I have always had a love (obsession?) for Christmas ornaments. Decorating the Christmas tree is a favorite tradition, and growing up in a family of seven, there were a LOT of ornaments on our tree. My Mom always bought us ornaments for special occasions, and we each got a new one every year. I received ornaments from family members, friends, and some I made in school. When I got married, Mom gave me all of my ornaments, and the first time I decorated the tree with my husband, I was shocked that he didn’t have any of his own. He was a little bummed that the tree was basically just “mine”, so we made it a point to buy each other new ornaments every year. Seeing as how he hadn’t had any, I decided to make some each year for our nieces and nephews so that when they got older, they would have starters for their tree too (and ornaments are gift that you will always use, not one that you will outgrow or get tired of!).
Over the years, we started buying ornaments any time that we traveled. We acquired so many in fact, that we now have our regular tree and also our “travel” tree – which is SO much fun to remember all of our adventures. Some aren’t even ornaments, like our yodeling pants from Switzerland or the giant block of squishy cheese from Tillamook in Oregon. As if our two trees weren’t enough, one year my sister-in-law asked if I had any duck lights. After telling her no, she proceeded to buy me not one, but FOUR strands of rubber duck lights, along with about 75 holiday rubber ducks, and a rubber duck nativity set. What was I to do but buy another tree!
With all of these ornaments in my house, it was a natural progression then to want to have my artwork on ornaments. I lucked out two years ago, when my niece Hannah bought a sublimation machine and started printing my ornaments for me. I absolutely adore them. It’s so fun to see my paintings as tiny round ornaments, and she does such a great job printing them. Each year I sell them individually, and a few in a limited edition collector gift set. This year’s ornaments feature paintings of Engineer Mountain, fall aspen trees, summer wildflowers, a spring waterfall, and snow covered mountains with spring aspen trees, all near Durango, Colorado. You can view all of my ornaments here, and act fast—they do sell out. Happy decorating!
