Holiday How-to Christmas: Cardinal Yule Log

This project is for personal, non-commercial use ONLY.

 Tis the season to be making… this Yule log Cardinal ornament is a perfect project to make as a gift, embellish a present, or hang on your festive tree. 

Learn how to here

Christmas Greetings

A Nightime Lantern Parade

 

Last weekend we attended a fun and quite unique event with the kids we would love to share with you. We visited Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood in Boston, for their 32nd Annual Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade. 

You create a lantern and at sunset walk around the pond.... better yet this is what the description on the website says:  

The ritual of the Jamaica Pond Lantern Parade began in 1984 when people gathered to make a journey with their candle-lit lanterns around Jamaica Pond. Each year approximately 4,000 people arrive at Jamaica Pond on each of two evenings at sunset with their lanterns; many children arriving in full Halloween costume as well. The parade proceeds around the pond, bringing a trail of bouncing lights into the darkness that can be seen from all directions. This beautiful autumn evening ceremony has become an annual tradition in our community. The Lantern Parade has its cultural roots in Dutch tradition. It reflects our dedication to building community by exploring old and creating new cultural traditions.

 

Here are the lanterns we created with the kids for the event. Making these were so fun and easy. I love that it is a creative project to do with the kids but I can also decorate my house with them.

You'll need a plastic 2 liter bottle, cut the top off and glue color tissue paper around the outside. We used Mod Podge to glue down the tissue. Punch two holes, attach a string and insert a few battery operated tea light candle inside and that's it. Let your creativity run wild when it comes to using the tissue paper. We had loads of fun cutting and gluing!

 

 

They look so magical at night.

 

This was another design we did last minute. The picture is showing the front and back of the lantern.

It was a fun time and we can see ourselves making more lanterns for other occasions to hang in the studio windows.  Hope you all have a Glowing Autumn Season!

xo Lianne & Paul 

(and our little photo bomber son Gryffin)

Road Trip: The Science Behind PIXAR

 When Lianne and I were in art school, many moons ago by the way, we took lots of traditional art and drawing courses in addition to some computer graphic classes since that was a fairly new concept in the art and design world at the time. Now married with children we are a true card-carrying Disney/Pixar fan, so when we heard that a Pixar exhibit was going to be at the Boston Museum of Science we couldn’t be more excited to learn more!

Sure we loved the old school animation classics, but as artists and designers we looked forward to learning more about the magic behind Pixar and how the breathtaking films come to life.

So we thought we would take you along with us on a little road trip inside this magical exhibit

 The Science Behind PIXAR:

It starts with a funny and clever short intro film before you are ushered into the Pixar world 

through the glowing "purple doors", that really set a mood.

Upon entering you are immediately transplanted into the Pixar world. Human-sized statues of a few of the beloved characters greet you throughout the exhibit, like Buzz, Dory, Mike and Sulley.
It was great to see them that big and getting to take a selfie or two with them.

Then onto the different stations. This is really the meat of the exhibit; showing you how each film is made up of specific parts that all come together. The kids really found the interactive components in each section very and engaging.

There is so much in this exhibit, you really should see if for yourself! Not only is the art wonderful, the science and technology is really engaging. Each station is a part of Pixar’s production pipeline: modeling (creating virtual 3D models), rigging (making movement possible), surfaces (applying properties of light to control surface appearances), sets and cameras (using virtual cameras to create 3D scenes), animation, simulation (creating automated motion), lighting (manipulating light to enhance a scene’s mood or believability), and rendering.

 Above, Chloe was playing with lighting a scene from the movie UP.

Lianne and I found these clay sculptures extra striking! The detail on them was so impressive and 

we loved seeing the characters we know and love as clay figures.

WALL-E

The newly released  Inside/Out movie is also represented in this exhibit.

  Not only did each section have something interactive going on, but what we especially enjoyed the video profiles with different Pixar staff members(working at Pixar). 

We loved hearing about how these creatives think and work and what their roles are.

If you get a chance, we would highly recommend visiting The Science Behind Pixar at the Museum of Science in Boston. The exhibit is there until the January 2016.

Meet Misty Mermaid

Treasure your Summer Memories when you order our new Swirly handmade ornament 

"Misty the Mermaid" and you will get FREE shipping!

Holiday How-to Easter: Petite Bunny Basket

This project is for personal, non-commercial use ONLY.

We are so Egg~cited to share our New Polyform Easter how-to:
Create and celebrate Easter with these sweet petite Bunny Baskets. These mulit-purpose designs can be used as décor pieces, to adore your Easter tree or placecard favors for your guests. Designed by Lianne and Paul Stoddard of Swirly Designs - Handmade Polymer Clay ornaments - these baskets are easy and adorable! You can find the project here.

