As early as 1980, when Hank Claycamp began using the ash of Mount St Helen’s to create glass ornaments, Washington State has been a center for glass blowers. Knowing that the volcanic ash contained silica which is a main ingredient of glass, Hank started experimenting with the ash and used it as an integral ingredient in his hand blown ornaments.  He went on to establish a highly successful glassworks company.  His creativity was well rewarded and some of his glass ornaments have been displayed at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  He has since sold the Centralia, Washington business which was later known as the Original Mount St Helen’s Glassworks, and now just creates enough glass art and paintings to pay for his extensive world travels with his wife, Linda.  Christmas Forest in Curtis, Washington still has a few of the Original Mount St Helen’s Glassworks ornaments available for sale. 

Just around the corner from where Hank Claycamp had his glass blowing business in the 1980′s, you can now watch the talented Kevin Regan create colorful glass ornaments.  Kevin started Central Glass Works in 2005 when he was only 26 years old after studying with several renowned glass blowers around the world.  Beginning at age 16, he has learned from the best glass blowers such as Scott Darlington of Seattle Glass and Kelsey Murphy of Pilgrim Glass.  He also worked at Waterford Crystal in Ireland.  Kevin’s family run business includes his wife Rebecka who is also a glass blower and they welcome visitors to their studio in Centralia, Washington. 

 The folks at Glass Eye Studio give credit to the Pacific Northwest weather as part of the reason why so many glass blowers set up shop in Washington state.  They say that the cool temperatures help balance out the extreme heat created by the glass blowing process.  They are constantly coming up with new designs and beautiful ornaments which you can purchase from The Pacific Northwest Shop. 

The Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington is definitely a part of the hub of glass blowing artists, and has generated interest in glass ornaments and glass art in general.  They encourage young artists through their education programs and guest lectures as well as daily viewings of  glass blowers at work. You can even try your own hand at designing an ornament and the museum artisans will fire it for you.

It goes without saying that the Pilchuck Glass School has had a tremendous influence on the number of glass blowers working in Seattle and the surrounding areas.  Hundreds of new artists have been trained since the school was founded in 1971 by glass artist Dale Chihuly and patrons Anne Gould Hauberg and John H. Hauberg and the Pichuck Glass School is the only international glass school in the world.  Students flock to the school at Stanwood, Washington annually from around the world for the summer educational programs and many of them choose to stay in Washington to set up shop and become a part of the Pacific Northwest glass blowing community. 

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Looking for the perfect holiday gift that gives back to nature and helps protect the planet?  For a small donation in support of conservation efforts around the world, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) will thank you (or your gift recipient) with a one-of-a-kind Christopher Radko collectible ornament.  Created exclusively for WWF’s 50^th Anniversary, this hand-blown glass panda ornament of a mother and her cub commemorates five decades of conservation success. Lined with sterling silver, this ornament was designed by renowned artist Christopher Radko and is limited to just 1,000 pieces. This collectible is only available this 2011 holiday season.

The donation amount is $75. All donations support WWF’s global conservation efforts – from protecting threatened and endangered species to preserving the most beautiful places on Earth to building a future in which people live in harmony with nature. 

WWF is the world’s leading conservation organization, working in over 100 countries for nearly half a century. With the support of over 5 million members worldwide, WWF is dedicated to delivering science-based solutions to preserve the diversity and abundance of life on Earth, halt the degradation of the environment, and combat climate change. Their mission is to conserve nature and reduce the most pressing threats to the diversity of life on Earth.  

2011 marks their 50^th birthday.  In this important anniversary year, they are proud of their heritage, their past work, and their many accomplishments. But they also know that there’s still work to be done. The protection of wildlife and wild places around the world requires constant vigilance. So in this year of celebration, they are not just looking back, but actively moving forward and working for the future.  Be a part of the World Wildlife Fund’s quest by ordering your Panda Ornament today. 

Visit www.worldwildlife.org to learn more.   
Article and image used with permission from World Wildlife Fund.

