Dog Days of Summer

The month of August ends on a high note for us. We found the perfect addition to our family with our new adopted dog, Bella. She needed to be re-homed and Russ happened to find her at just the right time earlier this month. She was oh, so skinny, and in need of a lot of tender loving care. We haven't had her for quite a month, so she is not 100% yet. But she is getting as much love as we can give, and returns it ten-fold with puppy licks and gratitude. Bella was just what the Doctor ordered for our family, as we have had a bit of a rough year ever since our dear Wilson passed away in January. Maggie and the cats have accepted Bella into the pack, for the most part. We still have some work to do in that area. All in good time. What I love most is she's helped me to smile again. Such a sweet dog, and good for our souls. 💕

Our new dog Bella enjoying her new found freedom with our old dog Maggie.

We got away with the dogs for a quick trip to Bear Lake. So much fun. 

Bella is already looking much better since the first day we got her, when she was skin and bones.

The summer days are coming to an end, and harvesting in the garden is taking place. Not quite as good as year's past, as we had a terrible issue with grasshoppers and aphids this year. But enough of a harvest to enjoy the fruits of our labor. And we were able to enjoy the roses again this month, even though everything seemed to struggle in the extra hot heat of the summer sun. 

Beautiful sunrise morning.

My favorite color of rose.

This one reminds me of ice cream sherbet. 

The month of August also saw another shipment of Blown Glass Wildlife headed out the door to the Yellowstone Park Stores again. 

Blown Glass Yellowstone Wildlife

After that order was wrapped up, Russ got creative and "upcycled" some window glass onto some kaowool in the large kiln. The end result was a curvy decorative dish, seen below. It turned out so well, he slumped another one to be auctioned off at his family's reunion. I upcycled some bottles as well to finish off the trays.  The end result can be seen below. 

Firing Float Glass onto Kaowool in the Kiln.

The end result

Another upcycled piece of art was auctioned off at a family reunion.

Colorful blown glass dragonflies were also created for a customer this month.

And the last blown glass to head out the door is a Unicorn wedding cake top made for our niece's wedding in Virginia. So now that the dog days of summer are just about over, I'd better get packing now. I have lots of orders that need to be shipped today in order for us to begin the next big venture. Until next time, stay safe, and be well. 

Blown glass Unicorns with gold accents.

All the Feels in February

Our luster pink glass roses are on display in many forms this time of the year.
(This one was created in the past for a family member, for her wedding.)

This February turned out to be quite different than year's past in the Studio. Normally we promote our "Hot Date Night" for Valentine's Day. Couples sign up for an hour long session and learn how to make glass rosebuds. But thanks to our latest bundle of joy and 5th grandchild arriving a few days before, the lessons were put on hold this year. (Which suited us just fine! We loved welcoming him into the world. He's just perfect, and our little Valentine!)

💘💘💘💘💘

Our fifth grandchild born in February

 When we came back from our visit with our kids and grandchild there was actually time to create some new pieces just for kicks. The decorative slumped and fused glass plate below is my new favorite. The light captures a new color every time I look at it, thanks to the iridescence. 

Multiple fused layers of Iridescence 

This upcycled bottle was slumped onto one of my favorite molds. A nice trivet or piece of kitchen art.

Slumped "Bon Appetit" Glass Bottle

Russ worked over the microphone from last month's blog, for a client's wedding cake top. It was sandblasted for the finished touch.

Sandblasted Glass Microphone

He also experimented with another scene, but is not quite happy with it. A few more trees painted with glass enamels should add the finishing touch to the first picture. Another customer requested a special winter scene plate that could hold a picture of her beloved pet. I added a picture of two of our furry friends for display purposes. Russ used glass enamel paint for the snowflakes.

Winter scene accented with Enamels and an added picture frame.

Winter scene, not quite finished.

Believe it or not, it is time to look ahead to the next holiday season, as we already have clients across the country asking for new ornaments. We are happy to oblige, as it's always fun to come up with a new pattern, like pictured below. Enamel paints are used as highlights to the glass.

New Slumped and Fused Ornament Creations 

Meanwhile, I am enjoying the quiet solitude of winter up here, along with the many varieties of  birds like the chickadees pictured below, that like to frequent our back yard feeders. I can't complain about being snowed in, as the winter has been fairly mild for an Idaho winter. There are already vegetables sprouting up in the greenhouse. Hopefully, we can fit in a cross country ski trek in the mountains before the snow melts. Until next time, enjoy the little things in your life, they really add up!

Chickadees like to hang out in our bushes when they aren't at our bird feeders.

The latest Endeavors of November

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.

