Be Inspired by Non-traditional Holiday Colors

Here's another treasury I made a week or so ago using non-traditional holiday colors. I just loved all the pinks, turquoise and greens used for the ornaments. Don't get me wrong, I love the traditional holiday greens, reds, whites and golds, but I think it is fun to add a little whimsy and fun with some of the brighter colors. The list inspired me, so I bought a little white tinsel tree this year, and I am going to cover it with brightly colored ornaments. The list also inspired me to make a few ornaments of my own. I had been wanting to make some retro inspired ornaments for a while and had sketched out some ideas a couple of months ago. I had in my mind the many illustrated retro ornaments you see in catalogs, advertisements and holiday cards. I just loved the funky feel of the ornaments and I wanted to recreate that look. I also wanted to keep the illustrated feel to them, so while drawing them on the block I wasn't too careful that they were exactly symmetrical and some of the curves were more pronounced than others. When it came to painting them, I thought of the funky color palette of my treasury list and new just what colors I wanted to use. I tried to distress them in a way that again was reminiscent of an illustration and I left the sides and back white to represent the paper that the ornaments would be illustrated on. I love the way they turned out. Just the right amount of bright and funky while still being festive.




I had my first indie craft show over the weekend. (Shout out to Craft Mutiny for putting on a fantastic show!!) There was a little girl who kept coming back to my table and admiring the ornaments. She even brought me some magic reindeer food to help Santa find my house. So the next time she came by I asked her if she liked the ornaments and then which one she liked best. She picked the short fat one and I told her she could have it. She just lit up and was thrilled. It was definitely the best moment of the day. Don't get me wrong, I like being able to make money with the things I make, but having someone really love and cherish one of them is a gift more precious than gold (or greenbacks). I might eventually forget the details of the show, but I am sure that I will remember the look on her face as she left my table!

So this week, be inspired to make a holiday project and use some non-traditional colors and maybe some retro-inspired imagery, and then give it to someone you love or to someone who has done something wonderful for you this year. Let's all do our part to spread some good handmade Karma! Happy holidays!