 PETS ARE PART OF OUR FAMILIES

Looking at photos of my family’s Christmas tree, I notice ornaments that represent marriages, births, and family vacations, and all those bring back memories that our family spent together. Our family is, however, more than just people.  It includes our pets, and for that reason, we have ornaments for them too!

I can look at the ornament of Tiger, the gray cat we had growing up, and remember the time he decided to climb our 14 foot Christmas tree and send it crashing to the ground (he, along with the tree and ornaments, somehow came out unharmed). Or I can look at the ornament of our two golden retrievers, Elvis and Priscilla, and reminisce about the time when they helped open half our presents before we woke up.

CHOOSING AN ORNAMENT FOR THEM

A lot of the ornaments I look fondly at are the ones I made as a young child. When it comes to pets, I don’t think it would be a good idea for them to assist in any part of the process – I’m just imagining glue and glitter stuck to the fur of your cat as your dog chases him around with painted paws. You can always run to a craft store and pick up a little wooden picture frame, paint it with paw prints.  Again, be aware that if you dip your pet’s paw into paint, you will probably have a nice memory of a pet who furiously squirmed around getting red & green paw prints on everything but the ornament. It’s easy to personalized the pet frame ornament by sliding your favorite pet picture in. If you don’t feel inclined to tackle the craft project, go to ChristmasOrnaments.com to buy the cute pet frame ornament which is pictured above. 

If you are looking for a simple, mess free alternative, consider buying an ornament that looks like your dog, cat, bird, snake, or whatever kind of pet is part of your family. At ChristmasOrnaments.com, you can select from a variety of dogs, cats, horses, and even frogs. The grey cat which stands at 3 inches looks quite a bit like my cat, Oliver, while the German shepherd glass ornament which is 4 inches has an amazing resemblance to my mother-in-law’s dog. If for some reason you can’t find an ornament that looks like your dog, you can always get the ornament frame and put a picture of you and your dog in there.

CREATING YEARS OF MEMORIES

After you have an ornament for your pets, you will be able to be nostalgic about them for years. Just be sure to keep the ornaments up high on the tree especially if it’s in the shape of a bone!

Guest written by the folks at ChristmasOrnaments.com.  

More pet & animal ornaments on the Ornaments.com Directory.

The Beans say that the economy and the way people shop has changed dramatically since they took over the Christmas Barn. They said that they find that people are looking for items of better quality and the majority of what they sell has great sentimental value for their shoppers.

Their premier line of ornaments is hand-made in Poland by Patricia Breen Designs. These ornaments are unrivaled in their detail and workmanship and are always made in extremely limited quantities. They are highly sought-after by collectors and are only sold by a dozen or so retailers in the United States. Americans Patricia and Eric Breen insist that their Krakow studio be environmentally conscious and free of harmful chemicals. Still packed in recycled cardboard boxes and hand-stamped with an original rubber stamp, these ornaments now range in price from $38 for the miniature eggs to approximately $220 for larger pieces. Most recently, Patricia’s styles have spanned every season in either enameled or glittered finishes. They are truly works of art.

Old World Christmas ornaments have always been part of The Historical Christmas Barn’s offerings. Founder Tim Merck (Bob Merck’s brother – see former owner) has created a huge variety of mouth blown glass ornaments designed to recall memories of Christmases past. They are affordable, nostalgic, quality glass ornaments and are wildly popular.

New for The Barn this year are Inge-glas – ornaments from Germany. The Historical Christmas Barn will be hosting Inge-glas’ own Thomas Ziesmer, Master Glass Blower, and 2^nd generation IG glass blower who followed in his father’s footsteps working for Inge-Glas, on Sunday, November 13th for a glass blowing demonstration and celebration of this old world art form. Gary and Jennifer were drawn to these ornaments for their exceptional rich colors and their beautiful faces! Their favorites are the angels, the children, the Santas, the traditional German-themed fairytale ornaments ie. Rapunzel, Cinderella, Snow White, etc. The fruit, birds and mushrooms are also wonderful!

