With spring training almost in sight for professionals as well as for little leaguers, you may be thinking about how to honor young athletes.   Everyone loves to see their name etched or painted on awards, and personalized sports ornaments are a wonderful and inexpensive medium for team gifts, or as a special thank you to the coaches who give so much of their time to junior athletic programs.  There are hundreds of ornament vendors online, and one of the largest online shops offers a staggering selection of 232 sports ornaments , all of which  can be personalized for free.   

From coaching staff to uniforms, most youth teams depend on volunteers and donations.  Personalized sports ornaments make a fun and easy fundraiser for your team.  Choose a simple ornament that reflects your team colors or activity, and the ornament vendor will personalize the ornament with your team name and the year.  Have the personalized ornament available to sell at games to create team spirit and earn extra funds.  Be sure to give one of the team ornaments to the local businesses who have donated uniforms and equipment. 

Sports ornaments are also popular as collectible ornaments for sports fans.  You can find virtually every major college team and pro team represented with a sports ornament at catalog stores like NFL.com and OnlineSports.com.   You can pick up an ornament tree to display the sports ornaments as the ornament collection grows. 

The racing enthusiast is not left out,  and the popularity of racing is evident at NASCAR.com, where you will find a nice assortment of NASCAR driver ornaments. There are sets of racing ornaments and figurines available depicting favorite drivers like Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.   Bookmark their ornaments page, because as the holidays approach later in the year, they usually offer even more racing ornaments. 

Sports fans who might not call themselves ornaments fans will be thrilled with sports ornaments to remind them of ballgames, races, or maybe their best day at the golf course. 

Whether you are introducing geography to a class of fifth graders, or you want to impress your boss with a unique desk ornament, you will enjoy visiting World Globe Universe and choosing a patented globe ornament in your favorite color.  The handblown ornaments are an appropriate gift for almost any age and occasion, and they reflect your interest in the world and education.  With dozens of hanging globe ornaments in a variety of colors and sizes, you may decide to do all of your birthday shopping for the year.  Having a generically wrapped World Globe Ornament on hand is a super idea for unexpected or forgotten occasions,  and buying an extra globe ornament might just save you a frantic rush to the mall someday.  Keep extra ornaments available to present to graduates, teachers, or for anyone that you want to say “thank you” to in a special way. 

 Designed and crafted in the USA, each Christmasphere™ ornament is hand silk-screened on the interior surface for long-lasting beauty. The  special process of blowing each sphere gives the colorful ornament the look of glass with the strength and durability of acrylic.  You can complete your gift with a  graceful display stand to show off the heirloom quality ornament. 

The Gemstone Christmas Globes™ are also earth themed ornaments and are available exclusively at World Globe Universe.  Each of these Magellan ornaments are meticulously handcrafted with semiprecious gemstones, and each stone is cut by the artisans to resemble the continent it represents. After the continent stones are affixed to the sphere, the resin based oceans, latitude, longitude and place names are added and the entire globe is sealed in a transparent, high gloss polymer coating. Presented in a beautiful gift box, the total effect is stunning, and there are more than a dozen colors and color combinations of gemstone globe ornaments from which to choose.

Article and images used with permission from WorldGlobeU.com.

With all of the hustle and bustle of the December and January holidays in the past, it’s time to think about Valentine’s Day and the ornaments that can be made for a Valentine’s Day tree!  Valentine’s Day decorations and ornaments are growing in popularity, and kids have always enjoyed making Valentine’s Day gifts for classmates and friends.  This year, why not spend an afternoon with your children creating Valentine’s Day ornaments that are fun and inexpensive?    

Valentine’s Day ornaments do not have to be elaborate to be beautiful.  In fact, one of the latest techniques is to create these ornaments out of recycled materials!  Using things you have around the house or buying recycled art supplies can be a fun and inexpensive way to encourage creativity.    Here are a few ideas for items you may have around the house that can make for beautiful Valentine’s Day ornaments.

1. Yarn (left over from a knitting project or other misc.);   
2. Tissue paper (check in some of the gift boxes you saved from Christmas);
3. Old greeting cards (Valentine’s or not);
4. Candles (melt the wax and use as glue);
5. Ribbon and/or bows (check those Christmas gift boxes again);
6. Newspapers or magazines (paper mache is so much fun).

The options are really limitless!  Get creative and have fun.  Making Valentine’s Day ornaments is a wonderful way to spend a cold, wintry afternoon with your children.  Once you’ve got a variety of ornaments, decorate a Valentine’s Day tree and give the rest away as gifts.  At the end of February, be sure to store the ornaments in a safe place so you can enjoy them next year!

Article and images used with permission from UltimateChristmas.com.

