Surprise...Tomorrow is now TODAY!!: Let the Holiday Season begin!!

"Time flies when you're having fun!"... or so they say!! Realizing my lack of posts for the past few months, let's just assume they are right and I've just been having way too much fun (a little fantasy can't hurt)... anyway, I still can't believe that it's already December and 2017 is just around the corner!!

Ready or not, the Holiday Season is upon us... let's get back in the swing of things with a little Show & Tell to kick it all off!

I love gourds of all shapes and sizes, they are a perfect natural form & canvas for creating unique works of art... for our purposes today, I chose the smallest variety available... Tennessee Spinners. These wonderful little gourds can be used to create very imaginative Christmas Ornaments with very few supplies needed! My favorite medium to use is black archival ink... I love the contrast of the design with the natural color of the gourd. Many artists use acrylic paint to achieve their desired results while others use wood burning tools... experiment with your favorite supplies and most important, remember to have fun!!

Pictured below: Tennessee Spinners - small bottle shaped gourds - average size is about 2 inches tall and approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter (give or take a smidge) - I have a local farmgal that grows mine but I have seen them for sale on ebay, just make sure they are "cleaned" and ready to use... (trust me, you don't want to deal with the moldy, crusty layers from the drying process)

Tennessee Spinners - natural color

Pictured below are a few non-holiday specific ornaments to hang year 'round but also look great on a Christmas tree... the only medium used is black archival ink, using the natural color of the gourd for contrast... they are finished by spraying a few coats of clear gloss acrylic. (Note: the wire is attached by drilling a tiny hole across the neck of the spinner)

Pictured below are classic designed Christmas "Snowman" Ornaments... acrylic paint in a variety of bright colors with fuzzy pipe cleaners, ribbon, craft wire & bell accents... they're sure to put anyone into the Holiday Spirit!!