Re-introduced to The Barn this season are Christopher Radko ornaments. This year, the Beans said that they could not resist the Radko fresh designs, particularly their new town building series which includes the Town Library a Toy Shoppe, an Inn, etc. They are going to celebrate their arrival to The Barn by hosting long-time Christopher Radko artist (25 years), Mario Tare, on October 1^st. Mario will be at The Barn to sign a special event ornament which features Santa and a classic sleigh full of beautiful gifts.

The inventory from the Egyptian Glass Museum has also been expanded. The 24-kt. gold trim makes this substantial, etched glass even more desirable and the owners can barely keep in stock their jumbo sized ornaments (14” to 22”) which their customers hang from their ceilings all year long. Surprisingly popular are the non-traditional Christmas colors: deep purple, blue, pink, light blue-green and pink.

The Historical Christmas Barn has a beautiful variety of Christina’s World delicate ornaments in the shape of teapots, flowers, dinosaurs and shellfish, as well as traditional Christmas orbs painted with beautiful, almost “poetic” scenes. Christina Mallouk is a lovely woman who lives in New York, where she creates her beautiful designs which are made in Poland and the Czech Republic. Her ornaments make very special, thoughtful gifts.

Patience Brewster is another Christmas Barn favorite. Prior to having established her own company, Patience designed colorful ornaments for Dept. 56 and many customers recognize the unique whimsical faces of her pieces. Her ornaments all begin as Patience’s original, beautiful, water-color drawings and are then sculpted in plaster, hand-painted and finished with feathers and/or ribbons to embellish them further. Her special collections include the Twelve Days of Christmas, all of Santa’s reindeer and a brightly colored but reverent Nativity.

Gary and Jennifer have brought in many new lines in the last two years but among their favorites are those that are made in the United States including Cape Cod Seashells, made by an artist on The Cape with shells from The Cape. Also, “Still Life Leaves” – leaf and botanical ornaments which are made from actual leaves coated in precious metals in a seven-step process. The perfectly chosen ribbon on each leaf makes them extraordinary, artful gifts that were crafted in northern California.

Worth mentioning, and new since the Bean’s ownership, are pewter and straw ornaments made in Sweden, Joy to the World cat and dog ornaments made in Poland and a small sampling of Glitterazzi Santas. Not many visitors leave without finding something special to bring home.

The Historical Christmas Barn is easy to get to but somewhat hidden. It is located on the corner of Route 7 and Route 33 in Wilton in one of the oldest barns in Connecticut. Once inside, it is impossible not to feel the spirit of Christmas surround you – at any time of the year. It is worth the trip.
Article and images used with permission from HistoricalChristmasBarn.com

Starlight sphere ornaments are the perfect ornaments for both your indoor and outdoor Christmas trees and displays. The 5” and 6” diameter Starlight spheres feature dozens of mini lights secured in star shaped strong plastic that add a distinctive glow when placed on your Christmas tree. These larger ornaments give taller outdoor trees the look of a traditional decorated tree and, for indoor trees, accentuate favorite ornaments with a peaceful and stunning glow.

The spheres will not be hidden amid larger tree branches, which means each ornament will have a visual impact. Additionally, the ornaments are available in multiple colors so you can choose spheres which match or complement your decorating style.

Worried About the Weather?

Standard ornaments can easily blow away or fall and shatter when used on Christmas trees. These problems not only cost money, but could leave trees with empty spots. Starlight sphere ornaments are sturdy enough to hang from the highest branches of your outdoor Christmas tree and durable enough to survive an accidental fall.

Hanging Starlight Sphere Ornaments

Because spheres are larger in size than standard ornaments, they can be spaced farther apart on outdoor trees. Fewer ornaments will reduce the amount of time on a ladder, require fewer extension cords, and give your largest trees a full, Christmas tree appearance.