Swirly Easter Collection...

View the Easter collection here!

Swirly Studio Rainbow wrap up...

It's only fitting to end the challenge with our colorful paint collection.
Thank you to everyone who made our first ‪#‎studiorainbowsupplies‬ challenge so colorful, fun and creative. xoxo

Swirly Studio Rainbow...VIOLET

Studio Rainbow...
We are in day 7 our last day of the challenge, to see if we can gather a few objects around the studio matching the colors of the rainbow and share it here.
Thank you to everyone who join in on the fun on Instagram.
Today's final color is VIOLET. 🍇
Use the hashtag #studiorainbowsupplies
What Violet supplies do you own?

Swirly Studio Rainbow...INDIGO

Studio Rainbow...
YO YO INDIGO
We are in day 6 of the challenge, to see if we can gather a few objects around the studio matching the colors of the rainbow and share it here.
Today's color is INDIGO.
If you are a rainbow purist you know indigo which is a darker shade of blue comes next.
So what indigo supplies do you own?

Swirly Studio Rainbow...BLUE

Studio Rainbow..
BA BA BLUE
We are in day 4 of the challenge, to see if we can gather a few objects around the studio matching the colors of the rainbow and share it here.
Today's color is BLUE
Which seems to be very fitting being such a gloomy day today.
Visit our Instagram account and use the hashtag #‎studiorainbowsupplies‬
What blue supplies do you have?

Swirly Studio Rainbow...GREEN

Studio Rainbow...
It's not easy being GREEN
We are in day 4 of the challenge, to see if we can gather a few objects around the studio matching the colors of the rainbow and share it here.
Today's color is Green 
We tend to favor more Chartreuse vs Kelly green
Visit our Instagram account and
Use the hashtag ‪#‎studiorainbowsupplies‬
What shade of green are your supplies?

Swirly Studio Rainbow...YELLOW

Hello Yellow... We are in day 3 of the challenge, to see if we can gather a few objects around the studio matching the colors of the rainbow and share it here.
Today's color is YELLOW
Visit our Instagram account and use the hashtag ‪#‎studiorainbowsupplies‬
What happy yellow supplies do you have?

Swirly Studio Rainbow...ORANGE

Orange you glad it's Wednesday?
We are challenging ourselves and see if we can gather a few objects around the studio matching the colors of the rainbow and share it here and on Instagram.
And we want all of YOU to join in too!
Use the hashtag ‪#‎studiorainbowsupplies‬
What ORANGE supplies do you have in your studio today?

Swirly Studio Rainbow...

Studio Rainbow…

Our studio is full of a lot of stuff and lots of colorful supplies. When we open a drawer it looks like a rainbow exploded! That gave us an excellent idea just in time to brighten things up…We are going to challenge ourselves and see if we can gather a few objects around the studio matching the colors of the rainbow and share it here on Instagram. And we want all of YOU to join in too! 

Use the hashtag #studiorainbowsupplies 

What RED supplies do you have?

A Swirly St. Patrick's Day Sale

Order Here

Swirly Valentine Collection

Love it is the air and snow is on the ground! This can only mean Valentine's Day is approaching.

Our collection this year consists of some of our favorite designs from years past. There is only a limited number of each designs and some we only have one left. So to make things fair for everyone, we are posting them here on our blog. 

It is a First come first served! We'll update an item's status in this post as often as we can to make it easier for you to know what's available. Items often get scooped up quickly, so make your selection as quickly as you can, you can always add available pieces to your order later. Also feel free to include second choices in case your first choice is unavailable, but make sure you label them "second choice". 

Email us at sales@swirlydesigns.com the items you want along with your paypal email and zip code. 
We send Paypal invoices via email unless you specify that you'd rather pay via check. And of course email us if you have any questions! 
xoxox 
Lianne & Paul

I Heart You Ornament     $21 + shipping     
3 Available

Chevron Heart Ornament    $21 + shipping     
5 Available

Sweet + Swirly Valentine Cupid  3pc Ornament Set
  $24 + shipping   
4 Available

Pair of Hearts Ornaments    $21 + shipping     
4 Available

Love Birds Ornament    $21 + shipping     
5 Available

SOLD OUT

SOLD OUT

Couple of Sweet Hearts    $21 + shipping     
 3 Available

BOTH SOLD OUT

Ornament  A    $21 + shipping    ONLY 1 Available
Ornament  B    $21 + shipping     ONLY 1 Available
Ornament  C    SOLD OUT
Ornament  D    $21 + shipping    ONLY 1 Available

SOLD OUT

2 Mini Wing Hearts Ornaments    $21 + shipping    
4 sets Available

SOLD OUT

SOLD OUT