I just finished making a dozen of these holiday ornaments using vintage tin cookie cutters and kitchen molds.   I made this particular batch as a special order for Nesting on Main where they will soon be on display for the Christmas season.   I still have about a dozen cookie cutters and molds left, which should be enough to make myself a batch – some to keep and some to share.

Speaking of sharing, I first heard of this marvelous shop from my good friend, Melissa.   Melissa has excellent taste and a nose for sniffing out all the best places.  She always knows where to get what, and who to “get what” from.  Luckily for me Melissa lives in the next town over so we regularly meet up for lunch, enjoy walks together, browse local shops – all the good things in life!   And as a bonus Melissa shares my insane passion for making things so we always have plenty to gush on about whenever we get together.

This is a great way to transform a vintage cookie cutter.  Just add a mix of coordinating elements (paper, mini oval tin top, a bit of broken jewelry, vintage pearls, etc.) to the inside of any old cookie cutter.  This project is easy and budget-friendly.  And as an added bonus, it’s green since it involves using materials that already exist. 

More examples of my altered cookie cutters along with two other projects can be seen in the current issue of Somerset Life.

I recently received my vintage cookie cutter ornaments back from Stampington (these pieces are published in the current issue of Somerset Holidays and Celebrations).  Now that I have them back, I thought I’d pass them on again…this time to one of you as a gift (one person will win all three ornaments).

To enter a chance to win, please leave a comment to this post between now and next Saturday, November 17th and I’ll add your name to the hat.  I’ll be back the next morning to announce the random winner.  Oh, and if you like, with Thanksgiving coming up, I’d love to hear about your thankful thoughts.  For me, this would have to be about Bill and Brook.  They are the light of my life, and the sparkle in my everyday.  So thanks to them my everyday shines with love.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it’s all about recognizing and celebrating the things we’re grateful for, both big and small.  I’m guessing that you probably feel the same way.

May your hearts be filled with thankful joy.

After a good, slow summer and an unexpected break from making art, I’m so very ready for some solid studio time…how about you?  If you’re feeling this urge also, and enjoy looking through artful magazines, there are three new Stampington issues available this month.

Inside Somerset Holidays and Celebrations, you’ll find my article featuring altered vintage cookie cutter ornaments.  I know that many of you like this particular project (I’ve previously shown similar pieces on my blog), so I’ve provided full instructions within the article for those of you who are interested in learning the technique details.

Within this same magazine you’ll see a beautiful project from Abby Bastedo and Melony Miller Bradley.  I love flipping through the pages and coming across artwork from fellow blog friends. This makes me feel like we’re all connected.

In the new issue of Somerset Apprentice, I spotted some bright and cheerful artwork from Jennifer Taylor, Jana Holstein (both are multi-talented editors at Stampington) and the lovely Jeanne Szewczyk.  Inside this same issue you’ll also see my painted bottle bookmark project.  I haven’t picked up my brushes lately so seeing this project is a reminder to me that I need to dip into the watercolor paints again.

The third magazine that I’ll mention is Somerset Studio.  Inside this one you’ll see a few mica necklaces that I made using photos of windows and doors from my travels.  Again, the instructions are included within the article.

While enjoying Somerset Studio, I couldn’t help but smile when I came across more wonderful artwork from blog friends such as Scarlett Clay and Renee Zarate.

In case you haven’t already heard, Stampington is giving everyone access to their digital magazine, Handcrafted Inspirations. To view the entire issue simply click the cover image below.

Inside there’s a fabulous project from Ellen Wilson.  And also a jewelry project from me (shown below). If these necklaces look familiar to you, they were previously published in Jewelry Affaire (Autumn 2011).

Fall is already in the air in my area.  And along with the entrance of the cooler breezes, I’m feeling a rush of renewed energy both personally and creatively.  Many project ideas have been swirling around my mind and I’m excited to get going on transforming these thoughts into something tangible.  Does inspiration cycle like this for you also?  And what projects have you been imagining?

I recently created some altered vintage cookie cutter ornaments and in my usual fashion, I made extra.

If you’d like one of the ornaments shown above simply leave a comment to this post.  And then I’ll send one ornament to each of the first six responders.

This coming week many of us will be celebrating Thanksgiving.  I’ll be home this holiday, relaxing with my family and spending some quiet, quality time together.  Happy Peaceful Thanksgiving to you all as well.

Yesterday morning I woke up to a chorus of chirping birds and I realized how starved I’ve been, missing this gentle music to my ears.   At 6 am the sky was bright, the temperature was a smidge above freezing, but best of all…the birds were back!  These promising signs of Spring have me happily fluttering about while anticipating more songs of this season to arrive. 

Here’s a little something that I made using a bird-shaped cookie cutter.  I had originally created heart-shaped ones as published here.  However, I’ve since discovered that this project adapts very well to other shapes too, so I’m always on the look-out for interestingly shaped cookie cutters. 

I didn’t have to go far to find these gifts of inspiration since they arrived in yesterday’s mail.  Ellen sent me these goodies just because.   It was so thoughtful and generous of her to send me this creative batch of handmade  items.   Thank you Ellen for this happy box of Spring, and soon we’ll all be singing its praises…just like the lovely birds outside.