How I spent my Christmas vacation

Merry Christmas !

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Sue Runyon Designs.  God Bless you and your family!

My brother lives near the Blenko glass factory. Each year he sends me something from there. This is what came this year.

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Amory!
Amory who?
Amory Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Caleb 2009

Our tree this year

White spruce that my husband and son cut at a tree farm this year. A lot of it had to be trimmed so that it wouldn't hit the ceiling at it was 14 ft when they brought it in. I like a tree with open branches. We collect trinkets from our travels around the world to use as ornaments on our tree. I thought I'd photograph a few this year.

ornaments from Peru

Ornaments from Alaska and Hawaii

Ornaments from Cambodia

Homemade ornaments, from Asia, ornaments with special meaning & Caleb with his own small tree and ornament collection

This year for Christmas

Dancing butterflies copper handcrafted necklace

This year for Christmas

candy cane and copper ornament $4.75

This year for Christmas

Hand tatted cranberry color ornament with jade bead  $5.00

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock !

Who's there ?

Lionel.

Lionel who?

Lionel get you no where. Better tell the truth !

My son, Caleb, went on a field trip on the bus this week and sat by a little boy who told him about all the different types of aliens he's seen in his backyard (ahem). Caleb couldn't wait to get home and draw them.

Treat the Birds

House finch enjoying our homemade bird treats

In cold winter months birds need extra fats in their diet to help keep them warm. These homemade bird treats are a great way to give them the nutrition they need and I whenever I've made these the birds have really loved it.

Caleb and I made these the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and we're seeing more and more types of birds every day: two types of juncos, house finches, magpies, a downy woodpecker, rufus sided tohees, scrub jays, vireos, flickers, chickadees and a couple new types that we haven't looked up yet.

These make great Christmas gifts if you want to give a little something to your neighbors.

My little mad scientist in his bathrobe mixing bird treats. I'm not entirely sure why the 3D glasses were necessary.

HOMEMADE BIRD TREATS

1 1/2 lbs beef lard (cooking oil section of the grocery store)
2 1/2 lbs peanut butter (one large jar)
2 1/2 lbs corn meal (can find 2 1/2 lb boxes--often in the Mexican food aisle)
2 1/2 lbs corn grits (or substitute part bird seed mix)
plastic sandwich bags or waxed paper

Melt the lard on high and then turn down to medium. Add peanut butter and melt it. Mix in corn meal and corn grits (or part bird seed). This will resemble no-bake cookie mixture.

Fill plastic sandwich bags up to 1 1/2 inches from the top, seal them and lay flat on a cookie sheet and place in refrigerator to solidify.  Store in frig or freezer. This size fits pretty well in most of those little black cages for suet cakes you can buy for birds--you may have to trim the edges a bit, but then you just put the trimmings in the cage too.

OR

Line a baking pan with waxed paper and fill to about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inch deep. Put in refrigerator to solidfy and then cut into pieces to fit into a suet cage. Store in frig or freezer.

Yield 9 lbs (5-6 large cakes). Can be doubled, but then you may need to divide it to stir.

Downy woodpecker

Magpie--they are so big they have trouble getting to the feeder cage, but they are determined!

Chickadee who thinks he's a bat.

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock !
Who's there ?
Ammonia.
Ammonia who ?
Ammonia little kid !

Caleb's drawing "Attack of the 50 foot caterpillar." Notice he put a bracket with 80 ft marked on the mushroom so you can compare it to the caterpillar. I'm not really sure what the thing is that the caterpillar is attacking. I think it might be an elephant. I believe he got the scale right.

Icicle Enchantment

View out of our side window toward the Great Salt Lake and Antelope Island. My son, Caleb, is delighted with the icicles.

Icicle earrings

Sunrise Thanksgiving morning view from the front of our house. No, nothing was on fire :-) .

Snowball pendant - I also have matching earrings

NEW item

Did you ever need a necklace that can handle most accessorizing situations? You can get multiple looks with just this one set. Stash this in your desk at work for those days you left the house without time for jewelry. Necklace comes with all these pendants which you can also wear with other bead strands, cords or chains.

Necklace comes with all these pendants or wear it alone.

