November's Never-ending Orders

Blown Glass Musical Ornaments

 'Tis the season......our torches are in beast mode once again. With the advance of technology, the Internet has kept this little "Ma-Pa" business hopping!  I wanted to make the time for one more Blog entry before November slips away....

Glass Hot Air Balloons waiting to be packaged.

Blown Glass Hot Air Balloon

  Companies are purchasing large ornament orders to give as tokens of appreciation to their employees for the holidays. It's all the two of us can do to keep up with the requests. We try our best and hope the end result is worth it. Meanwhile, I give the USPS a lot of business this time of year, as I ship many packages on a daily basis. And they all need a fragile sticker, because well, GLASS! 😉

Shipping packages all month long

Orders lined up, ready to be sent out to customers.

 Every year Russ makes the time to create a new ornament, like the one pictured below. I'm afraid that will probably have to do it for this year. Not enough hours in the day! Hopefully next year we will make the time to create some more new ornaments.

A new red and white striped icicle ornament

 Our Etsy Store is doing really well lately. Customers are coming back for more, (We like our repeat customers.) like the variety of roses pictured below.

Customers are requesting large orders of a variety of  roses.

 Russ doesn't have much time to fill the creative niche' this time of year, too busy filling orders. But   he did manage to create a slumped and fused piece this month. He added a screen printed fox to the     glass art below. Can you find him hiding in the woods?  Well, gotta run...the orders are piling up! 'Til next time, I hope you enjoy the season of giving. 🎄

The latest slumped and fused "Seasons" 

Our Year's End

Visiting our family's old cabin in the mountains of Idaho.

Time for the last blog entry of 2017, as we are coming up to the last hours of the year. Always a time for reflection of what was. After all the chaos of the busy season in our Studio, our family ended the year right with a family vacation in and around Yellowstone Park. We enjoyed spending the last week of the year with our 4 sons and their families. During that time, so many memories came flooding back as we rode our snowmobiles past Russ' parent's old cabin nestled up in the mountains. It has long since been sold to someone outside of the family, but the happy times we shared in this magical place years ago, will live on in our hearts and minds forever. Sweet memories of the joy Russ' Mom spread around to each of us when we came to visit. It's been a hard year, having lost the lovely Matriarch of our family this past July. I was reminded of her lovely spirit as we passed by the cabin. I only hope to become half the woman she was, full of humility and unconditional love. We were lucky to include this quick jaunt down Memory Lane during our short vacation.

Meanwhile, during the month of December, we have been lucky to witness our mighty Buck returning from the nearby mountains to our very own Backyard again. He must know he has found safe haven here. Not much gets done when he wonders onto the property, as our eyes are transfixed on this majestic animal.

Our Buck has returned to our neighborhood again this year.

But we managed to redirect our focus to the tasks at hand in the Studio this month, and some of the results are pictured below. I hand engraved some slumped bottles, along with firing some decals on them with festive holiday designs and sayings. They were on display during our annual Open House the first part of December.

Up-cycled bottles display festive holiday themes.

Russ created some new wall art shown below, using a combination of float and soft glass. The moon and grass reeds were cut out of float glass, then slumped in the kiln. The frog and dragonflies were cut and pieced together, along with some glass saw work, then slumped and fused in multiple kiln firings. 

Slumped and fused Pondscape

Customers that came to our Open House requested new projects,  many of them shown below. We really enjoy new challenges poised to us by customers, they keep the creative juices flowing.

Marvin the Martian was made out of soft COE 90 glass, with enamel paint accents.

Soft and hard glass were combined for these names.

Cinderella's glass slipper ornament

A special request was made for this Lilac-Breasted Roller

Another customer requested one of these popular fused scenes on Birch wood.

We make a new glass ornament for our grand kids every year.

Float glass was cut and slumped into a fun snowman mold, then I applied enamel paint and baked them on in the kiln for the cookie tray pictured below. 