Whether you hang the spheres using the long lead or use standard hangers, the ornaments are versatile enough to fit in with all your Christmas tree decorations. 

Other Ways to Decorate with the Sphere Ornaments

You can use these ornaments in ways other than decorating your trees

•  Arrange the spheres around the base of your tree to look like ornaments that are yet to be hung

•  Spread the ornaments across your yard to provide a unique glow to your entire Christmas display

•  Use the lengthy lead to hang the starlight spheres from your roofline or porch

•  Indoors, combine various sizes of these ornaments in a basket or decorated box as a centerpiece on your table or in different rooms around your home

Starlight sphere ornaments are unique enough to stand alone or complement your existing trees, ornaments or lights.

Article and images used with permission from christmaslightsetc.com

By 2002, the demand for these products was so great that Jan opened up two more stores with his wife Grazyna in Northwest Chicago, and began importing more varieties of the finest Polish handmade products.  Now, Dom itp has expanded into a family run business with five retail stores and a warehouse in the Chicago area.  Their specialists seek out the most beautiful and unique handmade ornaments all over Europe, primarily from Poland, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Lithuania, Czech Republic, Portugal and Italy.

The ornaments found at Dom itp are all designed, manufactured, and licensed specifically for the company by their team of designers in Europe.  The ornaments are hand-blown and hand decorated by specialized artisans in Poland.  Although Krynski says that his favorite ornaments are the Chicago landmark ornaments , his inventory includes beautiful Faberge ornaments, Santa ornaments, and lovely figurines as well as very reasonably priced ornament sets. 

Typically schooled in the art of glass blowing from a very young age, the European artisans associated with Dom itp spend years going through a vigorous apprenticeship before they can become skilled glass blowers.  These artisans use time-honored glass ornament blowing techniques passed down for generations.  After the glass is created, the Dom itp artists painstakingly decorate each and every ornament with beautiful and unique results each time. 

In addition to being found online and in five Chicago stores, the unique ornaments are also sold during the world famous Christkindlmarket in Chicago every year.  This festive event draws more than a million visitors each year, and features some of the world’s finest ornaments.  The traditional German holiday market will be open in Chicago this year from November 23 – December 24 and if you are in the area, you don’t want to miss it.  Set up to resemble a European village at Christmas, the annual event is heavenly bliss for the ornament collector with vendor stalls for everything you dream of for Christmas.  Be sure to stop by the Domitp booth and pick up a Chicago souvenir ornament. 

 
Article and images used with permission from domitp.com

Duane Kriebel, owner and operator of Spheramid Woodworks and Richmond Renovations and Restorations in Waco, Kentucky got the idea of making wooden snowflakes over 20 years ago from a magazine article.   He modified the process, and began the journey to what he says became almost an obsession to come up with new and striking designs within the parameters of the medium. Wood has always been his favorite thing to create with, but Duane relates that it can also be quite contrary in what it will allow one to accomplish. 

Having worked at a variety of wood related jobs over the last 30 years, from pallets to pipe organs, guitars and custom furniture, and homes, the ornament and woodworking artist used his skills and learned “seat of the pants” engineering to make his shop a productive snow flake environment.  He also credits a wonderful group of mentors over the years for his success. 

The flakes are a combination of additive wood work and subtractive wood work.  The beginning is removing choice areas of 6 individual “rails” and then gluing the 6 rails into a “Log”, of which the flakes are sliced off and finish sanded and sprayed.  Much like a sculptor, Duane doesn’t always know just what the final flake will look like, nor if it will even stay together through the process of machining and finishing. 

The 6 pointed star or hexagon is true to the crystalline structure of frozen water, and the 100’s of designs assure most folks never get 2 alike, just like real snow! The Spheramid Woodworks ornaments are real wood, made with real hands, and each flake is inspected and handled many times before it is passed along to the buyer.

