Saturday, December 14, 2013

Sally Russick's 3rd Annual Ornament Swap

Today's the day! I'm so excited to get to show you what I received. Christmas is my very favorite time of year, and I love ornaments, so I was thrilled when I saw Sally's post about her ornament swap.
I quickly signed up, and waited with anticipation to find out who Sally had chosen for my partner.
Well, if y'all heard a squeal, and wondered what it was...yep, it was me! Cause my partner is.......the awesome Karen Williams!!! Girl wonder, crafter extraordinaire. Queen of freeform. The face behind Skunk Hill Studios.  Ms. Karen led me through my first experience with freeform with her fantastic book, Freeform Peyote Beading.
Now, Karen has the most wonderful eye for color and texture, so yes...the pressure was on! What to make? what to make?  Well, I'm supposed to be showing you what I RECEIVED....so, you'll have to go see what I made over at Karen's blog.
Sally's instructions for this hop were pretty simple, email, talk about what you like, and let the designing begin.
Karen and I are pretty similar in our color loves, and we both love the old fashioned style Christmas.
A couple of years ago, I purchased a very unusual tree, just for me. It is made from iron, and rather reminds you of a Charlie Brown tree. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. And I knew exactly what it would hold. Very special-to-me beady ornaments! I have a couple from swaps from last year, and now I get to add Karen's to it! Want to see? Well, of course you do!

Isn't that just the most beautiful piece you've ever seen? I love blue, and stars, so yes, I'm a very happy girl.

 Karen's attention to detail is something I strive for...sigh. Aren't all those little star sequins too cool??

I love bugles, but hate to work with them, so I'm very glad I have a piece that celebrates their beauty...and I didn't have to stitch it! :)

 And it's signed! That makes it so very special for me.

I told you she is an amazing artist...yes, she made the card too! (Sorry, I actually took this pic sideways....please tilt your head to the right. There, see?)

And, and , and....it was wrapped in her own hand dyed paper! Yes, I do have all the packaging from her, because it's all this beautiful, and it's mine....not sharing, no, I'm not....
Now, go check out all the other goodies in the swap. And when you get to Karen's, cross your fingers that she doesn't have close ups, cause I can tell you, I do not stitch as well as she does! 
Thank you so much for putting this together Sally!
Blessings, Shirley

List of Holiday Ornament Swappers

Sally Russick and Beth and Evie McCord
Erin Prais-Hintz and Melissa Trudinger
Karen Williams and Shirley Moore
Lori Finney and Alicia Marinache
D Lynne Bowland and Paula Kramer
Kim Bender Hora and Jenny Davies Reazor
Becky Pancake and Lori Anderson
Veralynne Malone and Therese Frank
Tanya Goodwin and Sandi Volpe
Jeanette Ryan and Rochelle Brisson
Patti Vanderbloemen and Susan Kennedy

17 comments:

  1. I thought that squeal was you! :) Whoa.... but that is the most gorgeous ornament!!! You already know I don't go near the seed beads, so I am even more in awe than the average person! An absolute show stopper!!! Love that deep blue with the gold...LOVE IT!!! I did tip my head sideways to view the card, which is also beautiful. :) Being handmade, it makes her gift to you that much more special! Merry Christmas Shirley!!!

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  2. Hi Shirley,
    Oh my it is so wonderful that you and Karen were swap partners in the blog hop. The two of you are amazing bead weavers, so quit putting your abilities as a bead weaver down you are awesome! The ornament that Karen sent to you is gorgeous I love the colors and the style and that Karen put all your favorites in to one piece.
    Therese

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  3. Oh Shirley~this is a beautiful ornament Karen sent! I love all her work. What a detailed piece..every little bead supports the next. Lovely!

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  4. Wow, that's an amazing ornament you received! You are both so talented!

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  5. You can blame the sequins on Sarah over at Saturday sequins. I'd ordered them for her hop and they happened to be sitting on my work table when I was trying to decide what to do. This was my first bead embroidery piece in a dog's year (I've been listening to this audio book with the greatest little sayings peppering the dialogue). I had a blast working on it in the evenings. If you find any cat hairs, they're from Wormwood who insisted on sharing my lap while I worked.

    But Shirley, I'm not going to let you go saying bad things about the ornament you sent me because it's Gorgeous. And the pictures confirm my statement!

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  6. That's a match made in heaven - you and Karen were just perfect for each other! Love both the ornament she made you (and the lovely packing / card too!) and what you made for her. beautiful work all around - and definitely to be displayed year-long in the studio!

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  7. Gorgeous ornament! I have a twisted wire tree.. cats can't eat it and it doesn't need to be watered! And it's not a fake treeing attempting to look real!

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  8. Stunning ornament - love the blues and golds! I love your idea of an iron tree - I am going to have to look for something like that for mom. Our cats love to climb the trees too much for us to put one up and mom loves Christmas and she loves iron so I think that would be a perfect match for her.

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  9. Wow. Double wow. I want to go attempt bead embroidery now. Stunning.

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  10. Oh WOW. Audible gasps on this one. Gorgeous!!!!!

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  11. WoW. Gorgeous ornament. Love the blue (and I know you do too). Would love to see a picture of this tree it sounds very interesting. Happy Holidays to you and your family Shirley.

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  12. What a lovely ornament! It's interesting that you comment about bugles. I feel the same way. For some reason, I have a challenge getting them to looks uniform and Karen does an amazing job in her design. Love the bonus card too. Santa came early for you. Happy Holidays!

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  13. Karen's ornament is stunning. I am in "aw' of the bead embroidery. I know you will cherish it always...have a wonderful holiday season:)

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  14. Oh my goodness, now I'm really feeling inadequate LOL....that is absolutely stunning!...and hand-dyed paper? ...and handmade card?...I'm going to need TWO lives! How beautiful, Shirley, just what you deserve...Merry Christmas!

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  15. That is a gorgeous ornament. I am in awe of the different types of beads that Karen used and how they all work together so well. It will look great on your iron tree.

    I also took a peek at the ornament you made and it's beautiful. I'm glad you grew a few extra arms to assemble it. :)

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  16. Wow that is absolutely beautiful! I'm sure it will take pride of place on your special tree!

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  17. WOW!!! This is a great ornament. Karen picked beautiful colors. I did bead embroidery on my ornament too.

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I'm thrilled you stopped by! Thanks for your words of wisdom.