Snowman-themed cookie tray

And during our Open House earlier this month Jack Frost was on full display all throughout our neighborhood. We couldn't resist snapping a few pictures of  the stunning results of Nature's works. 

Jack Frost worked his magic in our yard, earlier in December.

And so ends another year of our own productive works. As one year closes and another is just about to begin, we hope you will stay tuned for the latest in our ever-evolving world of glass: Handcrafted and blown in our Idaho Studio. We want to thank all our customers once again, for your support. Many of you are responsible for us achieving another banner year of sales and success. Wishing you and yours all the best for 2018.

September Harvest

Another batch of wildlife headed to Yellowstone

Lately, it seems the months are blurring into each other. I can't believe we are already looking  into the month of October in a few days. Time sure has a way of getting away from us. I'll take the time to write a quick blog post today, then head back into the Studio for more projects. (We never seem to run out of them these days.) Pictured above is part of the latest blown glass wildlife order from the Yellowstone stores. 

A hand engraved slumped wine bottle created for a customer in Iowa.

The flattened (slumped) bottle and logo above were made for a winery in Iowa. We enjoy creating Business' logos with our engraver. It's a hand engraver, so I take my time with these kind of projects to get it just right. No such luxury of  a laser engraver yet, maybe in the future. 

Orders are already piling up for the coming Holidays.

Pictured above is part of an order we created for an Art Gallery that's located across the country. I have lots of finish work to do, like tying cords onto each individual ornament, and adding tags of course. I take extra time carefully wrapping each one with tissue paper and bubble wrap, to make sure it arrives safely to it's destination. (You wouldn't believe how much of that product we go through every month.) The Devil is in the details.

Meanwhile, our garden harvest is full-bore this month of September. We've already harvested beans, peas, cucumbers, carrots, spinach, peppers, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, herbs, and zucchini. Pictured below are the latest vegetables to be picked. We had no choice, as the garden got hit by frost last week. Looks like I have plenty of winter squash to store this year, along with a good variety of pumpkins. 

So, multi-tasking is a must in the month of September, with the business and home and garden duties. It's a way of life we have grown accustomed to. And you know how the saying goes, "You reap what you sow". Until next time, enjoy the Harvest. 

September is a month filled with canning garden goodies.

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. 

Sentimental September

Anyone who knows me knows my love of September, as it ushers in the most glorious time of the year, Fall. It brings out my sentimental side. Fall has a look, smell and feel to it, like no other season. Breathing in the crisp mountain air sends me back to another place in time, where I didn't have a care in the world. Except to rake up a giant pile of old, crunchy leaves and gleefully jump into that earthy Fall bliss with my siblings, back in the 60's. Still to this day, I eagerly anticipate our Fall drives into the mountains, as they remind me how symbolic the season is. It represents everything cozy and comforting, calm and peaceful, with it's glistening golden hues. It does a body good to break away from all the mundane day-to-day dealings of life, and pause to witness Nature in all it's glorious golds, reds, and yellows. The drive has come to be one of the highlights of my year.

Fall colors on our annual drive

Aspen trees were brilliant gold colors 

 Can't stay in the woods too long because as always, we have been busy working on many new ventures in the Studio. Russ worked on some new slumped and fused pieces and created a "Facehugger" wine glass gift for a customer. He liked the outcome so much, he decided to make a whole set for a friend's birthday gift.

Cutting glass for a slumped and fused project

Facehugger wine glass

Set of 4 unique glasses

Another multi-colored bowl was created this month, with a new shape slumped in the kiln.

Multi-colored slumped and fused bowl

The upcycled bottles below were also created for a customer, with a southwest design. We added glass chili peppers to them as an accent.

Artistic slumped and engraved upcycled bottles

I am also in the process of packaging up a large order and getting it shipped up to Alaska next week.

Many ornaments to pack up and ship

Before the holiday season hits us full-bore in the Studio, I'm hoping we find the time for one more drive into the mountains, as nothing gives me greater solace than this golden age of Fall, and all it's brilliant colors. 

A beautiful Fall drive in the mountains nearby