Monday, January 1, 2018

I had 55 ...

And now I have 4. POOF, just like that ... 51 were bought by very happy people. I tell ya, this is a GREAT problem to have. To almost run out of a ornaments before a Christmas tells me I am onto something! 

I LOVE Christmas and creating Christmas decorations. I started making ornaments about 4 years ago for my family, as it brought me a tremendous amount of Joy. They are well received and are anticipated every year. A year ago this month, I decided to create a test market for my Christmas Ornaments after my first customer bought one. I was a bit nervous. Creating for family is one thing. Creating for you all, well that is just plain scary, putting my creations out there, for sale. Yikes! But, I wanted to see what would happen if I created a bunch of these and then sell them. Soooo, I had to develop a plan. Oh boy ...

I bought wooden balls and eggs, inserted little eyelets and primed them with gesso. Then I had to buy a tree to store these while I was painting. Check. Plan is well under way.

Paint is important. Some paint works better than others. The key is to paint once, so finding a paint that allows that to happen can be tricky. Re-painting over an area slows down the process, I found out.

Next is designing these one-of-a-kind ornaments. I have to think outside the box and keep a sharp eye out for of all kinds of ideas. Nature is a big source of inspiration for me as well as Pinterest. Once I have an idea what I want to draw, I pencil it on the ornament, then cover it with a light white wash of gesso so the pencil doesn't smear. Another lesson learned the hard way.

Here is an example of me painting an ornament. Super fun! The more I create, the more I wanna create. Brings soooo much Joy (there is that wonderful word again!)

To add some dimension to these, I added black lines to the shapes I painted. I tried a thin black marker and well that ran like my nose during the winter, so those dumb things got thrown out. What about Rapidograph pens?? These pens are hard to come by now, but lucky I save old art supplies and had some laying around. Did a test on an ornament. It passed. Then I sprayed it with a glaze. Fingers crossed, as I was spraying. The ink didn't run. WOOHOO! Success!

So, after I had a couple dozen ornaments completed, I thought to myself, "Who is gonna buy just an ornament? I mean, how are these gonna be any different than any other ornament out there? There needs to be a story behind these." Back to the drawing board. 

I envisioned these ornaments being created in a very whimsical, magical, far-far-far away place where you all want to visit and explore. A place where you all become inspired. A happy, joyful place, with chocolate. If Santa's workshop at the NorthPole, Harry Potter's fantasy world, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them's unique creatures and nature, The Hobbit 's wonderful color combinations and Winnie the Pooh's landscape all played in the sandbox together, this place I have in my head would be birthed. Great. Now I need a name. Ah-ha, Cubbyhallows. Now I need a name where the ornaments are made. Bingo ... The Enchanted Sugarplum Treehouse. PERFECT! Now I need Christmas gnome names. How 'bout Hobbyhiggle, Mossybuttons and Olliewig? Beautiful. It is coming together, with the help of my wonderful friends and some serious brainstorming! Now I need a logo. That should be easy, I mean I am on a roll here.

It wasn't easy and the inspiration came to a screeching halt. Daggomitt!!

I was looking for inspiration and it just wasn't coming to me. The only element that worked was the treehouse icon. This logo had to be whimsical and represent the designs of the ornaments. About the time I was having a major design block, I took a girls trip to Waco, Texas to visit Magnolia Markets. To be honest, I only watched one episode of Fixer Upper before the trip so I had no idea what was in store for me. Once I walked through the doors of the market, the inspiration hit me like a ton of bricks! I mean A TON! After seeing the entire place, with my jaw to the ground, my Enchanted Sugarplum Treehouse logo was created. My inspiration was back in full swing and actually, in more ways than one. But that is for another blog. YIPPEE for inspiration!

I did a happy dance back to the drawing board.

I created my logo and the packaging to go with it. So when you purchase an Enchanted Sugarplum Treehouse ornament, it comes in a keepsake box, wrapped in tissue with a card explaining the story. All these are numbered, which you will see on the back of the card. Perfect! There is only one of these made, just for you.

So now you know the story of how these ornaments came to life. It has been a fantastic journey and one that has just started. I have a feeling that 2018 is going to be a great year for The Enchanted Sugarplum Treehouse. And never know, maybe someday the gnomes will have an actual treehouse to create these fun ornaments! (hint, hint Treehouse Masters!) ...

Happy New Year and thanks for reading!





Start with drilling a small hole.

Then you add the cute little eyelet.

1" half rounds to be added to the wooden ornaments.

Ornaments are ready to be primed.

Ornaments are ready to be primed.

Perfect time to pencil my design ideas onto these cute little blank wooden balls 
while watching tv.


For this year's ornaments, I created a wooden tree stand. All these ornaments are waiting 
to be painted on. I think I have my work cut out for me!

I find a ton of inspiration in nature whether it is the color or patterns. Nature is endless ...

Winter wonderland at its finest! An some major inspiration as well!

And you never know when you will find inspiration. This is a rug at a restaurant.

A little whimsical Christmas action here. And yes, the elf rammed his sled into my tree, 
climbed up the ladder and fell inside. True story ...

I LOVE color and LOVE to have a large selection of paints to choose from. 

A few of the ornaments, close up.

A cluster of ornaments.
Meeko the studio cat paying a visit.
Meeko the studio cat decided to step in my paint. Lovely ...


The Enchanted Sugarplum Treehouse logo.


This is The Enchanted Sugarplum Treehouse packaging. 

Ornament charms showcasing my Debi Studios logo on one side and
The Enchanted SugarPlum Treehouse icon on the other.
Because you have to have a Meeko on your shoulder while creating.