Christmas in August

fun with glitter

I have been busy busy busy helping my son begin his college career this last week and also getting some things together for larger projects--as usual, even before fall officially begins there is a sense of Transition--and I have neglected the blog a bit; this is a short post but I did want to show off a tutorial I did for Michaels, which is now posted on their website.

It's a Craftsmart polymer clay Christmas tree pin.  How unseasonable!  But Christmas starts early early in the crafting world, I think.

Check it out here: http://www.michaels.com/craft-smart-christmas-tree-pin/30770,default,pd.html#

I love taking on projects and customs that I never would have dreamed of or necessarily gravitated toward on my own.  So much of my creative process is (and needs to be) so open-ended that sometimes I relish boundaries and direction as a thoughtful challenge to get me to think of and see things differently.  It can be like a focusing lens.

Last holiday season I did make a polymer clay Christmas tree for my mother who collects Murano glass and other fine Christmas trees (mine was a...token...) but it was very much within my comfort zone in color and abstraction.  In other words, it looked a lot like other things I've made.

The parameters for the Michaels tree had me thinking about color, form, practicality, function, and appeal all with an eye toward finding a balance between restraint and expression in ways I likely would not have learned otherwise.  Sounds abstract--maybe it is.  Whatever the case, it was a fun project and I hope a lot of people will find it and have as much fun making it as I did!