November's Blog will be short and sweet, as we are inundated with orders, and I need to get back in the Studio asap! The Internet seems to have really discovered us this year....so hard to keep up with the incredible amount of orders, many of them large orders of wholesale ornaments, shipping around the country. We are trying to pace ourselves, and have had to shut down some of our web presence, just to keep up. Below are samples of some of the ornaments shipping out the door.
Packaging and shipping, repeat, repeat, repeat!
Hundreds of reindeer are in the process of being made for a customer.
We take great care in packaging our glass so it arrives safely at it's destination.
Another variety of reindeer ornament.
Meanwhile, our dogs are feeling neglected, so we thought we'd brighten them up with some festive accessories....(actually, they were not amused!) At least they are decorated, not sure when I will have the time to do the same to the house!
Our Lab/Retriever Handsome Doggie!
Our Border Collie humors us for a minute.
Our oldest dog is all lit up! (And asking "Why?")
That's it for the blog this month. Wish me luck in getting all these orders shipped out to their destination! I'm going to need it!
Another whirlwind-of-a-year is coming to a close. We are winding down in the Studio, taking a short break from the busy holiday season. It has been nice to be with family and enjoy our grandchildren, instead of our usual countless hours spent filling requests for glass orders. Our glassblowing and slumping and fusing projects were going out the door as fast as we could make them. So this last week has been extra nice, not having to meet any deadlines. Some of the projects we did in December are in the photos pictured below. Take a look at some of the glass works created in this last month of the year. The first picture was a special commission created especially for a local author. The elephants are re-creations of the main character in one of her children's books. Projects like these are enjoyable because of the creative leeway given. Glass enamels highlighted the fused pieces.
Fused glass elephants highlighted with glass enamels
A Kiln full of annealed candy canes
Fused and Glass Enameled Holiday Display
Blown Glass Snowboarder Ornament
Many Ornaments were sold at our Holiday Open House the first week in December
Blown Glass Cheetah Ornament with gold highlights
Whimsical Blown Glass Frog Ornaments
Our Jackson Hole Buyer needed more of the glass wildlife in her store, so we created many pieces for her in December. They are sold in her retail store up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Pictured below are just a few of the pieces that were made for her.
Frosted Glass Swans in Flight
A whitewater rafters ornament
New techniques and colors were used on this glass trout
Glass Moose with Cattails
A Frosted Mountain Goat with Gold Horns
Now we are on the cusp of a New Year.....thinking ahead, once again, to the many possibilities we can create in the Studio. We're sure that the view out our window will help inspire us to get back to work. The new year will see us going full steam ahead, staying warm by the torches in the coming cold winter months. We'd like to wish you a very Happy New Year from A Touch of Glass Studio. Thanks again, for your support!
As the month of November winds down we find ourselves once again, involved in a whirlwind of various projects at our glass Studio. We are wrapping, packaging and shipping Etsy orders as fast as we can. It seems orders are shipped on a daily basis these days. Our third son, who also happens to be our Graphic Designer, also helped us this month with a new YouTube video. It has a festive Holiday theme, along with Russ showing how to make a glass skier ornament. You can view it on our YouTube channel or click on the video below...
We had time to create and donate the grouping of upcycled wine glasses, pictured below, to the Holy Rosary Catholic School Fundraiser and Auction this month. These particular bottles turned out to be a real beast to cut with the saw, and then time was spent fire polishing the top edges. Afterwards I hand engraved the design on each one, and used rub'n buff to fill in the engravings. Hopefully they were auctioned for a good price, because we spent countless hours on this particular project.
Upcycled wine glasses created for a local school fundraiser.
Russ completed the Fused Crested Crane and was also able to create the wrought iron background below, for a stunning Fused and Slumped Wall Art scene. He continues to evolve with each new fused project he creates.
Fused Crested Crane Wall Art
We also set our display up at our local art museum and sold to a variety of patrons at the
'Beaux Cadeaux" event earlier in the month. Pictured below is our display at "The Art Museum of Eastern Idaho".
Glass set up for the November Art Show
On a somber note, Russel's Mom passed away earlier this year, from complications due to Alzheimer's. We celebrated her beautiful soul on two different occasions. Russ created a butterfly cremation memorial to her, pictured below. It went along beautifully with the poem she wrote about butterflies. It's been a rough year, losing her. But the memorial is a daily reminder what a loving, creative, and beautiful person she was in this life. Russ believes she spoke to him and guided him along, as he created this artistic piece with some of her ashes encased in the body of the butterfly. We miss her every day, but know she has spread her wings and is free from the bondage of that devastating disease. Her artistic abilities live on through her son. This piece will be cherished for as long as we live.
And now we are busy as elves, preparing many different ornaments for our annual Open House, this year to be held on December 8th & 9th. So excuse me if I keep it brief this month. No time to waste as the "elves" must work relentlessly round the clock this time of year.
Some of our many ornaments we create for the Holidays.
