Full of Surprises!

Southwest Heirloom Santa - $25.00
Santa sculpture doll measures approximately 18" tall including the stand to which he is permanently attached. Instead of a traditional Christmas tree he has with him a stuffed felt cactus! Embellished with bugle beads, a variety of fabrics, tiny lights, and faux fur.

Won't your holiday guests be surprised and thrilled when they walk in and see Santa greeting them just inside the front door! Quite a conversation piece, your parties will be THE latest hotspot once the word spreads about your clever home decor.

Debbie, owner of Craftymoose is a self-taught mixed-media artist who makes a wide variety of things but specializes in French beading and mixed-media art dolls most of which include beads and wire. The work has a folk-art feel to it, and all pieces are one-of-a-kind. I just love her beaded french flowers! Absolutely gorgeous work!

French Beaded Ring of Beaded Roses - $40.00
Made with Czech glass seed beads, some of which are vintage, about 60 years old. Each component was completed and then attached to a 7 inch ring. There is a loop attached to the back of the ring so this may be hung on a wall or in a window.

This hummingbird is also very pretty and would be splendid to hang in the window or above your bed or over your desk. This piece caught my eye because I am currently exploring creative ways of filling in wire frames. She has done a great job here of rendering this little creature and even has the markings and shading down!

Beaded Hummingbird Suncatcher – 14.00
Hummingbird hand-formed with 20 gauge black wire. His wingspan is 5" and he is a little over 5" long. Czech glass seed and bugle beads in different finishes were used to bead the body & wings. The head is beaded in metallic green & ruby transparent and the chest in peach with a pearl finish. The wings are done in crystal clear, topaz & copper.

Go check out her Etsy store. You never know what you might find...or what you might miss if you don't.

To see more by this artist go to:
http://craftymoose.etsy.com/

To read more about her and her activities, read her blog:
http://craftymoosecrafts.blogspot.com/

Let Me Hook You Up!
Is it an earring or am earwire? It's both! These are hot off my workbench from a wild inspiration that came to me in the middle of the night. I have been wracking my brain for quite some time to come up with a repeatable design that is both elegant and doesn't take days or weeks (as many of my other designs often do), and voila! Here it is! These are made of one continuous piece of Argentium Sterling Silver wire that is shaped into an earring hook at the top. Their cutting-edge design provides a special safety feature to prevent them from falling off, as they are work-hardened springy so that the ends touch the bead in the back, creating a clamping tension that allows the wearer to slip them on and keep them on until they voluntarily take them off. These earrings eliminate the hassle often associated with most earrings that have several parts which can come loose. Since these only have the one piece of wire and the bead, there is less that can potentially go wrong or become disconnected. Their compact construction makes them easy and comfortable to wear, and because they are made of wire they have the added benefit of being light-weight relative to their size.
Saturn Spiral earrings are easily customizable and their shorter turnaround time makes them great to sell in larger quantity to stores and galleries as well, while maintaining their handmade charm.

If you would like a pair (or would like this pair) please contact me. I can use many kinds of stone beads for the center, and they need not be round. Order a few for gifts for your friends and family over the holidays. At $30.00 using a 9-10mm center bead, these are a really good value. Let me know if you have something special in mind, and I can "hook you up". This particular pair is available now in my Etsy online store.

(All Giftbearer designs are copyrighted)