Our second (and final) Christmas swap will be to make ornaments (or gift tags) incorporating one (or more) clear acrylic tags. You don’t need to leave the tag clear. And the acrylic tag does not need to be the main component in your artwork.

The Design Team has made some gorgeous samples for the swap, which are scattered below (near more jewels and trims they incorporated). (And that beautiful blue & gold Madonna ornament at left is by Teri Calia.) But the first thing to cover are the 3 options for clear acrylic tags:

1. Tim Holtz Acrylic Charms Set
Clear tags in 4 shapes (circles, ovals, squares and rectangles) with nicely rounded edges. And you get 4 sizes of each of the 4 shapes. The largest of the pieces is 1-3/4″ tall. Hey, and they’re

2. Round-Top Acrylic Tags Set
Curved-top tags in clear acrylic. 2 each of 3 sized. Used in the tag at far right by Kristin Batsel, also using one of the new Rebekah Filigree Pendants.

3. Clear Acrylic Shrine Tags
Pointy-top tags in clear acrylic. 15 pieces in 3 sizes (7 small pieces, 5 medium and 3 large; they’re pretty small… the entire sheet is just over 5″ long). (21 pieces if you count the tiny little doors… see the tiny shrine pendant at near right that Design Team Member Nicole Merkens made using tape-hinged doors).

Artwork for the swap will be due by November 21st (so everything can be done before the Thanksgiving weekend… for those of you in the US). Visit the Yahoo Group for more information and to sign up for the swap.

Christmas Papers

Winter Holidays Collage Sheet
Another collage sheet with artwork sized to fit pendants and paper punches that are on the pendants page. This sheet has lots of Santas, birds (including cardinals and robins), holly and a couple Christmas greetings from vintage Christmas cards.

“French Backgrounds – Winter” Collage Sheet
Lots of sizes, from ATCs, square memory glass and inchies to slide glass (1″ x 3″ size). Good, basic images in subtle/ephemeral tones for backgrounds (or primary images), from sheet music and the Eiffel Tower to architectural details and bare winter trees. Click on the thumbnail below to view a larger sample of 3 images.

While I’m in a French mood…
Fleur de Lys Charms – 3 Colors
Cast pewter charms, antiqued (left pewter color) or plated and antiqued in gold or copper.

Double-Sided Key Charms – 2 Colors
Antiqued silver-plated brass or vintage-patinaed brass. 1″ tall (24mm).

Lock Charm in 3 Colors
12 x 20mm; brass stamping so concave on the back. Antiqued copper-plated brass, antiqued pewter-plated brass or antiqued gold-plated brass.

Words Collage Sheet
Lots of phrases on little snippets of parchment. Beside what you can read by clicking on the thumbnail at right, the phrases include “celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words”, “never forget their names”, “drama queen”, “Off with her head!”, “too dark to read”, “We are not hypocrites in our sleep” and “at the stroke of midnight”.

Christmas Past Scrapbook Papers: 3 Papers + Die-Cut Tags
Three 12″ x 12″, double-sided heavy sheets with lots of Victorian postcards and images of Santa Claus. And a die-cut sheet of matching tags in lots of small sizes (also double-sided, and on heavier cardstock). The little hole in each tag is also die-cut (for hanging on a string or other closure).

The Moon
A few lunar objects arrived this week…

Moon Face Charm – in 4 colors
17 x 19mm; brass stamping so concave on the back. Vintage-patinaed brass, antiqued copper-plated brass, antiqued pewter-plated brass or antiqued gold-plated brass.

Man in the Moon
Vintage-patinaed brass. 15.5 x 25.5mm; solid flat back.

More Teardrops or Filigree for Ornaments

Tamar Deco Drop
Antique silver-plated brass, antique gold-plated brass or vintage-patina brass drops (34mm long; brass stamping so concave on the back).

Star Filigree
Raw brass. Use flat or wrap around a small cabochon or other 3D object.

Large Fancy Filigree
Large, but not heavy. Raw brass. Used by Teri behind the blue flowers on her Madonna ornament at the top of this page.

Ornate Teardrops
Ornate design in raw brass (1-1/8″ long; brass stamping so concave on the back).

Vitrail Bell Flowers
Iris blue or olivine. (Aurora Borealis (AB) coating is a half-coat metallic finish that adds a prismatic effect to the surface of the bead. Vitrail is the same process as AB but results in a primarily pink/green reflection.)