Kriebel tells us that he always had a fascination with spheres and the work of Buckminster Fuller, and that the hexagons and triangles of a geodesic dome are inspiring. The company name Spheramid is a marriage of a Sphere, which is implosion proof and the most economical use of space in the universe and the pyramid, which represents a strong, long lasting base or rigidity.  These are the unique properties Duane says that he strives for in his life and in his work.

The species of wood used for the ornaments are local to the central Kentucky area and include poplar, sycamore, gingko, maple, white oak, pine, Kentucky coffee tree, and most any wood that Duane can find that is strong, glues well, and machines well. There is very little area to glue and 50% of it is what wood workers call “end grain” that is a difficult way to glue up things due to the porosity of the end grain acting like a handful of soda straws, wicking up the glue. All non-toxic, and no rain forest wood, makes the wooden ornaments fit well with the environment.

Duane says that it is always a great feeling to see the looks on the faces of those who receive a flake for the first time. Every year brings new ideas, new production methods, improvements and quite a bit of fodder for the woodstove. He used to shovel the scraps into the shop woodstove when things weren’t working out. Many, many hours of milling and sanding, spraying lacquer out doors in winter, playing with pearl finish and trying to make wood look more “icy” gets him very involved in the Christmas Spirit.

Perfect ornaments for decorating the Christmas tree, year round uses are also plentiful.  Buyers and family members always come up with new uses for the flakes, such as refrigerator magnets, earrings, attached to a ceiling fan pull chain, placed on a screen door to keep people from walking though the closed screen ( or even a glass door), coasters, window shade pulls. You name it, someone has mentioned it. Many folks like to paint them with the kids for the tree trimming adventure.

While the artist has not dedicated a web site to just snowflake ornaments, you can find him on Facebook under Spheramid Woodworks.  View more photos about the Spheramid Woodworks process and contact Duane directly to order snowflake ornaments at Spheramid@Gmail.com .

Article & images used with permission from Duane Kriebel-Spheramid Woodworks.

With over 18 years of experience as a successful ornament vendor, you would think that the owner of Ornaments & More would be tempted to “rest on her laurels” and just continue with what has worked in the past.  However, there is no evidence that owner/founder Ellen has a complacent bone in her body.  Ellen and the staff at Ornaments &  More keep up with the latest technology, and they are very active in social networking.   They are busy year round researching and making improvements, so their site always appears fresh and new.   There is a very welcoming atmosphere of customer appreciation and a willingness to listen to individual customers.  Ellen also diligently follows market trends in order to provide the best selection of ornaments possible.  

Not only is navigating Ornaments and More  easy and fun, it is set up in such an organized way that you will find exactly what you need in a very short time.  There are over 3,100 ornaments and at least 10,000 ideas on how to personalize them for just the right gift. You will find everything from hospice nurse volunteer angel ornaments to African safari ornaments and pretty much everything in between.  There are categories for just about every walk of life as well as sub categories to find the perfect keepsake ornament.  There is even a “Sale of the Season” category for discounted ornaments and you can register to receive discount offers by email. 

Their latest blog on Mother’s Day ornaments may just be what you are looking for to choose Mom’s gift this year.  Perfectly timed for Mother’s Day is a storewide moving sale with a coupon offer.  The business is growing in leaps and bounds and needs more space for the new 2011 line of ornaments.  Use code MOVE11 at checkout to receive 15% off of your order.  The code is valid until May 20, 2011.  With affordable pricing and this great discount, now is a good time to plan your gifts for the entire year.  Personalized ornaments are a wonderful way to celebrate graduations, engagements, birthdays, weddings, new jobs and so much more, so see what’s new in 2011 at OrnamentsandMore.com today.

Article and images used with permission from OrnamentsandMore.com

Aromatic ornaments are ideal wedding and party favors.

Butterfly ornaments make great spring and summer party favors.  When considering the theme for a fair weather event, thoughts of flowers and butterflies often top the list.  Natural flowers and butterfly releases are especially nice and many sources for live butterflies can be found on the internet.

