Archive for June, 2009

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Great Gifts – Personalized Ornaments

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Well designed personalized ornaments can be works of art.

The giving of a personalized ornament is a time-honored tradition which speaks volumes to your recipient. Unfortunately the time and effort it takes to find the perfect ornament can be challenging and finding a personalized ornament can be expensive. GiftsForYouNow.com specializes in making personalized ornaments easy and very affordable. Whether you are looking for an engraved ornament with old-world charm or a whimsical Christmas ornament for the entire family, GiftsForYouNow.com is here to help. We specialize in Personalized Ornaments for all occasions.

The art of personalizing an ornament goes beyond someone handwriting a person’s name. GiftsForYouNow.com has perfected personalizing ornaments for families, friends, loved ones and for remembering those who have passed on. In our 10 years of personalizing gifts, we have become a leader in Personalized Ornaments which go beyond the boundaries of the Christmas season. Through the use of laser engraving and precise personalization tools even the most intricate ornament are made into personalized works of art. We offer many personalize ornaments such as a bride & groom’s first Christmas together, the arrival of a new baby or honoring a favorite dog or cat.

Personalized Ornaments are also thoughtful ways to remember those who have passed. The loss of a family member, loved one or close friend is a difficult event to deal with. Creating meaningful personalized memorial ornaments can be a wonderful choice to help those with the grieving process. Personalized Memorial Ornaments make a thoughtful gift which lovingly catches the sun throughout the day. A Personalized Ornament is more than a reminder of the passing of a loved one. It is a shining remembrance of their continued love for family & friends.

So whether you are looking for a fun Christmas tree ornament for the family or a lovely engraved Wedding Anniversary ornament, GiftsForYouNow.com has the right personalized ornament.

Article and images used with permission from GiftsForYouNow.com

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Russell Rhodes – Signature Ornaments

Friday, June 26th, 2009

Buy Signature Ornaments Directly from the Designer

Russell Rhodes proudly announced that he is retiring from designing for name-brand manufacturers and is now making his unique signature line of ornaments directly available to the consumer through his e-commerce website at www.russellrhodes.com.

The technologically advanced, user-friendly website allows consumers to order custom personalization on over 1000 Christmas ornaments. Of particular interest, beyond just a name and a date, Russell Rhodes will include a hand painted message on the back of the ornament to commemorate any one of 1000+ personalized ornaments and gifts.

At the grand opening for the new web site, CEO and designer Russell Rhodes explained, “I’ve been designing for other companies for nearly 15 years. It’s been fun. I’ve been given free rein to design everything from whimsical collections to deeply traditional to modern, sleek ornament designs. In the competitive Christmas ornaments industry, it’s been a blast to help all sorts of companies make their mark and turn their look into a recognizable, well-known brand. At this time, I feel like I’ve come full circle, being able to design exactly what the consumer wants and asks for directly.”

Russell Rhodes began his career in Christmas decorations design, focusing principally on pre-made wreaths for catalogs whose customers were looking for ready-to-hang decorations. From there, the segue was a natural one to emphasize Christmas ornaments design. Mr. Rhodes worked with big name manufacturers, as well as for many of the overseas factories from whom US Importers purchased their ornaments. He explains, “It’s kind of like being a backup singer. Nobody knows who you are, so you get to walk into grocery stores and enjoy the same anonymity and therefore privacy that everyone else does. On the other hand, when it’s showtime, you get to work in the limelight and with the very best in the industry. Frankly, it’s been a blast.”

Today, Russell Rhodes continues to design special collections for a select few design houses, and has turned his considerable attention and staff to the unique ornaments on his website. “I’m really, really enjoying designing ornaments directly for my customers. I never dreamed I’d have this opportunity, an opportunity only the internet could have fostered.”

Article and images used with permission from RussellRhodes.com

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Sundance Designs Ornaments for Packer Fans

Wednesday, June 24th, 2009

Whimsical Handcrafted Country Wood Craft Ornaments

The wooden ornaments at Sundance Designs are all about personalization. The customer has so many options for creating an ornament to suit their needs that the designer and customer are almost like partners. The folks on this site will really work with you so that you are pleased with every ornament you order.

