Christmas in July

Colorful Hand Blown Ornaments

In our line of work, it's never too early to think about the Holidays.  I guess there's a reason someone coined the phrase, "Christmas in July."  We are currently doing lots of kiln work to create hundreds of glass wreaths for a client in Michigan. And so while it's on our minds,  we thought we'd pass on a friendly little reminder and a link to look at our Etsy shop.   https://www.etsy.com/shop/ATouchofGlassIdaho?ref=ss_profile A good reference to keep us in mind for a unique Christmas ornament in the future. The earlier your order is placed, the better. Because once September comes around, our "to-do" list gets longer and longer. Below are some pictures of some sample ornaments.

Colored Icicle Ornaments

Glass Cardinal Ornament

A fun glass Painter's Palette 

Lots of prep. goes into making and packaging our glass ornaments

Meanwhile, here's hoping you still find the time to catch "Big Wanda" out at your favorite fishing hole, with what's left of July. Enjoy it!

Glass Trout making a Splash

So Long, Farewell, Goodbye 2016

Well, the end is near folks! To 2016 that is. 😏 What a year! We've had as many highs as we've had lows. I guess that is what you call a full life. We were tested to our limits in so many ways, but we're still here standing on two feet, so that is what I like to focus on. The end of the year is a time for us to reflect back and also look forward. Things happened this year that we could and couldn't control. No matter how hard we tried, some things just weren't meant to be, or we couldn't quite get right. As is said, "That's the way the cookie crumbles", "the ball bounces", "the way the wind blows," etc. We got through a lot of tough issues and experiences, but have much to be happy about too, as this was the busiest and most productive year to date in our Studio.

Merry Christmas Ornament

December was a busy month right up until the end. Filling orders, packaging them securely, and shipping them out in all types of weather, including intense snowstorms, were a priority. Tree ornaments were in highest demand. We used enamel decals on a variety of glass ornaments this year. We tried to have a wide selection of blown ball ornaments ready to go for this festive season.

A variety of commissioned glass fly ties

Specialty gifts were commissioned as well, like the glass fly ties on Manzanita wood pictured above, and blown ball ornaments with a sports theme, pictured below.

Commissioned Oregon Duck themed blown glass ornaments

Our enamel decals also added a festive look to our slumped bottles and fused kiln ornaments.

Slumped bottles for Holiday trivets, and Fused Santa Ornaments

Russ went above and beyond this month, behind the torches. We went through many tanks of oxygen and propane as we both did our part and worked to fill order after order. We actually had to shut down the business for a bit to enjoy the birth of our 4th grandchild and first granddaughter mid December.

Our tireless Master Blaster, blowing glass until just about the last minute of the year

 One of the last orders to go out the door before we shut down for the year was the commissioned piece below, "Rabbits in the Garden".

Bunnies in the garden

 We were more than relieved when we could shut everything down in the Studio and just sit back and enjoy our kids and grand kids for the rest of the holiday season.

We were lucky to have everyone home for Christmas this year and enjoyed the company of our grown kids and grand kids. We don't take these precious moments for granted. Time spent with family is a gift in itself.

Our family continues to grow

 Russ and I have also grown to appreciate all that is offered to us from Nature's bounty, at our place of residence. The highlight of Christmas day was witnessing the mighty Buck pictured below, standing majestically on the front part of our property. It was as if he was giving us a simple but noble gift of his majesty. Simple gifts seem to be the most symbolic, like the gift of the little child wrapped in swaddling clothes thousands of years ago. Simplistic beauty is holy in many forms. For me, this gift from Nature was the height of the Christmas season this year. 

A majestic Buck on our property, Christmas Day

I hope that in the new year we can continue to strive for that kind of peace of mind and tranquility as we face new challenges in the coming year, both in our personal and professional lives. It is easy to lose sight of what matters, in this often turbulent world we live in. The new year always brings a fresh perspective, and we are hopeful we can continue to create new artistic beauty through new glass pieces and commissions. We want to wish our loyal customers the very best in the new year, and hope to welcome many new clients as well.  We are beyond thankful for all of you who continue to show us your support and business, throughout our many years of working with this wonderful medium of glass art. 

