I've been playing with metal and came up with this...

I don't know why I do it, but I do!  No matter how many things need to be finished, no matter how little time is left, I can still decide to try my hand at something new and shove things aside to follow an itch.  

My latest?  Metal work with writing and riveting and cutting and joining.  Instead of beginning my packing list and ticking off the chores, this is what I did.  For some time now I've been thinking how neat it would be if we could attach a pretty metal tag to our finished needlepoint pieces that said:

Yours should not say Stitched by Orna, of course!

but what about something along these lines...

Snazzy, right?

Want your own personalized metal tag?  It's coming! Real soon!!

And this little charm will be a centerpiece for one of my designs.  More on that later, as well.

 

 Nighty Night 

O

and nighty night from Esther and some friends she met.

 

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Miniature Newbies.

I go through phases when I feel a need to explore a notion from many angles before I can move on.  I'm loving small these days.  Small and very intricate.   These babies are about 1.5" and being on silk gauze, they have much to tell in the way of details.  They fit perfectly inside these beautiful little frames.  Tiny hinges allow to open the frame and carefully place the needlepoint inside. 

Precious seedlings

Corinthian Earrings

These perfect pals have been embraced by a young generation and that makes me very happy. I can't make them fast enough, they get snatched up by the 20-something crowd.  They give such a pop to the face and are a perfect dangle length.  The kits includes all silk, the finest of findings, (sterling silver and gold filled), pearls and beads.  Congress cloth is included as well for the very small details in the design. 
I have a few kits available before I leave for Minnesota, so if you are interested contact me right away.  These kits are $40 and come in the two colorways you see above, (Gold on the left,  Silver on the right).  I'm not putting them up on the website until I get back from my workshops,  but can send them out to you on Monday before I leave.   Contact me here: orna@ornadesign.com

 What have you been up to?

xo
Orna

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Knobbly

From Jay's Design

The magic is in the details. I love detail--a fringe, a button, a lining--it's what separates nice from fabulous! Hence my obsession with knobs. Yes knobs! Knobs for all of the drawers and cabinets that we use everyday. It's a tactile and whimsical obsession: tiny artworks of utilitarian stature! Here are some of my favorites:

 I can see trying to make these out of polymer clay! 

(Slap my hands and say: NO MORE OBSESSIONS!)

Three by Susan Goldstick

and these, lovely ethereal vintage styles:

Here is a cool bubbled glass one:

From BeacheyRustica at CraftIsArt

Sigh.......

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The Winner is... and I'm back!

Congratulations to Anne Barney who guessed the correct sizes and won a scissor fob!

Both pieces are done on Silk Gauze at 40 count.  

The top left piece is 1.5"x1.5" and the bottom right piece is 1.5"x1". 

We had a lovely week at the beach but I was ready to come home.  Since then I've been preparing for my trip to Minnesota next week.  You should see, (no, really you shouldn't), my house!  Looks like a tornado of paper, threads, and boxes landed smack in the middle of my living room and then spread to every single room in this place!  My husband is very tolerant, I must say!

So, I'll be back with more soon.

xoxo

O

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Ventnor, here we come!

Tomorrow morning we will set out on our way to the Shore.  A week of reading, walking, eating and resting.  I'll be back on the 28th and will announce the winner of our very pretty scissor fob. 
Miss me!
O

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Beautiful stitching accomplishment...Bravo!!

Cleta Raymond's beautiful piece!

Back in May, I was at Bedecked and Beadazzled to teach a color class.  This particular class really lit things up, just like you see in comic strips when a character gets a light bulb over his/her head!  I love watching students get excited about color, and about their ability to put together color-stories.  This class is a sure recipe for lots of "light bulbs".

One such light bulb is Cleta Raymond's.  This is her completed piece that was inspired by a color story I handed out to the students, a photo of a room from a design magazine.  The task was to interpret the photo into threads and then go a step further and apply the threads to a design.  I am so proud of her, this piece is gorgeous.  Her color choices and the placement of the colors is so smart!  She also has the most gorgeously stitched Jessicas!  

Here is what she wrote: This is a picture of the piece I created from the class you taught a while ago at Bedecked and Beadazzled. I thought I learned a lot in the class itself, and I did. What fascinates me is that I continued to learn as I worked the design and chose the colors for each element. Thank you so much for being willing to share your art!

Thank you so much, Cleta, for sending me this photo.  

Oh, and look out for me to be back at Bedecked and Beadazzled in February!  More on that later...

xoxo

me, Orna

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Nailing it down!

Whhhhhhaaaat? you ask? Yes--I am just going to say it, and I don't care what anyone thinks--I think I'm a bit fascinated with nail art. It meets all of my criteria for a "good thing"--detailed, intricate, time-consuming, sometimes impossible! So why not just say it--I think this is a fantastic art! Here in the States some think of nail art as one thing: tacky. But all over Asia, in particular, Japan, this is as common as a cellphone.

Of course, there are other countries that dabble in the Nail Arts, and the US is one! We have competitions, one just wrapped up in Vegas last week. There are different catagories of nail art, believe it or not. There is one category called "French Twist" in which nails must be an obvious spin of the traditional French manicure. There is a "Fantasy" section, the fantasy being, in my mind, that you would actually wear those things anywhere but to a nail competition:

Viv Simmons winner at the 2009 Nailympics

This is the 3rd place winner in the 3-D catagory in Vegas last week--can you imagine what could have topped this?

Nail Artist Viktorija Prihodko 

A recent NailPro Magazine (yes, this subculture has magazines-a-plenty) had a Back-To-School competition:

Winner of the  Back-to-School contest

Isn't this SWEET?

Below is an example of a Painted Nail. This is a freehand decoration, no sculpture or stencils you help you out!.

PolkaDots by Mistress Ashley

This interest of mine in Nail Art is an unrequited one for me, and will most likely remain the one that got away. I have workers hands you see, and this kind of nail upkeep requires a lifestyle commitment! I will have to just look and sigh....

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CONTEST AND PRIZES!!

It's been awhile since we did some givin' away around here!  It's time, don't you think?
So here's what you do:  look at the three new designs on this page and submit your guess for the exact size of the designs.  

Temple of Water

Temple of Fire

Temple of Plenty

This contest ends on Thursday,  July 19th at noon.  Enter your guesses as a comment to this posting.  PLEASE add your contact information.  We won't be able to enter your name if we don't have your email address, please don't forget!

The winner will receive a beautiful scissor fob shown here.  I had the polymer bead custom made replicating a new design.  I love the feel of this fob, easy to grab, lovely to look at,  (a $35 value).

            GOOD LUCK!

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July 10th, 2001, and why I will forever be grateful.

I sometimes wonder what it was like.  July 10th, 2001, in Cambodia, the day Nina was born.  It's happy, it's sad, it's a puzzle and a wonder.  Every year, on this day, I feel the true meaning of the word gratitude.  How grateful I am that Nina came to us.  We know very little about the first three months of her life, about that day.  She must have been a healthy baby.  Where did the moment take place? Was her mother alone?  Did she know then that she would not be able to care for Nina and give her everything she wanted for her?  What a brave, brave woman.  Every year on this day, I wish that somehow, in some mystical way, that brave woman know what has become of the little baby.  I want her to know that she has grown into a human being that would make her glow with pride!  How loving, caring, remarkable our Nina is, hers and ours.

Nina is 11 years old today.  We have been with her for 11 of her birthdays.  On that first one, the day she was born, she was held by a brave woman, someone who loved her so very much, and who sacrificed so much for her.  Thank you.  Thank you more than words can say.

The photograph we received of Nina when she was 3 months old

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