One of their most popular types of ornament is the memorial ornament. The memorial ornaments are sensitive and tasteful and the testimonials from their customers prove the designer’s willingness to please. One of the nicest memorial ornaments is called Butterfly Kisses from Heaven and this personalized ornament could be given out at a memorial service or to family members at Christmas.

Located in Wisconsin, Sundance Designs naturally leans toward the Green Bay Packers and has several customized ornaments for the Packer’s fan. Again, these fun and sporty ornaments can be personalized with just about any slogan or name that you like.

One of the obvious advantages to the wooden ornaments from Sundance Designs is that they will not shatter if dropped and they will last for generations with normal care. The ornaments are made from Baltic birch or poplar and are individually hand painted with careful attention to detail. Then the handcrafted ornaments are sprayed and sealed with a protective acrylic finish to last for many years to come.

Excerpts and images used with permission from SundanceDesigns.net

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Hand Painted Cookie Dough Ornaments

Monday, June 22nd, 2009

The whole family gets involved in Cookie Dough Creations.

Kathy Mathews of Cookie Dough Creations says that she has always loved craft festivals and that she knew that she wanted to be a craftsperson, even before she knew what it was that she wanted to make. She remembers visiting a friend at a local craft fair many years ago and thinking how she wanted to be a part of that excitement. “It looks like so much fun, but what could I do?”

So 12 years ago Cookie Dough Creations began, a labor of love, born out of Kathy’s desire to make something with her own two hands and out of her commitment to be a good mom. She happened to be shopping for a gift for her son’s teacher when she found some dough ornaments. It was love at first sight! After researching a basic recipe for dough ornaments and about a year of trial and error with some good and some horrible results, her cookie dough ornaments were created. She was well on her way to making her homespun treasures.

The business has been steadily growing ever since. She currently supplies a few local gift boutiques and sells year round to a major craft wholesale company in nearby Pennsylvania as well. She also participates in about a dozen craft shows a year. Kathy says that she is the primary craftsperson, but she does receive lots of hands on help from her entire family. Her husband pitches in with anything and everything needed. The only thing that he doesn’t do is to make the actual product, even though he has been known to help out with even that during the busy time of year. He has designed and created the website and everything else computer oriented – signs, flyers, business cards, etc. He also built the mobile booth that they cart around from one craft show to the next. The entire family helps out at the show, making Cookie Dough Ornaments a true family affair.

Each folk inspired ornament is entirely handmade starting in the Mathews kitchen. The dough is mixed and rolled out, one batch at a time, carefully hand-cut, and allowed to air dry. Then the ornament is hand painted and finished with a coat of polyurethane and a black wire hanger. Cookie Dough ornaments make great gifts for anyone and each ornament has either a seasonal or holiday theme and they make charming “anytime” ornaments to display throughout the year.

Article and images used with permission from cookie-dough-creations.com

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Collectible Keepsake Quilted Ornaments

Friday, June 19th, 2009

Artistic Glass Decor & More is about a lot more than glass.

Marjorie Meier was a geriatric nurse for 22 years when she retired and went to night school to learn how to build her website. She wanted to share her ornaments online and was told that a website would cost her thousands of dollars. Being an independent and self activated woman, she decided to learn code and build her own web site which she calls Artistic Glass Decor & More. She says that she always knew that she had a creative side, but she had never had the chance to pursue it until she retired and could finally sit down and begin creating with her hands.

She started creating quilted ornaments and learned the process on her own by trial and error for over a year until the art of quilting ornaments finally started falling into place and her ornaments started looking attractive enough to try to sell to the public. Her ornaments are more than sellable. They are exquisite and many of the ornaments are one-of-a-kind designs, adding to their significance.

Marjorie started stepping out and trying new and different types of ornaments, going through the same trial and error process and now she has a wonderful array of various types of ornaments from which to choose. You will want take a look at her new Shabby Chic Ornaments, Vintage Ornaments and her Personalized Ornaments for sure. She spares no costs on the fabrics, ribbons, trims and accessories that she uses to design and create her ornaments so that each handcrafted ornament has that extra special elegant and beautiful touch. Marjorie is committed to her customers and wants them to enjoy her creative side as much as she does. By the way, don’t let the name Artistic Glass Decor & More make you think her website is all about glass. Marjorie is a well rounded ornament artist and she designs and creates from several different mediums.

