Our Trees are Now Christmas Ornaments!

I have been trying to create a holder that allows our tiny trees to become a Christmas tree ornament.  I know the trees would look so pretty on the Christmas tree but I wanted anyone with a tree to be able to put them on a dresser or desk after the holiday.  After several prototypes, the holder is now ready!  Let's take a look.

 Here is my red tree (January Birthstone).

Here is the light pink tree.  So pretty.

The Christmas tree ornament holder has a little wire worked basket that fits just under the beaded top of the tree.  I tested each holder by shaking it with a tree in it.  This design was the best by far and your tiny tree won't fall out.

I made the holder in gold for sparkle and also in dark green so it would fade into the Christmas tree and the tiny tree would stand out.  Let's take a look at that one.

I love the green one, but appreciate the sparkle of the gold Christmas tree ornament holder.

If anyone out there has a tiny tree and would like a Christmas tree ornament holder, just send me an e-mail with the number needed and gold or green wire.

I am updating our Etsy shop today so each tree listing shows that the ornament holders are included with each tree.

Our shop is participating in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales so stay tuned for great discounts on that day.

Have a Treerific Tuesday!

This is Christmas Tree Day!

I like to declare tree day on occasion and share the trees I've made recently.  This week I have been focused on finishing a few Christmas trees.  I love them and hope you do too.

I will start off with a few trees I tried as prototypes.  I think there are too fragile, but look pretty.

I love the polar bear, he makes the perfect winter prop.  This tree was fun to make but I don't like the cone look that much.  It is pretty and sparkly though and will be part of our miniature Nativity set.

This tree is pretty fragile but I love the texture and the star.  I am going to make one out of thicker wire to see if it can be perfected.  

Ok, here we go.  The stars of the show.

This tiny Christmas tree is made with gold wire so it has a little extra sparkle.  I love the deep green color of the glass beads.

This tiny Christmas tree is made with green wire, so I think it looks a bit fuller than the gold wire tree.  I love how they both turned out.  They are not packed with branches so look more like real trees to me.  This green wire tree is my favorite.

Esteban and the children love this tree the best.  It is fuller and takes more beads and time and is actually a little heavy for it's size.  I prefer the skinnier trees.  Which do you like better?

I have a few other things I've made and want to share.

This tree reminds me of trees that architects draw on building plans.  It has a unique textured top that I really like the look of.  I made it with very thin wire and will try a few in thicker wire, but I love the design.

It is a pin with a wire work cloud and glass bead rain drops.  The idea is that it's a cloud with a silver lining.  

Whew.  Thanks for taking a look at my latest wire creations.

I hope you have the best Tree Day ever.

Friday is Tree Day-This is Parade!

Occasionally I like to declare tree day so I can share my latest tree creations.  I have a few trees and other items I love and can't wait to share with you.  Let's take a look.

 This cherry quartz tree is a stunner.  I wasn't sure if the color would photograph well because it is so pretty in person.  I am glad the pictures turned out well, you can really see the beauty of the quartz.

The kids are not sure about this blue tree, but I love the color.  It is like cloud blue and smurf blue were mixed and made into glass bead chips.  I am going to call it our smurfy tree (I am kidding, I liked the smurfs but not that much).

 The curly leaves on these all wire tree pendants just draws my eye.  Each one has it's own charm and sparkle.  Which one do you like best?  I think the gold one is my favorite, but I change my mind every day or so.

This tiny purple tree pendant is just larger than a penny.  It looks like a sprig of lavender to me.

I am so excited to share these tiny owls.  I made them with metal beads and wire.  They are tiny pendants that I think are super cute.  I have the fever for them, so will be making more owls for sure.

 Here is a closer look at the silver one. The toes make me smile.  Who?

Here is my brass owl buddy up close.  The body bead I used looks like it has feathers to me.  These are as fun to make as they look.

Thank you for taking a look at my newest wire work.  We are adding all of the items to our shop.

I am gathering our Halloween photos and will post a few this weekend.

Have a Grimmtastic Friday!

Thursday is Tree Day!

I declare that each Thursday is Tree Day.  What happens on Tree Day?  A Tiny Tree parade.  I will parade the trees I made this week for your viewing pleasure.

I made two new Tiny Trees in new colors and a Tree & Full Moon pendant too.  Let's take a look.