Happy Holidays

An old fashioned Christmas Tree

Another year has whizzed by and it's time once again for retrospecting as 2014 comes to a close. And you know, we can't help but realize that this year we've been happy all the way around. We exceeded our goals and expectations for the glass studio, and had some wonderful family moments as well. 2014 was indeed a good (and busy) year, both in professional and personal fields. Doing what one loves, along with a strong work ethic, help to create the perfect balance of "reaping what you sow". We'd like to thank our loyal customers, along with many new clients for supporting our artistic efforts. We couldn't be in this business without the support of so many who appreciate the "Art of Glass". As the year winds down, we reflect on our good tidings and are thankful for the ability to work at something that gives us joy. Below are some of our latest endeavors both with ornaments and larger glass installations. We hope you have the time to view our latest creations. And of course, stay tuned, as the gears are already grinding for future projects in 2015.  

Baby's first Ornament

Rocking Horse Ornament

Hot air Balloon Ornament

Large Firefighter Ornaments

Surfer Ornament

Fused Aspen Scene

Sandblasted Float Glass Tree Ornament

Santa's Down the Chimney Fused Ornament

Blown Glass Reindeer Ornament

Unique Blown and Sculpted Glass Trout Scene

Blown Glass Grizzly Bear

Upcycled Bottle Art

The Four Seasons

Another Baby Ornament

Slumped/Fused Float Glass mixed with Blown Glass-Cattail Scene

Baby's First Ornament

Various Glass Bird Ornaments

Blown Glass Moose Ornament

Blown Glass Under the Sea Scene

Blown Glass Trout Fly Ornament

Blown Glass Cardinal Ornament

Fused Glass Pizza Slice Ornament

Blown Glass Tractor Ornament

Blown Glass Painter's Pallet Ornament

Large Blown Glass Giraffe in Gold Accents

Blown Glass Bugling Elk Scene

 As this year wanes and the new one fast approaches, we want to wish you all the best that life has to offer. Happy New Year from A Touch of Glass Studio.

Hand Sculpted Glass Poinsettia

A Joyful and Triumphant Year

Well, it's the end of the year and I'm finding the time for one last entry in 2013.  As I gaze outside my window I observe with delight, at how our tree branches have transformed into shiny ice crystals. Jack Frost spread his magic across our town the night before. Makes me glad we are nestled in and cozy next to the hearth fires. But still, outside the crystallized flakes are a beautiful and mesmerizing treat for my eyes to behold. Our piece of  property on the hill, along with the presence of Nature's beauty, has continued to help bring out the creative juices while working with our chosen art medium, glass. Another year of  unique and gratifying projects have drawn to a close in our glass studio. Probably the highlight of the last quarter was being selected to create the official Idaho State Capitol Ornament. Below are some visuals on the process used to create a blown glass ornament with pine bough inserts for the Idaho State Capitol. We finished it off with a bright red ribbon draped around the blown ball. We were honored to be the chosen artists this year for a custom glass ornament project.

Our glassblower at work creating blown glass balls

Hundreds of balls waiting for  ribbons and pine boughs for completion.

Inserting pine boughs into Idaho State Capitol ornaments

Adding decorative ribbons

Finished ornament

Of course, we were also busy creating some of our tried and true ornaments for the season, like our slumped and fused crosses adorned with blown glass flowers.

Slumped and fused glass crosses

And once again, our hand sculpted poinsettias and other colorful blown balls were in high demand.

Colorful blown glass ornaments

 We collaborated on this fun chimney candle holder with a cheery Santa looking on. It was fused and sandblasted to create a fun candle centerpiece.

Santa's Sandblasted Chimney Candle holder

We also came up with some new slumped and fused ornaments that almost looked good enough to eat!

Glass gingerbread ornaments

And some more slumped and fused ornaments that were well received by our customers.

Slumped and fused snowman ornament

Fused red stocking ornament

Fused glass presents

 And we always seem to have music enthusiasts who love to purchase our treble clef and other musical ornaments.

Blown glass treble clef

We experimented with vibrant colors on our slumped and fused plates and vases.

Slumped and fused artistic glass plate

We also shipped off various customized glass chess sets across the country this year.

Custom blown glass chess set

And of course, the "upcylced"  slumped wine bottles are always a hit for a holiday get together.

Upcycled wine bottle art

 We'd like to thank our many loyal and returning customers for supporting us once again, this past year. It has been another banner year for A Touch of Glass Studio, and we have you to thank for that. If you are just stumbling across our website and haven't gotten to know us yet, keep us bookmarked for many new and interesting works of glass art that will be custom made in the new year, 2014. Maybe something will catch your eye and lift your spirit. We strive to instill a sense of beauty and thoughtfulness in our glass works, and hope you get as much enjoyment out of the finished project as we get from creating the pieces. Our sincere gratitude to all of you who have given us your patronage. Season's Greetings from our Idaho Glass studio, and may you have a very happy and prosperous new year.

View of an Idaho sunset through one of our blown glass balls