Christmas is coming!

My last show is done for the year, we arrived home from our Thanksgiving weekend, and I have a list a mile long of things that must be done NOW!  I skipped it all today and set up the tree. I have added a new ornament every year for a long time, and have tried to stop it before they pull the tree down, but I couldn't resist this little fairy!  She was made by Connie Brooks, a fellow member of the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen.  All ornaments on the tree are handmade, and it is like a trip down memory lane, since most of them were made by friends.  Some friends are from long ago, and some have passed away, which makes them all the more special.

Glass ornaments

For the third year in a row, I am making glass ornaments.  Last year and this year, the Reading-Berks Guild of Craftsmen was asked to decorate the PA governor's tree.  Each time, I tried to come up with something new, and this year had me stumped.  I finally made some spirals on large mandrels, and I liked them, but couldn't come up with any way to hang them so they hung straight.  After thinking about it, I made more spirals and at the end, pulled the glass into the center.  When I tied ribbon on that end, they hung straight!  They seem much more delicate that they really are.

While thinking about the glass spirals, I wondered if I could make narrower ones and use a heavy gauge wire coiled into a spiral to hold them.  Aha, that worked too, so now I have extra ornaments!

These will not be for sale.  Cleaning the bead release was a real pain!  I do love a good challenge.