This color just blows me away.  The glass chips have a deep blue color that looks so lovely in the light.

This is the other side.  I like the trunk, it is unique and twisty and almost looks like it defies gravity.  Is it too much?

This new tree is made of blue green Adventurine chips.  Adventurine is one of my favorite semi precious stones, and the chips I bought have such a beautiful and creamy light blue green color.  I do not like this trunk, so I will replace it today.

 I tried a new wire brand and it was different to work with, now that I am familiar I will have no problem producing a new trunk I like.  I am working on a Birthstone collection so every color or stone is represented.  It has been fun researching and finding the right colors and stones.

 This is my newest Tree and Full Moon Tree of Life pendant.  I like the black wire on the silver ring, it makes the tree stand out.

I love making these.  The moon is made of black Mother of Pearl and has a great shine. The moon moves side by side a bit inside the pendant.

That's what wire work I have been up to this week.  Isabel and I are working on a few new projects we can't wait to share next Thursday.


Have a treerific Thursday!

Thursday is Tree Day!

Today is the day I parade my latest Tiny Trees for your viewing pleasure.  I am going to include a few non-tree things I've made this week as well.  Here we go.

I showed the red tree yesterday, but I love it so much I had to show it again.  Isabel says this is her favorite tree I've made so far.  The red glass beads look like garnets and garnets are the birthstone for January.  I am trying to produce a tree for each birthstone and am almost done. I think the red glass and gold wire look so pretty together.

This tree is so hard to photo, but it is made out of Semi Precious Opalite bead chips.  I was so excited to find real opal chips, Opal is the birthstone for October.

This is the opal tree again.  I thought a textured background would show off the chips a bit better, but at least you can see some of the cloudiness that opals are famous for.

This tree is actually very interesting.  Real turquoise is expensive, I have not been able to find any beads in my price range until now.  The chips are still listed as Semi Precious but they are synthetic turquoise made in Japan.  I was able to compare them side by side to real turquoise and couldn't tell the difference.  Pretty cool.

This is a branch and moon pendant.  The moon is an Opalite bead.  I love how twisted the branches are.  I think it is missing something.  I am working on a tiny wire figure to go in the center.  It will be an owl or a wolf.

A small Opalite pendant.  So simple but beautiful and sparkly.

This pendant is made with mother of pearl beads.  I like the tear drop shape and the two tone color variation.


Thanks for taking a look at my latest creations.

Have a terrific Thursday.

Etsy-New Holiday Happenings!

You likely know Etsy from shopping on the handmade marketplace website or you may have a online shop of your own.  A few new things are going on at Etsy that I am not sure everyone knows about.  

Many shops (including mine) now have the ability to accept credit cards directly at check out through Etsy.  That means Etsy protects the transaction and it is no longer required to sign up for a PayPal account.  I know I've heard that opening and maintaining a PayPal account has been a deterrent for some when it comes to Etsy, no longer a problem.  Etsy calls it direct checkout and it works.

Etsy is also preparing to launch gift cards for the holiday season in October, You can read the Etsy News Blog Announcement of the giftcard here. Yes, finally.  So you will now be able to buy an Etsy gift card and the person you give it too can buy from several shops with one checkout.  Yea!

I think both of these things are exciting and will make it easier than ever to buy special handmade items from artists around the world.  Etsy is an easy way to get beautiful handmade items and support artists and makers directly.

I want to take this opportunity to highlight an Etsy shop that I think is amazing.

Handmade Artisan Jewelry by Annie Smith

Portland, Oregon

Annie is a blacksmith (cool right?) and she makes very special personal jewelry. Many items are personalized with your own words, names or initials.  Just click on the photo to go to the detailed listing.  Annie has more than 100 beautiful handmade items in her shop, so take a look when you get a chance.

I mentioned that I have an Etsy shop (just click the sign below to go visit): 

Here are a few of my favorite items (click the photo to see the item details):

  

My trees can be made in many different colors and stones, including birthstones and mixed colors.  I enjoy custom orders because I get a chance to make something personal. 

I am now making key chains with unique and old fashioned Tim Holz hardware.  I think they make a great special small gift.

Please keep us in mind as you begin your holiday shopping.  Consider Etsy too, so many interesting things can be found there and you get a chance to buy something unique and handmade directly from the maker. 

Have a Terrific Tuesday!