Creative Works in the Studio

 This month was spent going outside the box on many special requests generated from various customers. We started out the month by working on a design for a gift/award that was handcrafted for a prominent Company in our city, Melaleuca. They requested that their logo, a Melaleuca leaf and droplet, be created out of glass...along with an American and Chinese flag to symbolize a new business partnership for them.

Creating National Flags out of glass

Initially this project was a real puzzler, with countless hours put into the design, trying to get it just right. The glass leaf was hand sawed and carved and fire polished in the kiln. The droplet was fired with gold in the kiln, multiple times. Overall, I think the end result was what they were after.

Russ also had time to create an unusual glass water fountain for our own front patio area,  shown in the video below. 

We had fun creating the piece below with an Upcycled wine bottle that I hand engraved. It's accented with colorful blown glass flowers and a butterfly attached with copper wiring.

A pretty Upcycled piece of Wall Art

 A variety of  blown glass flowers were also created for an Etsy customer this month.

A variety of purple hues were used on these sculpted glass flowers.

 Another client wanted some Tinkerbell-like pixies created. The picture below is what we came up with. 

Pixies with Butterflies resting on glass flowers

 The flowers below are part of an unfinished order we are still working on. They were a challenge, but the end result is worth it.

The blown glass Dolphins were a special order from another Etsy customer. They will be woven into a handcrafted Japanese basket.

Cobalt blue glass Dolphins

 Pictured below is the beginning stage of our float glass water fountain. Russ hand cut each piece and it required multiple firings in the kiln. 

First stage ready to be fired in the kiln.

 The leaves were cut and sawed into, then laid on kaowool for the desired texture.

Glass leaves ready to be fired.

Another month full of new projects, it keeps us on our creative toes! Thanks for tuning in to what's new from our Glass Studio. Until next time, enjoy those summer days.

Finished project

Taking Earth Day to Heart

A beautiful tree blossoms this Spring in one of our local parks.

This past weekend "Earth Day" was celebrated in our community. While the weather wasn't very cooperative for an outdoor celebration, just the act of celebrating the Earth causes one to pause and reflect how each of us as individuals can do our part in being good stewards of the land. I am reminded by events like these how important it is that we each do what we can to conserve and take care of our planet. And since moving out to the country a few years ago... I have seen in our own lives, the gratification that comes from working the soil. Also planting trees, flowers, gardens, and recycling has given us a sense of purpose and responsibility for our own patch of land, minuscule as it may seem for our planet's overall health. 

A double rainbow delights us after a thunderstorm.

Spring has a way of  reminding us everything old and washed out can become new again. Mother Nature displays awe-inspiring rainbows after a sporadic thunderstorm. We are busy planting new seeds in the greenhouse and taking care of our young "ugly" chickens so they can give us fresh organic eggs later in the year.

New chickens in their awkward, "teenage" phase. 

Just beginning to see plants coming up in our greenhouse.

We use the blue barrels below to water the greenhouse and chicken trough. When a fresh rain falls, it is collected in our rain gutter and stored in the containers for future use. 

Our water barrels help us recycle rainwater.

We also try to reuse as much as possible in our Studio to prevent waste. Below are two pictures that show how we take old scrap glass laying around, and cut it and rearrange it in various patterns. Next, it is slowly heated in the kiln. The end result has taken the scrap glass and turned it into a functional glass vase.

Kiln heating up scrap glass

The end result is a pretty decorative vase.

 Probably the best way our Studio helps recycle unwanted waste, is to "upcycle" used bottles. Below are a few samples of the many 100's of wine bottles we have flattened or slumped in our kilns. I hand engrave a design on them, and accessorize with bead work and copper wire to dress them up. Now they have gone from trash to treasure, as they are functional kitchen art that can hang on the wall or be used as trivets. 

Wine bottle art 

We have many designs and sayings to choose from.

Dragonflies are popular.

An affordable gift to give.

A great accessory to the kitchen.

These two are slumped together, and make a great trivet.

We have plenty of options of the bottle art to choose from in our Studio, as an affordable gift to give. We also have many other uses for the bottles, such as drinking glasses, tiki torches, wind chimes, or hummingbird feeders like the one pictured below.

Many functional uses for old bottles are available, including hummingbird feeders.

Finally, to go with a recycled theme, the vase and platter pictured below were created from old float glass, or window glass, that would have been discarded and taken up more space in some land fill. This process gives it a whole new life. We really enjoy taking the time and effort it takes to turn trash into treasure. Hopefully we will continue to think of new ways to be good stewards of the Earth and recycle. 

Turning scrap window glass into functional art work.