Her ornaments are truly keepsakes to remember those special events and memories and all of her ornaments are moderately priced and only available at Artistic Glass Decor & More.

Article and images used with permission from ArtisticGlassDecorAndMore.com

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Mandy’s Moon – Personalized Ornaments

Wednesday, June 17th, 2009

Dreams do come true……

When Laurie O’Neill adopted her daughter Mandy from Vietnam in 1998, she realized there weren’t very many products out there for families like theirs, with a Caucasian Mom and an Asian child. While she was waiting to bring Mandy home for the first time, Laurie would gaze at the moon and wish that she could communicate to Mandy how much she loved her. The message must have been received, because Mandy arrived in 1998 with a special fascination for the moon.

Starting out with 6 ornaments that she designed herself which featured Asian kids, “Mandy’s Moon” was born. Those first ornaments were so successful that Laurie and her Mom Nancy continued to expand the business, adding cards, other items, and more new ornament designs such as ornaments for sports and activities each year.

Mandy’s Moon ornaments feature cartoon people that can be completely customized with your choice of skin and hair color as well as personalized with names and the date. Whether you are looking for a redheaded ice skater ornament, an Asian ballerina ornament, or a wedding ornament for a mixed race couple, you’ll find it at Mandy’s Moon! There are designs for all occasions…graduation, adoption, kid’s sports themes, new baby, ethnic angels, First Communion, Siblings, and more.

Laurie adopted her 2nd daughter, Amy, from Vietnam in 2007 at age 10. The girls are now 12 and 13 and Mandy has already designed several ornaments for Mandy’s Moon (Year of the Ox and Panda with Cone Hat designs). Amy hopes to begin designing soon too. A portion of the proceeds from sales of many ornament designs will be used to help with school expenses for the girls older brothers who are still in Vietnam.

Article and images used with permission from MandysMoon.com

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Who’s Tatting Now?

Tuesday, June 16th, 2009

Laura Blanton says that tatting is not an obsession. It is a way of life.

Although both of her grandmothers tatted, Laura didn’t learn to tat ornaments until 9 years ago. She spent the first 49 years of her life not tatting. She learned how to do everything else her grandmothers did, but somehow tatting didn’t come up. About 1998, she started asking her dad’s mother to teach her to tat. Her grandmother just wouldn’t slow down enough for Laura to see what she was actually doing. Laura describes herself as stubborn and determined to learn to tat on her own. With the right book, website, or video and enough determination, she says it can be done. Now she takes tatting with her everywhere and loves to share about tatting ornaments. When someone inquires, “what are you doing?” or “are you tatting?” that gives her the perfect opportunity to SLOW DOWN and show them. She gives them her card and offers her assistance in learning.

Laura’s favorite tatting project is snowflakes ornaments for her white Christmas tree. She calls it her Rainbow Christmas Tree as the majority of her snowflakes ornaments are brightly colored. You can see endless sources to patterns and resources for tatting on Laura’s blog, LaurasMuse.blogspot.com.

Laura was kind enough to share these links with us about the tatters around the world who are creating beautiful tatted ornaments.

Learn to tat ornaments on Sharon’sTatting Blog. Sharon has several very good links for learning to tat ornaments. There are also tutorials and ornaments patterns.

If you aren’t quite ready to learn to tat, you can purchase tatted ornaments at Lady Shuttle Maker’sTatting Blog or Yarnplayer’sTatting Blog, where you will find lovely tatted ornaments, hand dyed thread and tatting books.

Learn more about the history of tatting from Dan Rusch-Fischer or Dale Pomeroy who are well informed tatting historians. They can also put you in touch with more tatting history links.

Laura Blanton modestly says that she is by no means the best ornaments tatter in the world, although she has tatters all over the world that follow her tatting blog. Apparently there is a whole community of tatters which makes up a helpful, friendly bunch of men and women who are very willing to answer questions for the novice ornament tatter. Their enthusiasm is contagious and the art of tatting ornaments is becoming more popular daily. Be sure to follow Laura’s Blog for more tatted ornaments ideas.

Article and images used with permission from LaurasMuse.blogspot.com

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Feng Shui Ornaments

Monday, June 15th, 2009

The folks at Unique Collector Glassware know crystal and glass.

