...of ashtrays and snow flakes

Autumn/Winter is slowly conquering the house. Small heaps of chestnuts everywhere. Used as dog food, play money, or doubling as rocks in miniature worlds. The balcony is covered with red wild vine leaves. The frost sensitive plants have found a cool but secure place inside.

We still have that big white branch hanging in front of the window in our hallway, and it's a great "canvas" for seasonal decoration. This weekend I was inspired to get things going for the coming months.

A few months ago, I picked up a set of old ash-trays in the 1 Euro shop, as I loved the glass patterns. I didn't know how and when to use them at the time but I decided to take them home anyway.


This week I discovered them again and thought I'd use them as stamps on clay. So I made thin 2-3 mm layers of clay (love that material!), carefully pressed on the ashtrays, and then cut the prints out with a sharp knife. To finish things up I made a small hole in the top with a knitting needle. After they had thoroughly dried, I painted them white.


Voila, a set of different sized, shaped and patterned "snow flakes" for my branch. The whole snow-association being way too early of course, as day temperatures are still reaching a ridiculous 20 degrees Celsius over here.

But you know: Winter happens over night. It always does.