Anything but Cute Mixed Media Challenge # 7 "It's Ornamental"

Hello everyone!
It's time for our new challenge at Anything But Cute, and Cec is our lovely hostess this time with her theme "It's Ornamental".  For her challenge, I made some table decorations I can leave out throughout the winter months.  These just border on being cute and there's no "Happy Holidays" in sight, so I hope I don't get thrown off the team! I've just put away my Halloween crafty things, so I'm not yet quite in the Christmas mood! But there's a chill in the air, and I can wish for snow! A special thank you to Anne for adding a little class to this first photo!

Here's the challenge description:

For this challenge, Cec would like you to create a mixed media ornament for your Christmas tree or a Christmas decor item for your house or table.

These little snow shakers came to me as I was looking through my bottle collection for some bottles for my last project.  They  are salt shakers with no mates, so what better use can I put them to? (I was going to put my glitters in them and display them on a wall, but I've run out of wall space!) Apologies up front for the poor photography.  With all the glitter and sparkle, it was almost impossible to get a clear shot!

I was going to fill just one with a little winter scene and call it done, but I had a ball of paper clay on my work top from another project. It occurred to me to make a snow ball head.  From there I just got carried away, and I have absolutely no in progress shots.  So sorry!

Each snowman's head is made from a styrofoam ball covered in a layer of paper clay.  I punched a hole where the nose should go and pressed in little black stones from my stash for the eyes while the clay was still wet..  The stones are supposed to resemble coal.  I removed them and allowed the clay to dry. Once the clay was dry, I glued them in place.  The "carrot" noses are 2 Christmas "bulbs" from a set of mini plastic string lights colored with alcohol ink, and the third is an actual bulb from a string of vintage Christmas lights. The mouths are made with seed beads.

I coated the heads with Mod Podge and sprinkled them liberally with Diamond Dust. The hats are the actual caps from the shakers.  One was coated with Diamond Dust and I added some tiny pom poms, one I added some mini pine cones, some fake greenery and a cardinal  from my stash, and the third got dressed up with some pearls.

I tried to make a pom pom for one, but here's my results:

This shaker is filled with buttons and beads from my stash, and the neck is decorated with a snippet of bead studded lace. I coated the outside of the bottle with Matte Medium and when dry, random areas of Rock Candy Crackle paint.  It pooled at the bottom, and by happy accident made little ice feet, but in handling the shaker to photograph it mostly chipped off.

I wanted this shaker to represent my memories of skating on snowy days in my younger years.  I spritzed Perfect Pearl spray inside, and swirled it around.  While still wet, I added Diamond Dust and swirled that around, and allowed this to dry. To decorate the outside, I stole a pipe cleaner from my cat's stash (his favorite toy!), added some pearl beads and wrapped with fibers to represent a "muff". Get your minds out of the gutter--according to Google "a tube made of fur or other warm material into which the hands are placed for warmth."I had one of these as a child and I loved it! I added some mini die cast metal ice skates, which I coated first with gesso, and then painted with Picket Fence and /Brushed Pewter Distress Paints.

The last shaker was given a spritz of Dylusions White Linen spray, which I removed most of with a paint brush, because it obliterated my scene!  I left just a little haze to give the illusion of a frosty window.  I added a couple of bottle brush trees, which started out green. I added gesso to the trees, and while still wet, a dusting of Diamond Dust. Once in  the trees were glued in place, I added additional Diamond Dust to the shaker for snow. I wrapped some mini plastic string lights around the neck for a simple decoration. Almost forgot!  I added rub ons that sing out "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!", just barely visible in this shot.

I hope you like my whimsical little snowshakers and that you will be inspired to join our "it's Ornamental challenge at Anything But Cute!  You have an entire month to enter! 

Be sure to check back on the 12th of November to see if you're a winner of our 31 Days of Halloween challenge. It's going to be a VERY difficult decision; there were so many spooky-licious entries!

I would like to enter my Snowshakers into the following inspiring challenges:

Frillie and Funkie Let There Be Light! My "lights" are the Christmas lights on I used as noses and as a scarf on the tallest shaker.

Sparkles Christmas Challenges # 59 Christmas Decorations

Altered Eclectics Anything Goes

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge Snowman

Unicorn Challenge # 3 Christmas is Coming!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge So Glossy

Use Your Stuff Challenge # 198 Use Old Stash So happy to be using up a lot of my old, old stash; not one single thing used it under a couple years old!

Allsorts week 335 Christmas

Natalie and Amy's Challenge # 38 Winter Scenes

Thank you for stopping by today and for all your lovely comments! Hugs and Blessings!

Sara Emily

PS Forgive my funkie text up there.  Blogger wouldn't let me change it after trying about 20 times!  Also, just a note; I saw similar shakers on Pinterest just this morning.  Obviously 2 minds think alike, because I had never seen these before making them myself.  But truth be told, I like the ones I saw on Pinterest much better.

UPDATE: 

Highlighted!