The simple designs at Unique Collector Glassware express the artists’ love of fine crystal and glass. There is such a wonderful variety of glass ornaments on their site that it is hard to choose which ones to show here.

Their handpainted ornaments are really dazzling and have clever names like Flirty Fish, Outrageous Olives and Texas Bluebonnets for starters. Each piece is hand painted & fired twice to ensure lasting beauty. They’re not just for Christmas either, but of course the ornaments do add beauty to your decorated tree. The Unique Collector Glassware designers suggest that another great way to display your ornaments besides the traditional Christmas tree is to place the ornaments in a bowl on your table or in a hurricane shade.

You will also find crystal blown Feng Shui hanging ornaments and prisms. Kim at UniqueCollectorGlassware.com tells us that Feng Shui means “The Law of Heaven & Earth.” She says, “It’s the practice of placement & arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment, …..it’s wind-water”. These crystal ornaments & or prisms will break light into an array of colors and are said to add harmony for yourself, family, or friends. Unique Collector Glassware has six Feng Shui ornaments which can be hung like Christmas ornaments or in a window or above your desk or bed.

This website also has Milano crystal handblown ornaments which are very colorful and are made from lead free crystal.

Now, decide which of the Unique Collector Glassware ornaments is your favorite and bring energy and pizzazz to your life with quality handmade collectible glass ornaments.

Excerpts and image used with permission from UniqueCollectorGlass.com

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Personalize your Holidays with Ornaments

Friday, June 12th, 2009

Exposures® has a customizable ornament for your occasion, style, and budget.

For almost 30 years, Exposures has been offering a wide variety of exclusive keepsake ornaments. Exposures’ exclusive photo ornaments let you display treasured photos of loved ones all year long or on the tree during the holiday season. Hanging Exposures photo ornaments is more than just a holiday tradition; it’s a chance to reflect on the events of the past year, how your friends and family have changed and how little ones have grown. Hang the same photos year after year or update your frames as often as you like. Exposures custom photo ornaments offer a long-lasting, personalized keepsake with the photo of your choice printed directly on your ornament.

In addition to photo ornaments, Exposures offers a wide variety of personalized ornaments that make great gifts and keepsakes. Hang a family of North Pole characters on your tree or give a set to a friend, each personalized with a name and year. With so many styles and personalization options to choose from, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for.

Whether you’re searching for the perfect ornament to complete your collection or a special gift for a loved one, Exposures has just what you need to celebrate life’s memories.

Article and images used with permission from ExposuresOnline.com

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Ornaments Recycled from Wine Bottles

Wednesday, June 10th, 2009

Three long-time Seattle companies find success creating beauty out of trash.

Building on the success of last summer’s inaugural offering, Glass Eye Studio, Tom Douglas’s Palace Kitchen and Made In Washington Stores are partnering again to offer a limited edition hand-blown collectible glass ornament, sold exclusively at Made in Washington Stores, created by using glass from recycled Washington wine bottles.

Tom Douglas restaurants provided over 1,000 lbs of empty Washington state wine bottles to make the ornaments. Glass Eye Studio used a special process to melt the bottles and create the one-of-a-kind ornament, which features the natural hue of the green bottles, with streaks of burgundy color.

“This year’s design is created using a double-stuff seam in the glass”, said Dale Lehman, president of Glass Eye Studio, This is the first time we’ve ever used that in one our ornaments, and we’re very excited about how it came out.

“Last summer’s Limited Edition Recycled Wine Bottle Ornament exceeded all expectations, selling out quite quickly as it appealed to both locals and tourists alike” said Mike Mondello, president of Made In Washington. On our web site, it was the most successful event we’ve ever had outside the holiday season.

“There is a great passion in our organization to make sustainable practices a part of what we do everyday,” said Tom Douglas, “Usually that results in recycling paper products or saving food scraps for compost. It’s fun that with this project we’re making art.”

The ornaments were unveiled Wednesday April 22nd — Earth Day — exclusively at Made In Washington stores and online at MadeInWashington.com. The price is $24.99, and each ornament comes with a card indicating its number in the limited edition.

Article and image used with permission from MadeInWashington.com

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