Bring on the Sparkle!

Given that it will be the 1st of December on Sunday, I'm surely allowed to mention the C word now?  As I've been making Christmas items for weeks now, I feel that I'm already well-immersed in the festive spirit.

This is not a problem for me - I love this time of year.  From the moment the leaves start to fall and the air begins to taste cold, I'm readying myself for sparkle.  I always make myself wait until the 1st to decorate my trees (yes, plural!) and to start playing my many Christmas cds.  This year, I will have a tiny tree in my workroom (bedroom) and I will as always be decorating hubby's workshop, too.

I have been trying to support handmade artists even more this year - as we all know, sadly not everyone appreciates a handmade gift, but for those who do, there is such a wealth of talent out there.  I, like everyone else, was spoilt for choice!  (Can't show any of them here, though - presents, and all that.) ;)  I still have a few to buy, and then I can enjoy wrapping them on the floor of our living room, with a wee dram of something festive, while the tree sparkles in the corner and a Christmas film plays on the telly.  (And I try to pretend my knees will in fact see 40 again, and aren't going to make me pay for hours of sitting on the floor.)

And we may even have snow this year - having struggled to work several years in a row, the glamour of snow has almost worn off for me; it is a nightmare for travelling, in this country, at least!  But it is pretty - and it brings sparkle to dull days, which surely can't be a bad thing.

How many of you will be trimming your tree (not those of you who have real ones, of course - unless you want a pile of brown needles and a stick come Christmas Day)?  Think of me if you are, unwrapping my precious tissue-wrapped glass baubles and having a little sniffle as it reminds me of loved ones long gone.  I hope you are all able to enjoy the festive season this year.  I'm sure this won't be the last time I mention it, but the countdown is starting - bring on the sparkle! :)

Inspire Me!

Anyone who's been following my work for a while will know that I love to make wearable wire pictures.  Lots of things inspire me, from the changing seasons:

to the changing skies (I love photographing the sky, too!):

And from creatures:

to flowers:

Inspiration is all around me, in this fabulously diverse world of ours - may I never run out.  You probably all know you can commission me (and often do!) to make a picture of your own dreamscape, but I'd like to ask you all to flood me with your ideas just for the joy of it.  It doesn't do to become too blinkered or set in my ways (although I hope I haven't!) and you're all fabulously diverse yourselves, too, so I'd like to know what lurks in the depths of your imagination.  Hit me with your ideas, no matter how wacky - I may not have the capability to actually make what you come up with, but I'd still like to hear them!

And, as it's snowing outside right now (un-forecast, naturally), here's a recent commission to leave you with:

 

The pencils are out again ...

Yes, it's true.  As I blogged some time ago, after many (MANY) years of barely looking at a pencil, something about the newly found creativity caused by my adventures in wire, made me suddenly want to draw again.   I started simple, with the odd hand-drawn card:

Cats are a recurring theme; they do amuse me, with their snooty dignity (until they have an itch  ... ) ;)

I was rusty, as you can see!  But it was fun, and I discovered that I enjoyed using ink for a change.  And when we were away by the sea (which always relaxes me and makes me feel creative) I had a play with my old favourite - the coloured pencil - as well as my fineliners.

I still love coloured pencils best of all - give me a paintbrush, and I'm hopeless.  And none of these are huge; my love of wire miniatures is too ingrained now, I think - I struggle to create on a grand scale!  I've almost finished the latest one, but it's under wraps as it's to be a present, and I've just started a mermaid (I'll talk about my love of mermaids - and that rarest of creations in art, mermen - another time!).  I have no amazing skill with a pencil, but it's been quite good to realise I still enjoy wielding one. What creative endeavours different to your main hobby/business do you enjoy? :)

Sparkle for your Glassware

For the last week I have been mostly making wine glass charms.  I am a huge fan of them - I have them for all different occasions; handmade polymer clay pumpkins for Halloween, lettered ones that allow you to spell individual names and of course several types of Christmas ones ...

I love the idea of decorating your glassware at Christmas with a bit of extra sparkle - okay, let's be honest, they aren't entirely necessary for identifying your own glass, I mean, how often does someone 'mistakenly' run off with your drink?  And if they do, chances are you'll just steal their drink by way of revenge.  But neither are candles necessary (unless you're in the grip of a power cut) - they're pretty, though, and they make everything sparkle.  And as we all know, you can never have too much sparkle. ;)

I have some larger rings that I bought by mistake (not uncommon for me, as many of you may know!) and I'm thinking I could use them to make very pretty wine bottle charms.  I quite fancy weaving a few wire shapes to personalise them, too, in this sort of style - ah, the possibilities are limitless ... :)

So, whether (like me) you're a fan of wine glass charms, or you hate them with a passion, I'm sure you can enjoy your favourite tipple with or without decoration (although if you look too long into my eyes, I may be able to hypnotise persuade you that you NEED that little bit of extra sparkle for your glassware ... ).  Bottoms up! :P