But more and more party planners are choosing butterfly ornaments as a lasting remembrance of their special event. While live butterfly releases can be dramatic, some people are opposed to using live butterflies for a number of reasons.  An eco-friendly version is a good alternative to a release and a unique ornament can be a perfect companion gift to a live release.  And, while live butterflies may fly away, the ornaments will go home with the guests.

Imported offerings seem to be everywhere, but quality, hand crafted domestic alternatives can be found with a bit of searching.  Some can be personalized and other artists offer custom colors as well.  Still others offer all these options and gift boxes and more.

When searching for ornaments, be sure to try several different search engines for the best variety of choices. Choose a company that offers samples for sale, and try to plan well ahead.  Quality hand crafted ornaments may take time to produce and in some cases they are made to order and personalized.  Make sure you can speak with a real person if you have questions about ordering online. Share the prospects with your Facebook friends unless the choice is to be a surprise.

The Wedding Department has a very nice selection of butterfly ornaments.  They will add an aroma and personalized text to make your ornaments unique.  They also have many other popular shapes & sizes including hummingbirds, hearts, snowflakes and more, all reasonably priced to keep the hostess happy. 

Article & images used with permission from theweddingdept.com

Ornament artist Shannon Jane Morgan began exploring color years ago, and as you can see from the beautiful images above, she has mastered her passion for vivid colors and glass blowing.   Walking into her studio and viewing her glass ornaments, paper weights, vases, goblets and bowls is like watching a rainbow explode into wonderful splashes of color.   With such a delightful display of Shannon’s feminine touch, her website is very appropriately named GirlGlass.com. 

Shannon says that the actual process of physically making blown glass is rather demanding, taking years to learn, but it’s the art of sharing something made by hand in a short moment that starts out as a “blob” and turns into something stunning a few steps later that keeps her working in this grueling medium.  A combination of passion, desire, drive, color, 2200 hundred degrees of molten glass and hand tools that have been literally unchanged for thousands of years are some of the ingredients of her art.  She makes glass according to tradition and she definitely has her own flair for color.  She follows the traditional steps almost as a meditation at times, repeating the steps every day and ending up with a unique ornament each time she takes the steps that glass blowers have taken since the early Egyptians. 

At Girl Glass studios, Shannon gathers glass out of a furnace, rolling the medium in a pattern of colored chips (frit), melting those into the surface of glass, and reheats the glass every 30 seconds or so to maintain viscosity.  She then shapes the ornament on a marver table, reheats it again and introduces her own air into the blow pipe which expands the glass.  After shaping the ornament again, she reheats it and returns to the gaffer’s bench to complete the piece using a small blow hose.  Once this part of the process is complete, she bonks the little ornament off of the blow pipe and returns to the furnace one more time to gather a very small bit of glass that will be quickly added to the top of the ornament to close the small air hole left behind and providing a way to hang the ornament in a tree or window or on an ornament stand for year round display.  The final step is to place the ornament in a lehr with a temperature of 920 degrees.  All of the ornaments are collected in this heated insulated box, and when the day is done the box is turned off to cool slowly.  The next morning – just like Christmas – Shannon opens the door, excited to see the works from the day before.  She says that she taught herself long ago to just take a moment first thing upon opening the lehr to simply enjoy her art without any judgement.  She tells us that in those moments of appreciation and perhaps awe, she connects with her passion for color and beauty, and that gives her what it takes to start the equipment back up and repeat the process all over again.

Shannon Jane Morgan is primarily self-taught, although she did a take a single class in glass blowing.  After taking that class, she was approached to help out at a local glass blowing studio.  She started out by exchanging studio time for her work of cleaning, grinding and general maintenance, and her practice has certainly paid off.  Shannon also was fortunate to have a wonderful mentor Andre Gayet and her really supportive mom, Gail. 

Be sure to order early at Girl Glass, because the exquisite ornaments sell out from time to time.  You may also want to view more glass ornaments on the Ornaments.com directory.  Article and images used with permission from GirlGlass.