Last night, I made an old woman cry.

Yesterday, after work I stopped by a local craft store and picked up a miniature tree skirt, found a container that I could slip over the cement base of the miniature tree and packed about 2 inches of plastic snow in it.  I delivered the 1-ft tall last night.  I stopped by my co-workers home and called his mother to come over with the ruse that his wife needed her help.  We sit the tree up on the kitchen table, turned on the battery packs and waited for his mom to walked from next door.  Totally surprised her when she walked into the kitchen.  Her son told her the tree was from "Daddy" and he pointed out the cookie ornament to 'prove' it.

We told her that last year, I was asked by Cookie, if I would make a tree for her.  She kept saying she was very happy and didn't want anything else for Christmas.  I showed her where the battery packs were and that she would need 16 AA batteries.  I then turned to her grand-daughters and told them batteries would be a good idea for stocking stuffers.  She took photos of the tree and started sending them out to her friends.  Later, the son carried the tree to her house and sat it beside the urn containing his father's ashes, which I have been told is where it will stay.

Good deed accomplished, now to make more Christmas ornaments to continue spreading the season.

2013 Miniature Tree

Almost finished with the tree. Just have to finish the bottom, rise the tree an inch or two and wrap a skirt around to hide the battery packs and straighten the star. Has 80 miniature rice lights, swagged garland has silver feathers and spike alternating between connection points. 54 enameled charms, pearl drops and globes, AB white and Silver 'disco' ball ornaments, a cookie ornament in memory of Chuck's father "Cookie".

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

Even though I went out and bought supplies for 4 miniature trees and then decided I wanted a year off, after making two last year in less than 3 months, I was asked by a co-worker to-day (11.13.2013) and I couldn't refuse. I made the second miniature tree last year which was given to his wife. She adored it and has refused to allow it to be put up. She told me that she and her mother-in-law would lie in the dark with the tree lights aglow. I stopped back by their house last Christmas to see her what she thought and Chuck's father commented that both he and his wife couldn't believe I made the tree.

In late July of this year, Chuck's father passed away and Chuck asked me today if I would consider making a tree for his mother so she could set it beside the urn containing his father's ashes. Chuck wanted to know if I could make a smaller tree, as the 32" tree I gave his wife would be too big. I purchased a 16" tree and have fluffed the branches. The next step will be trimming some of the branches to make the tree more symmetrical. After turning down the top ‘branch' the tree is just over a foot tall.

 For lighting, I could put two outlet powered strands or five sets of battery-operated, 20 bulbs per strand. I am thinking about using only battery operated lights for this tree. I then remembered I have a bunch of Christmas charms I haven't used in four years from bracelets, key-chains and ear-rings I bought at the wholesale show back in 2009. I have 24 different designs that I will re-purpose as ornaments. The collection has presents, 5 different snow-flakes, holly, stocking, candy canes, reindeer head and wreath, snowmen and 6 different Santas. Thinking about using up to six of each although I have only 2, 3,or 4 of maybe half of the designs. I should over a hundred charms which I will use, and since the charms are silvered finished, I will be using silver-plated findings instead of my traditional gold-toned.

There will be fill-in ornaments from white pearls, and maybe some other jewelry accessories but nothing over 1.5 inches though. From another shopping trip I have some silver-plated rhinestone sprays which I will add as sparkle and maybe I can find some rhinestone chain in silver-finish I can use as garland. I will set everything aside for the next week to work on this tree, trying to get it done before heading to North Carolina on the 22nd.

The ornaments for gifts to friends and family are almost done, have about 6 left to do, plus a set of miniatures for the first miniature tree I gave to a friend. Some will be mailed around Thanksgiving, others given out while I'm in NC at Christmas, and more after my return but before the 12 Days of Christmas are up.

Joined an ornament exchange a few days again and the person I was partnered with, said she didn't like glittery or gaudy ornaments, but she did like Santas.  There's a little glitter, but not as much as I could have done.

2013 Exchange Ornaments

Been toying with different color combinations for the 2013 exchange ornaments.  Need to do 15 total for the three exchanges I am a member of.  Six will go to the Yahoo! Group Christmas_All_Year.  These have to be the same and are shipped to a central processor who then re-boxes the ornaments and ships them to the other participants so you will get a box of six different Christmas ornaments.  Eight will go to the two groups I signed up on the Yahoo Group Yearly Christmas Ornament Exchange.  Each group will have a total of five people (me and 4 others) and since I will be in both groups that makes me and eight others (hopefully no overlapping will occur, but if it does I can make versions in metallic red, green and blue along with glittered red, green, blue, pale gold and bright pink).  The fifteenth ornament is the one I always make for myself.

