Ornaments - Day 13 and Treasures on Thursday

"I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men"
Henry W. Longfellow

My bells and my bowl are very special treasures to me. I went to a ceramic painting class in the early 1970's and this was one of our projects. We painted the bells in class and then I decided I wanted a bowl to match. I'm not a artist, so I was very proud of how these turned out. The tallest bell is 71/2" and the smallest is 21/2". The bells have gold clappers. But, even though they're tough, I'm afraid to ring them! Our teacher had her bells hanging on her door with some greenery. I don't think I'll ever to that, my will stay safely on the piano! I also painted the ceramic Christmas tree in the background.

The poinsettias are embellished with diamond dust and rhinestones. The white that looks like snow is a textured paint. I remember the gold paint was pretty expensive.

I will always treasure these. They took a long time to paint.

 In 1981, I took another series of classes with a Christmas theme. We painted these little barn scenes on porcelain. You paint them on the raw porcelain and then fire them in a kiln. They shrink when they are fired. The bell was 21/2"  tall when I painted it and it shrunk to 2". The frame is 3" x 4".  Pretty tiny little scene. Like I said I am not an artist, I had never painted any type of scenery before.

One of the classes was pin and ink with an acrylic wash. You first traced the pattern on the plaque and then inked it. Next, you colored it in with an acrylic wash. These were fun to do, not as intense as the bells or the frame. This pattern is from Joan Walsh Anglund. She is best known for her round-faced, featureless characters and her inspirational messages. You can find her characters on books, figurines, calendars, note cards, cross stitch patterns and ornaments. She has always been a favorite artist of mine.

I also used the same method on this Santa, which is the lid to my candy jar. I have a lid for each season.

And, while we are on painting. I love this treasure. Rudolph is made with the hand prints and a footprint of my oldest grandson, Jake. He was two years old when he and his Mom did this for me!

Now some ornaments. These are all hand blown glass ornaments. These first two I bought at an Arkansas Craft Guild show.

 I wish they showed up better in the pictures, they do not do them justice. They are such delicate, beautiful pieces of art.

My daughter brought me this last one from Tennessee. I layed it on paper for the picture, because it reflected the lights of the tree and you couldn't see his features.

Hope you enjoyed the artsy post today.

I'm thankful that God has given me some talent, because I sure enjoy creating treasures.