Coral convertible necklace--FOUR looks in one necklace!

Or wear the pendants with my Perfect Black Necklace Cord for THREE more looks!

Sue

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock !

Who's There ?

Sarah.

Sarah who ?

Sarah doctor in the house ?

Caleb's (age 9) picture he drew this week of a house with a lot going on. I don't think I can explain it all, but there is a lion with a dog house, a laser zapping ants on the ground, a tree on fire, electricity arcing between antennae connected to the door knob and I have no idea what else. Caleb wants to be a mad scientist. You might need a doctor at this house! Maybe we shouldn't have let him watch "Despicable Me" and "Igor."

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !

Happy Thanksgiving from Sue Runyon Designs!

Remember you can save 15% on all orders $50 or more by using the discount code HAPPY15 now through Dec 10!

Sue

My Sale Starts NOW!

Receive 15% off your purchase of $50 or more. Use the coupon code:

HAPPY15

at checkout on My Website, my Etsy Shop or my Artfire Shop.

Oriental and Asian themed items are extremely fashionable right now.  I have many to choose from. These are just a few:

Carnelian Dragon necklace set

Celadon and Coral necklace

Copper and blue china bird earrings

Cinnabar and amazonite bracelet

Bookmark pearl and jade

Metalsmithing part 2

This week I finished the last of 8, two hour metalsmithing classes. It was all new to me. I've never held a soldering torch or worked with some of the machinery and tools used in class before. It was great to learn a little about it and I'm thinking of ways to incorporate what I have learned into my designs.

I missed one class, but these two projects are the only ones that I managed to (almost) complete in 7 weeks. There is a lot to learn. I have new respect for metalwork. I'm definitely going to get set up to drill holes in metal. I think that one skill will open up a whole new world of possibilities for my designs. As for the soldering torch . . . maybe not quite yet.

Sue

Foolish Friday

Knock knock !
Who’s there ?
Scott.
Scott who ?
Scott nothing to do with you!

Drawing my son, Caleb did for a project in school this week on the book Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell. The little spirals in the ocean are vortices by the way.

TODAY'S SPECIAL

Three copper and crackled glass dragonfly ornaments in your choice of colors for the price of two!

Find a listing for Buy 2 Get 3 on my Website, my Etsy Shop or my Artfire Shop.

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock !
Who's there ?

Europe.

Europe who ?
Europe'ning the door too slow, hurry up !

Caleb's drawing of a dragon--the thing under it's tail is a gemstone at the entrance to it's cave in case you were wondering.

What I made in my marathon class

Yesterday I took a class on learning to set stones in wire wrapped settings. The class was 11 1/2 hours long. Exhausting. I came away having made this pendant. I love the crazy lace agate stone and chose a simple setting for it so that the stone is the star of the piece.

 

I'm looking forward to using my newly learned skills in my upcoming designs.

Sue

Foolish Friday

Knock! Knock !
Who's there ?
Wevill.
Wevill who ?
Wevill Wevill Rock you !

My son, Caleb's, drawing of a bug he made this week (it's not a wevill).

Try these for Thanksgiving !

Thanksgiving is sneaking up on us.  Have you started getting ready?  Are you hosting this year?

Find these perfect Thanksgiving stemware charms at my website, my Etsy Shop or my Artfire Store.  Links are in the side column.

Other items you might like for yourself or your hostess on Thanksgiving Day:

Copper acorn bracelet set

Copper Leaves earrings with pink freshwater pearls

Gemstone carved leaf pendant necklace with red agate

Foolish Friday

Knock Knock !

Who's There ?

Snake.

Snake Who ?

Snake a run for it !

Yep, this is my front door and Caleb's Halloween project. He's a nine year old boy so he enjoyed creating this snake wreath tremendously. Martha Stewart Living magazine pictured one with black snakes, but we wanted something a little more cheerful.  The paint chips underneath are colors I'm considering painting my front door--feel free to leave a comment.

TODAY'S SPECIAL

Red Agate "Caramel" and black wire earrings.

Normally $13.00.  This week $10.00.

Find these on my website, my Etsy Store or my Artifire Shop.  Links are at the right.