engagement or wedding gift

With the holiday season approaching it seems everyone is buying stars, so I've been very busy replacing those in my Etsy tore, thankfully!

I've also been putting together some origami peace cranes with dichroic on their wings....

Well, I've completed my "After Many Strong and Beautiful Women" the art by Kiki Suarez who graciously permitted me to do the piece in stained glass.

Foil completed and ready for soldering

Photos of completed piece!

foiling complete and piece ready for soldering

Finished Cutting! Fingers are Sore, Nails Down to Nubs... Feels Good, after a little nail growth, onto foiling!

One More Girl Left To Cut Out

The Girls Are Coming Along!

A Work in Progress and Lovin' Every Minute!

I've been having the best time!

  In Chattanooga, the summers are steamy hot and humid and the winters are pretty cold. My stained glass studio is in my house but grinding and sawing glass requires water that slashes all over with shards of glass, so I like to do that work outside, as it can get fairly messy. The weather really only leaves two seasons to do any serious work. During the off months I do small projects that I sell in my Etsy Store as small pieces don't require much time outside. This year I planned better and had my store stocked for Christmas by Halloween, so if I really focus I have the month of November to do the most challenging project that I've tackled to date.

Kiki Suarez is a prolific artist, whose work I love. Her imagination is wonderful, her art unique, fun, brilliant and bright. It brings cheer, what more can one ask for in art? She has been gracious enough to allow me to do a glass interpretation of her Many Strong and Beautiful Women. It was a project I had planned to do last year at this time but circumstances prevented it. Finally I'm able to work on it and I'm having a wonderful time! There is still so much to do but I've put in  full six days and gotten some of the most challenging parts done. There's much adjusting still needed and some of the women remining to be worked on are difficult but I do think I will get it all done by Christmas. Here's the beginning photos, which I'll update as work progresses.