I’ve made several of the onion-shaped glittered red/blue/green ornaments in both 4- and 6- spoke versions,

but I think the one I will do for the exchanges will be the 6-spoke onion-shaped pale gold with pearl teardrop dangles.  One of the main reasons is the pale gold comes 12 to a package instead of four each of three colors.  Have four packages (so far) of the pale gold, so I’ll only be using a little more than one package.  The first package I opened had one ornament which had some glitter missing and was showing the base ornament underneath.

There are also marquise shaped ornaments in both glitter and metallic of the red, blue and green as well as glitter gold.  I have been thinking about making those up and gifting them as a set to some of the people on my “A-list” for Christmas. 























The “A-list” people received either “A”n ornament or “A” set of ornaments.  To people I gave the 6-spoke chandelier to last year, I’m seriously thinking about doing 6-spoke suspended chandeliers this year.

I also have a “Baby’s First Christmas” ornament to do in light blue.  Also have a couple sets of upholstered ornaments in Crimson Tide (Alabama) and Tar Heels (UNC-Chapel Hill) with maybe some individual Wolfpack (NC State University) thrown in for good measure.  Of course this mean I’ll need to check the number and shapes of papier mache forms along with seeing how much of the collegiate licensed material I still have.

Third Quarter Exchange

I am a member of two ornament exchange groups through Yahoo! Groups, the first one I have exchanged with for over 15 years and is an annual exchange.  You sign up and are given four other members to exchange with.  Everyone makes ornaments for the others, so each year I receive four handmade ornaments from my group.  You can sign-up for two groups and opt for domestic or international groups.  I usually sign up for two groups which means I need to make 8 ornaments.  There have been times when I would make four identical ornaments to send to one group and then make four similar ornaments for the other group.

The second exchange group is similar with the exceptions of exchanging only with one person, and the group exchanges on a quarterly basis but only 3 times.  The groups are moderated by the same people and most members cross-over.  For the Third Quarter (July-October), I made the ornament below.  Using some of the same concepts from earlier designs I had a rough idea of what I would do for this exchange.  The only thing missing was the miniature ornament I would be using at the bottom.  While shopping I found the miniature I used and bought several packages.  The ornaments come in packs of 12 with three different options (that I have found so far).  They are available in packages of 12 bright glitter pink and another in medium glitter gold, then there is a package of 4 each glitter red, glitter green and glitter dark blue.  The gold have golden tops while all the other colors have a silver toned.

I am thinking of using this ornament design for the annual exchange but changing out the silver tops for golden tops that way I can use gold-plated wire, findings and beads.  I find that the gold toned gives a ‘warmer’ feel.  I will most likely make enough of one color to satisfy both groups I have signed up for.  Though it rarely happens, occasionally, I will have the same person in both groups.  Not wanting to send them a double set of the same ornament I can either use a different color or use the alternative design of only 4 arcs instead of the 6 arcs in this ornament.

I am a member in another Yahoo! Groups which has an ornament exchange, but it is not the groups primary purpose.  In the ornament exchange in this group the crafter is expected to produce at least six of the same ornament, send them to the co-ordinator and she will take one from everyone and send then out so when the participants get their box, there are six ornaments inside.

One of the things I also do is make the same ornament to keep for myself.  If I decide to do all the ornaments in the same color scheme I will be making at least 15 of the same ornaments.

It's THAT time of year again.

Guess what time it is? It's FLUFFING TIME. Michael's have their miniature trees out and I have bought four (so far), that's right four miniature trees that I will be fluffing out and trimming to start lighting and decorating. Possibly five, I have to excavate the closet but I think I have one in there. I have lots of beads which will be turned into miniature ornaments over the next couple of weeks. Already have some new designs I want to try along with some of last year's designs still being used. Most likely one tree will be Rainbow, another tree to be white-clear-gold, another silver-clear-blue. 

Updated 2013.09.12:

Here are a few of the miniatures I have designed for this year's mini trees.

These are made from mesh beads with glass rondelles being used to reduce the size of the openings in the mesh beads.  To get additional ornaments from the designs, I added the dangle of a Clear AB teardrop.  Traditionally, I will have the teardrop with the tapered end pointing downward.