Goodbye to a busy 2019

One of many of our glorious Idaho sunsets.

Last day of the year, and I am finding myself in a state of reflection.  Thankful for so much, including the success we've had this year in our little Studio on the hill. We are both exhausted from the recent months of hard work, and many late night efforts to keep our glass orders shipping out in a timely manner for the holidays.  Time for a well-deserved break. We created so many ornaments this year, too many to count.

Chili ristras created for a customer.

Russ is going to take some time to work on this artistic piece while we have just a bit of down time. Many layers of glass enamels to fuse in the big kiln. I will post pictures when it is complete. 

When completed, this trout will look like it's caught in a net. 

Because of our new furry friends, we also had some home improvement projects to complete this month. Our pantry didn't have a door on it, so we decided in order to keep the kittens out of the food, we needed a door. I am really loving the end result, and of course glass was incorporated in the project. Screen printed enamels were fired in our large kiln, on float glass, to finish this project off. 

We added screen printed float glass to our new pantry door this month. 

We say we need a break from the Studio, but in all reality, there is always something to work on, including another large custom commission of tennis ball snowmen, pictured below. It was requested by a tennis organization in Texas and has to be out the door very soon. 

Tennis Ball Snowmen commissioned by a tennis organization.

We barely got the tree decorated in time for Christmas this year, and now that it's up, it's the kittens favorite "play toy". 😉

Our kittens won't leave the tree alone. 

Our favorite part of the holiday of course, is spending time with our sons and their families. We enjoyed their company even though many of us had some kind of  sick bug, and were a little under the weather. We managed to go to a local ice castle event while they were here. Definitely appropriate in these frigid temperatures. 

At the Labelle Ice Castles

Many great colors accented the ice tunnels.

My favorite! 

Enjoying time with my darling grandson.

Now on the last day of 2019, reflecting on what a year it's been, we are nursing our dear lab/retriever dog, as he was in an accident recently. We are hoping he makes a full recovery, as he is just like a child to us. It pains us to see him in pain. So, while others are making merry tonight, we will snuggle in our jammies with him by our side, and welcome in 2020. Wow, that just sounds so futuristic, can't believe what a time we are living in. Here's hoping the new decade will bring new opportunities for growth and prosperity.  Happy New Year!

Hoping our sweet boy feels better soon. 

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.