Cloisonne Green Drum Flower
Cloisonne is an ancient metalworking technique. Cloisonne beads are created by affixing a metal wire to the base bead to act as a color separator. A powdered colored glass enamel is then painted between the partitions and then fired to melt the glass. These beads are enamel and gold-plated brass and are 13mm x 12mm (slightly taller than wide).

Cloisonne Red Rose Bead
These rose beads are enamel and gold-plated brass and are 19mm diameter. Slightly puffy (9mm thick).

Glass Window Beads
Ovals edged in gold (in 2 sizes). Choice of Red, Aqua or Montana Blue.

Swirl Ornament Hooks
Such a simple thing but hard to find. Nicely executed (not flimsy; nice curve).

Large Puffy Glass Beads
Foiled glass beads. Good shape for wrapping a large filigree around. Round (in teal, brown or green) or a red heart.

Glass Maple Leaves
Choice of 2 colors: Bronze (metallic all over) or Gold Inlay (lighter amber-colored clear glass with metallic gold in the crevices). They have 2 parallel holes (cast into the back) and they overlap if you string them together.

New Color of Rosary Chain: 4mm Amber

Faceted Glass Teardrops
Beautiful and glittery. 7 x 5mm with a vertical hole. Imported from the Czech Republic. Choice of sapphire or aqua.

Beautiful Artwork by Shannon Sawyer Published

Congratulations to Shannon Sawyer for being published in Somerset Holiday and Celebrations (and having her artwork featured on the cover)! Click on the photo below to see scans of all 3 pages of the article.

Clear Chandelier Beads
Plastic “crystals” in 3 sizes. Some are a little rough around the edges, but can be cleaned up with a bit of sandpaper (and you get over 70 in a package).

Smooth Glass Teardrops – Horizontal & Vertical Holes
Olivine, topaz or sapphire.

Czech Crystal Teardrops
Beautiful teardrops with horizontal holes. Imported from the Czech Republic. Choice of olivine, light pink or ruby (the olivine are 6.5 x 13mm; the others are 6 x 10mm). Machine cut crystals.

Faceted Jewel Charms in 3 Colors
Acrylic jewels in settings that look like antique brass (not too heavy for their size: 7/8″ diameter). 4 per package (2 with 2 loops & 2 with 1 loop). Choice of Amber, Red or Black.

New Tim Holtz Goodies

Reindeer Games & Urban Tattoo Cling Stamps
Both are ATC-sized stamps from collages by Tim Holtz. The Reindeer Games stamps has “Christmas Carols” text, snowflakes, sheet music and a reindeer. The Urban Tattoo has a central grungy heart and a city skyline… a good background stamp.

Film Strip Ribbon
Plastic Film Strip has punched projector holes, distressed mini frames, and is stored in an adorable mini-tin. Inspired by vintage projector reels.

Type Charms
These Type Charms evoke the keys of a vintage typewriter. Create your own letters with the included alpha-type stickers and overlay them with the crystal clear epoxies. You can also create your own designs and use a 1/2″ punch. Contains 16 metal Type Charms, a sheet of die-cut letters (32 stickers) and 16 clear epoxy stickers.

A Few Halloween Latecomers

7 New Clear Stamps Sets
4 mini sets (like the “Crow Gate” at left) and 3 larger sets including one with chandeliers.

6 New Wood-Mounted Rubber Stamps
From a graveyard (shown) to spider webs, skeletons and lots of bats with flourishes.

Voo Doo Doll & Quija Board Charms
Both are gold- or silver-plated pewter.

Hey, Photos from the Haunted House Swap are in the process of being posted to the gallery.

Sample shown is by Debbie Lynch.

Miscellaneous

Silver Egg Shape Flower Connectors
Beautiful, 3D (hollow) links with a floral design.

Oxidized Gold Rosary Connectors
Beautiful, double-sided links.

Rock Candy Crackle Paint
Clear so it will pick up the colors beneath it.

Matte Black Chain & Toggles
Choice of 52″ of chain (links approx 5 x 7mm) or 12 sets of toggle closures. The chain is shown in sample art by Wendy Anderson.

Spread-Wing Bird Charms in Antique Silver Finish
Like the birds we have had in raw brass or vintage patina.

KrystalKraft Acrylic ATCs
KrystalKraft” clear acrylic pieces have one side that is pre-treated to accept a variety of inks & coloring media. It looks like frosted glass, but once it is inked/stamped/marker colored/glittered/glued on etc. it becomes clear. Unlike regular acrylic, plastic or acetate products, KrystalKraft’s treated surface is not slippery, making it easy to stamp or paint on for beginners. 1/8″ thick.

Posted by Leslie, October 6th, 2009

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