Well, like everyone else, I've been sidetracked by the holidays. But now it's a new year and I'm going to get back to this blogging thing and figure it out! I did manage to find time to make a few gifts this year now that I'm "retired". The vintage bottle snowmen were an inspiration from Nov/Dec 2008 Cloth Paper Scissors magazine. I fell in love with them and started collecting things to make them right away. They are made from vintage bottles I found on ebay and embellished with vintage beads, measuring tape, jewelry, old cake decorating tips and lots of other little odds and ends I picked up over the year. The heads are clay, the eyes and mouths are tiny brads and the noses are small bits of folded copper tape. After embellishing, I spread glue on the heads and small areas of the scarves or tinsel collars and sprinkled them with course glitter that looks like snow. Then for good measure I sprayed them with silver glitter spray! They were tons of fun to make and I used them for little "extra" gifts for my sisters, friends, neices and my daughter-in-laws.

My next endeavor was a little art quiltie for each of our sons and their wives. At last a legitimate use for all the fabric and lace and pretty little odds and ends I've been collecting for so long! I framed each quiltie in a shadowbox frame. I haven't done a ton of sewing, but I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. I also made some soldered ornaments, but didn't get pictures. I'll have to find the extra one I made for me and get a picture of it. I had other things in various stages of completion, but this is what I managed to finish. Guess I will have a head start on next year's gifts! My daughter-in-laws are glad I got laid off!! (Isn't that sweet??!)