Inspired Fire - Part One

Just after the holidays, Lisa, Curt, Vanessa, the kids, and I went out to a glass studio to make ornaments.  Called Inspired Fire, it is quite an amazing place that is hidden behind an ordinary storefront.

We'd signed up to make glass ornaments and before we began, we were shown what our ornaments would look like and some painting ideas for when they had cooled.

We were then introduced to Sharon, the owner and our instructor. She wisely showed the kids some of the "wow" aspects of what we would be doing first and answered their questions then.

She also discussed safety and the need to wear the dark glasses she provided when we were up close and blowing our own ornaments. Both the adults and the kids were riveted.

One by one, the kids went up and blew their own ornaments.

Sharon showed them options, like poking indentations into their ornaments to give them some character.

See all those finished ornaments lying on the table in front of her? When she found out that not everyone was making one (she surmised correctly it was due to cost) she quietly handed me several of those so that all of us had an ornament to paint and take home. (And refused payment!) What a kind thing to do!

Mila, Vanessa, and Lukas at the painting station.

Lukie's shark was coming to life thanks to a little help from Vanessa. (Sharks just make me feel SOOO Christmassy! LOL)

Mila looking at paints and getting ideas for hers.

Lisa got a beautiful sphere when she blew her ornament. She decorated hers with gold stripes and swirls.

Me waiting for the glass to be ready to be blown.

Blowing!

It was so much fun! And so kind of Sharon to give us each an ornament so that we could all participate. Our original plan was to share a couple but Sharon had different ideas for us. And she was right - it was a very unique experience and nice for everyone to have something to take home.

When our ornaments were completed, Sharon took photos of them all.

Lukie's shark made her social media feed!

As did Vanessa's Starry Night. (This picture does NOT do it justice. It is gorgeous.)

In fact, we all made the shop's social media feed.

When we'd finished, Sharon had a surprise for us. "Would you like to go into the furnace room and see me make something?" she asked.

Would we ever!

Stay 'tooned!

Sharks in the Pasture!

The sharks were circling in the pasture today. Why?

Because I had apple spaghetti, that's why!

A favorite treat, it felt as though I was in the middle of circling sharks who could not wait to gobble down their portion!

Shark Bait

My sister, Leslie, had a mastectomy last week, and says she looks like she was bitten by a shark. So, when I found this picture of a cross country jump, I had to share!

Ironically, the event was a fund raiser for breast cancer!