Autumn Works

Slumped and Fused Artwork titled "The Seasons"

It's that time of year again, as my most favorite of all the seasons has descended on us in what seems like the blink of an eye. I can't believe it is already time for crisp Fall walks! There is nothing that can compare to the sights and smells of an Autumn morning. Not much can tantalize our senses quite like a September morning can. Although, I have noticed this September has been much warmer than usual, and our Morning Glories continue to welcome us at the garden every morning in all their glory. Colors are more vibrant this time of year, and our animals are also more alert on their morning walks. The picture above shows our latest creation celebrating the seasons in a unique way. We slumped and fused glass Aspen scenes to depict the 4 seasons, inserted them in a tree branch, and added blown glass Aspen leaves as accents.

Morning glories are filling in nicely at the garden arbor

Ornamental grass in the backyard

Our lab/retriever dog is a little on the shy side

But we can't take too much time to enjoy the outdoors lately, as there is plenty of work to do in the Studio. It's right back to the torches to fill more orders, among them is a large one for 400 of our sandblasted doves, they need to be shipped out by the end of October. Also, our teardrops have been very popular as of late. Can't seem to keep enough in stock. We compare ourselves to the busy squirrels in Autumn, only with us it is our glass inventory. We have found that we can never have too much of an item on hand. Getting ready for the holiday season can be daunting at times, but so far we seem to pull through when the need for more custom requests come our way.

A variety of ornaments are headed out the door today

So, I am off to package and ship a variety of orders, including the stunning glass floral arrangement pictured below, that was a custom request off the internet. **Here's hoping it all arrives in one piece. After that, it's time to tackle 400 doves before the real push of the holidays begins. Hopefully, we will be able to make sure and take time to smell the roses, or more importantly to me anyway, the smells and sights of Idaho's crisp Fall mornings. 

A customized slumped and fused vase with a variety of blown glass flowers and hummingbirds was made for an upcoming wedding

Wedding Bliss

We just experienced another lovely family wedding this past June weekend, celebrating our nephew's marriage to his lovely bride. Weddings are such a beautiful display of love and unity. The union of two people in the first throws of love is a wonderful thing to witness. And we are always honored to take a small part in the wedding ceremonies with our unique glass wedding cake tops. Our nephew and his bride requested the sea turtle cake top below to match their wedding colors, and also  to symbolize their union. 

A unique request from our nephew and his bride for two sea turtles coming together over glass ocean waves.

For many years now, we have made cake tops for a number of brides and grooms.  A wide variety of mammals, animals and birds are very popular, as they display the sentimentality of the happy couples, saying their vows for the first time. Our frosted swans below are simplistic, yet elegant, and get the message of love across to the wedding party.

Frosted blown glass swans, a simplistic yet elegant cake top.

Not only do we make custom cake tops for the wedding day, but we can also make custom glass gifts for the happy couples, such as the pastel vase below. The colors can match the color schemes of the weddings, to add sentimentality years after the wedding has taken place.

A customized slumped and fused vase makes for a unique wedding gift.

Wedding Bliss is achieved when the small details are worked out long before the "I Do's" take place. We'd love to help the future brides and grooms out there check off  one of their little details with a unique, hand crafted and blown glass cake top or glass gift. Contact us if there is a wedding in your future. We can make a glass cake top as unique and detailed, or simplistic and charming as you wish. We are always happy to work on new wedding ideas created out of glass and requested by the happy couples. And we like to think of our glass cake tops as the "icing on the cake".

Our Blown and Sculpted Glass Cake Top accents this lovely cake.

April Creations

Blown, Sculpted Hummingbird and Floral Glass

End of April already, and all the tree blossoms are giving off a subtle scent of fresh floral aromas. Brisk morning walks in the slowly greening high desert hills help us to focus on new ideas we are formulating. Once we're back in the Studio we get to work trying to bring the ideas to fruition. We've had some successes and some near misses working with some new styles of glass in the kilns. All in all, it feels good to push the envelope of what we are capable of  learning about this ever changing art and craft on a daily basis. The pieces below are some of our latest projects.

Slumped and Fused Abstract Plate

A new idea to fuse and swirl colors

The next 3 pieces were done for our son and his wife to complete their memories of a very good year, including their wedding, honeymoon, and reaching the 30 year milestone of  their lives.

Fused cheese tray with an animated theme

Fused art reflecting a special Jamaican beach Honeymoon memory

Slumped and Fused Decorative Vase

Mother's Day is right around the corner, and our blown glass hummingbirds are always a great choice for the many special Moms out there.

A great Mother's Day gift idea

An unusual abstract piece incorporating hard and soft glass

Fun Engraved and Sandblasted Upcycled Drinking Glasses

Another new plate, perfect for home decor

We have plenty of glass gifts in our Studio

  Feel free to give us a call if something catches your eye for a future gift.

New Year, New Creations

Here we are at the tail end of January in our new year, already reflecting on some special moments we've had, both in the Studio and also with some very special people in our extended family. So this month we have kept as busy as ever in the Studio. Below are some of the latest creations we've already made for the new year. We were excited to get to work on a special project that benefits a local fundraiser titled "Lighting the way to Literacy". Our Lampshade was created out of float glass, blown glass, and acrylics, and is titled "Edge of the Pond". It is displayed along with many other creative lampshades at the Willard Arts Center in Idaho Falls.

This creative lamp shade with glass accents imitates the edge of a pond.

Finished lit lampshade displayed for our Arts Council's fundraiser.

Next, we completed a unique dish setting in our kiln with sandblasted dragonfly accents. It was created for a nephew of ours who has supplied us with lots of float glass to "upcycle". We were really pleased to present him and his family with the unique setting made just for him. We have many more ideas that we will create with this type of glass in the kiln. 

I wanted to re post a picture of our son's glass dishes and cheese trays that we made for his wedding last August. They were made to go with his animated themes that he had come up with for their special day. We look forward to finishing a few more pieces to complete the picture, which will include a glass picture of their honeymoon.

Glass cheese trays, won ton bowls, dipping sauce bowls all have an animated look.

It was about the middle of January when a customer requested that a unicorn and dragon be custom made and shipped out. These blown glass pieces are accented in gold and halo platinum.

Mythical creatures made for a customer

And lastly, this month has ended on the right note, as we just returned from celebrating our parent's 60th wedding anniversary in sunny Arizona. They stand in a league of their own, and we wanted to come up with something that showed them how special they are. The anniversary cake top below was made with great care from float glass and engraved by hand. The glass diamonds at the base were blown and sculpted to compliment their diamond anniversary.

Our parent's 60th wedding anniversary cake top

We also cut the desert scene below out of float glass and finished it off in the kiln. It made a nice addition to their back patio in their home in Arizona. 

Coyote howling at the moon in the desert.

We know we are so lucky to have witnessed this rare milestone of 60 years of marriage. We've had such supportive parents (and in-laws) all these years. What a special way to end the first month of the year celebrating their love. They have supported us all throughout our lives, and we'd like to thank them for their part in inspiring us to follow our dreams and keep creating, growing, and learning, remembering of course, to stay young at heart. 

60th Wedding Anniversary Cake