Falling Leaves

 As I rounded the corner into Lostine, a tiny burg not far away from where our Oregon home is, I was met with a literal wall of golden leaves, shimmering in the sunlight. "Wow! I wish I had known about this before I came into town so I could stop and take a photo. I will on the way back to Utah Thursday, as it was so pretty! It reminded me of Autumn in Alaska, with the paper birch brilliant with a Midas touch of gold, against the deep green of spruce and the pastels of the cloud laced skies.

There is a strong breeze blowing here, and the leaves are turning gold on our tall willow. They are falling to the ground, covering the grass with a blanket of leaves, so I will have to rake before I mow tomorrow. The dried leaves are skittering across the pavement, as if they are running away. Ahhhhh, the joys of Autumn.

Peter Pumpkin, the Candy Keeper

It's going to be short and sweet here for now as hubby is home and it's time to get dinner. Here's a new gourd creation, complete with his own candy container to fill with M&M's or whatever your little heart desires. For more info visit my ebay link. Hope you are having a wonderful Monday!

Autumn Elements...

Another of my Autumn clothing favorites was pulled out of storage, and thus the inspiration in part for this necklace. I figure that if I want to sell jewelry, it doesn't hurt to be a walking advertisement for what I do. Or, it's probably a great excuse to make jewelry for myself. :-) This soft burnt orange faux suede top matches a skirt with the many colors of this piece. So now I'm ready to show off some more new work as we head to the city today for temple and feasting at Benihana.

 Brass acorn beads, vibrant ruby Lucite leaves, moss green pearls and soft turquoise twists are complimented by gray wood beads in this Autumn elements necklace. I found a new bead store in Salt Lake City, and while some of the beads I know I can get much cheaper on ebay, they had some pieces that I've not seen in my internet travels through bead land.

Of course, what jewelry ensemble would be complete without matching earrings? Who knew jewelry making would be so addicting? If you have a special outfit that you would like some matching jewelry for, contact me and lets see if we can come up with a custom set or piece for you. You can email me at mothersdream@mac.com

Taking a bite out of Halloween

Ahhh, Jackson, all dressed up for Halloween festivities. We hear you've been taste testing the other trick or treaters, naughty boy!

To make matters worse, your pet spidey there has been scaring all the children. Now who can have a party with all that going on?! Now Jackson, if you promise to behave, you can stay at the party, otherwise, you will be sent back to your cave where you belong! Now please don't think I'm being too hard on Jackson, he has been giving me fits since I started working on him. His arms kept going where they shouldn't have, he wanted to tilt each time I added another layer of clay to his light bulb body, and then he would try and bite me as I painted his gourd head and the rest of him. I think I may need to go get some shots, if there is such a thing.... Well, I finally was able to finish him and get his little spidey friend put together, along with his little treat bucket. He's ready to come party at your house and promises to not take up much room at 13 + inches tall. Jackson will have no twins, so he is a one of a kind original who comes signed and dated. Jackson can be found by following my ebay link to the right. :-)

It's beginning to feel a lot like Halloween.....

 Everywhere I go..... I sure had fun pulling out the green tub and going through all my Autumn decor! I've hung the garlands, pulled out all the Halloween decor, and realize I need to buy a collectible for this year! Well, I may just have to run over to the American Holiday Artists Studios site and see what I can find. Hee, hee, I just found something to add to my collection! Yay!

 See how many artists work you can find here!

 and here! I got my feather tree from Benita Giacherio at Willow Springs Farm... you really should see the variety of feather trees she has. I have two now.

So it's time to get the mess cleaned up and enjoy the evening. It's raining here so I have the windows open to let the fresh air drift through the blinds....don't you love the smell of an Autumn rain?!

Two down, one to go....

 I just love it when a plan comes together! I had visions of fruit coming out of the tall Santa basket base last year, but just couldn't decide whether I wanted to paint, sculpt or add the fruit to this piece. I do love the vintage and antique fruits available at Blumchens so I dove right in and he came out just as I'd hoped! I do wish I could get a better photo of him as mine just don't do him justice, but here's a peek at him anyway.

 A simple and slightly rustic Santa is what I was going for here, and it looks as if that's what I got. I hand painted greenery and cones around his hat, and again, the photos just don't quite do him justice, but it is what it is.

 Don't you just love the long loopy hat on this jolly fella?

This little guy is a small but charming Santa that would go well with any collection. Now to decide where they will end up....

We Three Santa's.....WIP's

are waiting to be finished. Somehow our creator thinks she needs to feed her man person, and not attend to us. WELL!!! Ummmm, oh, excuse us, we forgot we are supposed to be jolly for a moment.... Okay, she says she will get to us later, whatever that means, but in the meantime here we sit. Guess we are going to have to wait until the morning because they are watching a movie later. Hey! We are sitting with a birds eye view of the TV.....wonder if the movie is any good.....will let you know tomorrow.

Tuesday's WIPS there's no more room on my work table...

 I think they are about to run me out of my work room here, some are missing eyebrows, some faces, some are done, but all are feeling a bit crowded. I know I sure am, along with the waning evening light and one little light bulb to help me, I guess it's time to stop for now.

 Doesn't this jolly Santa have a look of anticipation for the coming season? I hope I can capture his twinkle when I paint him.

 Eeeek, alien Santa! Well actually he's just waiting for the next step, but he's in drying mode right now. The spool Santa hasn't told me yet whether he should have arms or not. He better hurry though as I'm getting a bit impatient to get things done!

And these two are commiserating a take-over I can tell..... I wonder if I turn out the light.....

Gourdie or Gourdelia, the gourds are taking over ebay!

 I actually got some pieces done while working at the Utah State Fair last week. I had such fun meeting so many nice people, and the best part is, they asked me to come back! I may have some classes to teach as well as a nice bonus to this.

Gourdie the Party Guy above, is ready to join you in your Halloween festivities. And Gourdelia is making a return visit, looking to find the best haunted house to dwell in. Perhaps someone can help these two out. For a little more info, stop by my ebay Happy Monday everyone! May you have a most creative week.

One Little, Two Little, Three Little Saaantaaas....

 four little, five little  six little santas..... I see a gourd Santa,

 a light bulb santa,

 another gourd santa

 a crystal bell santa

 and two driftwood santas.

 No, I don't have all ten yet, but am working on more...:-)