ButterflyBuzz.com is a non-profit organization for people who love butterflies, and a portion of their sales is donated to the North American Butterfly Association to help with butterfly conservation. They have several glass ornaments that are handpainted with butterflies and dragonflies, and these are all presented very nicely in plush gift boxes. ButterflyBuzz.com also offers handcast pewter butterfly ornaments and even butteryfly hair ornaments and jewelry.

We really like the idea of a Christmas tree decorated with beautiful Lifelike Butterfly ornaments. These beautiful ornaments are made from a durable plastic polymer, come with a gold braid hanger attached and ready for hanging. Because the topside and underside of the wings have markings just like a real butterfly, they can be viewed from the front or back. You may have a hard time distinguishing these unique ornaments from real live butterflies.

The Lifelike Butterfly ornaments definitely are ornaments to be displayed year round, and would make a nice gift to enclose in a card or just to leave on someone’s desk as a special surprise. Use the Lifelike Butterfly ornaments to add a thoughtful touch to Easter baskets or attach the darling butterfly ornaments to the ribbon on a birthday gift.  At only $5.95 each, you can stock up now and use the multi-colored ornaments as unique stocking stuffers at Christmas, wedding favors, or fancy table decorations. 

Article and images used with permission from ButterflyBuzz.com

 in Guanajuato, Mexico.

The colorful handcrafted and handpainted ceramic ornaments can be purchased online at La Casa Mexicana for $18 each.  The ornament supply is limited, so hurry if you want to add several Christmas ornaments or spring ornaments to your ornament collection.  The Gonzalez studio produces ornaments for many occasions and the red and green or red and blue heart ornaments are just perfect for a Valentines Day gift.

As the son of sculptor Rodolfo Gonzalez,  ornament artist Gorky Gonzalez  studied sculpture and casting objects in bronze and lost wax with his father. Later he worked in the village San Miguel de Allende at the School of Arts and the Allende Institute, where he built an artistic foundry attended by both student and professional sculptors.

Gonzalez also founded a small workshop of terra cotta manufacturing in the village of Marfil where he reproduced Jean Byron’s designs. His main interest, however, has always been rescuing the traditional majolica. Majolica refers to a type of pottery that is glazed with tin oxide to produce a soft white color.  Intricate designs are painted on the background with other metallic oxides.  These handpainted designs often change colors when the pottery is fired, making each ornament unique.   The name Majolica actually comes from the Spanish island of Majorca, where this style of pottery was exported to Italy beginning in the 15th century.

Currently, Gorky Gonzalez works with his son in his studio in Mexico where they continue to produce unique majolica ceramic ornaments.  You will want to see more of his ornaments as well as many of his other designs and creations at La Casa Mexicana.  You can also learn more about majolica and other Mexican handcrafted art on Wikepedia.

Article and images used with permission from LaCasaMexicana.com

No matter what the size of your family, TreasuredOrnaments.com has the perfect ornament for you.  They have ornaments for single parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, families of 12, and everything in between.  Ready to personalize, each polymer-resin ornament is carefully designed to suit every family’s needs, but some of the ornaments are so cute, that you may want to purchase them without personalization.  Their center for selling ornaments is at the Merced Mall in Merced, California.  Online for 6 years, they are set up to ship ornaments worldwide. 

 In addition to traditional family ornaments, they have a nice collection of licensed ornaments from Elvis to Betty Boop to Coca Cola, and these unique ornaments can all be personalized as well.   There are also plenty of children’s ornaments available, such as Hello Kitty, My Little Pony and many of the characters from Sesame Street. 

You won’t be disappointed in the customer service at TreasuredOrnaments.com either.  They are committed to their customers and want to make sure that you are 100% pleased with your personalized ornaments.  With free personalization and only 3 days lead time before shipment, this is a wonderful source for ornaments for every holiday.

Article and images used with permission from TreasuredOrnaments.com

Create a medallion ornament or a fancy ornament with beads and cabochons.

Rabbit Hollow Creations not only offers one-of-a-kind beaded ornaments for sale. They are also ready to supply the ornament maker with cabochons and “blank” ornaments. Their ornament patterns can be purchased in pdf format and most of the patterns are designed to just be slipped on to a plain glass ornament ball.

Cabochons are disk-like pieces similar to buttons and have many uses besides ornament making. Many crafters use them in their wearable ornament designs, ornamental magnets or barrettes. You can buy them at Rabbit Hollow with images ranging from flowers to Santa as well as in heart shapes.

The owner of Rabbit Hollow Creations is Holly and she doesn’t skip any corners on materials. The elegant round ornaments can include beads, cabochons, fringe and swags. Her medallion ornaments are made from porcelain and glass beads. Knowing that you want to take good care of your ornaments, Holly makes polyester filled gift boxes available too. Be sure to join her mailing list to hear when new ornaments and patterns are offered.

Article and images used with permission from RabbitHollowCreations.com

Beaded Ornaments for the Holidays and Beyond presents 27 creative ornament projects for any level beader. This book presents a variety of ornament projects using different techniques including bead stringing, wirework, stitching, and netting. Beaded Ornaments for the Holidays and Beyond includes an introduction, basics section, comprehensive list of tools and materials, step-by-step photographic instructions, and design guidelines to guide beaders through their work.

“Our ornament projects are always really popular. They are a fun, festive way to show off and share your love of beading,” says Cathy Jakicic, BeadStyle editor.

Beaders will learn to make holiday ornaments such as beaded wreaths, poinsettias, ornament covers, standing spiders, and even peyote-stitched Russian ornaments, as well as beaded air balloon ornaments, stitched crayons, moccasins, leaves, flip-flops, and fruit and vegetables. There are even ideas for creating ornament hangers or ornament alternatives such as drawer pulls, drapery tiebacks, doorknob decor, and more.

Beaded Ornaments for the Holidays and Beyond is available in bookstores and direct from Kalmbach Publishing Co. for $19.95. To order the book direct, call (800) 533-6644, Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Central Standard Time or visit them on the Web at KalmbachBooks.com.

Article and image used with permission from KalmbachBooks.com

Delightful as Christmas ornaments or as a guardian angel over your desk, these adorable corn husk angels are made by hand from natural corn husks. The angel ornaments are handcrafted by a small group of artisans in Zapopan, Mexico.  The mother and son team have only 7 employees and they have been designing and creating the ornaments for fifteen years and sell the colorful angel ornaments at LaCasaMexicana.com.  You will also find the Mexican ornaments featured on the Ethnic Ornaments page at Ornaments.com.

The process of producing the corn husk ornaments involves several steps before the ornaments are ready to market and nothing goes to waste here.   After the corn is picked, the leftover husks are put in a room with lava rock and sulfur. The sulfur is vaporized and that step gives the leaves a whiter color and fumigates the leaves, ridding them of any insects. The husks are then wetted and taken out to dry three to four times. The leaves are then dusted and it is time for the artists to get to work on the ornaments.  The hair on the angels is from the silk on the ear of the corn. The serape is handmade from acrylic and cotton textiles and the eyes are painted on with a pen.

The Mexican corn husk angel ornaments are great for adding a colorful touch to your holidays and would make very nice wedding favors and gifts too.   Priced at only $4.95 each, you can let your imagination go and share the little angel ornaments with your party guests.  The angel ornaments are works of art and each one is distinctive with variations in color and size, making them even more collectible.

Article and images used with permission from LaCasaMexicana.com

At Ornaments.com, we hear from hundreds of gift buyers and collectors.  Many are looking for personalized ornaments, but almost everyone wants at least a few traditional glass ornaments for their Christmas tree.  We are picturing just a few of the favorite choices for handcrafted sphere type ornaments to add to the holiday spirit.  With a variety of ways to display ornaments besides the traditional Christmas tree, you can keep these designer ornaments up year round to extend your holiday celebrations. 

Christmas is a season of goodwill and cheer.  Getting together with family and friends at this special time of year is something that everyone looks forward to.  Gathering around a Christmas tree decorated with beautiful ornaments and with good food and friends makes the season complete.

Christmas is celebrated around the world.  However, each culture has their own traditions. Many families gather together to decorate the Christmas tree with their favorite ornaments and to share precious family moments. It builds lasting memories that are cherished year after year and adding a special ornament each Christmas or adding a new ornament to celebrate the milestones of the year adds to the family traditions. Christmas decorations come in many shapes, sizes and colors.  However for those with  sophisticated tastes, hand painted blown glass ornaments are an excellent way to add elegance to any Christmas tree.   Tastes may range from a monochrome of  one color to a splash of festive colors and there are hundreds of wonderful vendors on The Ornaments Directory to choose from. 

Common themes for hand painted blown glass ornaments are Santa, Angels, Poinsettias, Snowmen and bells, but many artists also design in an impressionistic or artglass style, leaving the interpretation up to the viewer. The glass ornaments are crafted by artists whose delicate touch creates exquisite masterpieces that are treasured through the years.

Although ornaments are associated with Christmas, handblown glass ornaments are created for every season and occasion. Handpainted and handblown glass ornaments add a touch of class to any occasion. Collectors anticipate adding new and beautifully handcrafted pieces to their collections. Many of the handblown ornaments are signed by the artist to give it a uniqueness that is second to none. 

If you are still Christmas shopping, picture your gift recipients receiving one of the exquisite handblown glass  ornaments December 24.  There is still time for them to enjoy the ornament through the holidays, and they will remember your thoughtfulness when they unpack the ornament each year.