House of Glass

For the past eighty years, the St. Clair-Rice family has been crafting art glass using techniques passed down through generations.

I remember seeing this St. Clair Glass on the kitchen counters and shelves and window sills of my dad’s side of the family since I was a kid. It comes from the same place they do: Madison County, Indiana.

Of course, the people and the glass have made their way across the country, moving for better jobs or better weather or bigger cities. Our family’s business used to be farming, but, even the relatives that stayed in the region left the farms years ago.

Every so often when I was growing up, my family would make kind of a pilgrimage from our home in Arizona to visit our Indiana family. Sometimes we’d visit the St. Clair glass factory (The House of Glass) in Elwood.

The showroom had shelves and tables stuffed full of lamps and vases, and so many paperweights — palm-sized sculptures shaped like birds, bells, baskets, apples, and angels with a landscape of colorful glass inside their clear exteriors. Each one was made by hand in the on-site workshop.

My parents would buy gifts to bring back for the friend who collected apple things or the one who was dog-sitting while we were away.

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You could see new pieces in progress, molten glass glowing from the heat of the furnace as the artist turned it and added color and shaped it into something you could recognize. It was like magic.

And it still was when we visited Madison County a few years ago. The store shelves were more sparse, but through the back door in the sweltering workshop, artist-owner Joe Rice was still firing the glass by hand.

Even then, he was concerned that he hadn’t been able to find an apprentice. Like my great-grandparents’ farm, there wasn’t anyone willing and able to take on the work long term.

As he used a long metal pole to heat up the liquid that would become a teapot-shaped ring holder, Joe Rice (who sometimes signs his work “Joe St. Clair,” using his mother’s maiden name) explained how it wasn’t just that he didn’t have a successor, there were few glass makers out there who could match both their production numbers and commitment to flawless glasswork.

And now there are even fewer.

Joe Rice announced last year he’d be closing up shop at the end of 2018, limiting his work to only select projects.

I still hope that one day soon someone will have the passion to learn his trade and fire up the furnace again.

December 17, 2018

15 Holiday Ornaments You Can Make Today!

A Christmas ornament can trim a tree or grace a garland, be a gift topper or the gift itself.

Here are 15 DIY ornaments, most of which you probably already have the materials for and/or are simple enough to make that even kids can join in!

1. Cardboard Tube Ornaments

These super colorful ornaments are made from painted paper towel tubes strung with ribbon and beads! / via Vesna Taneva-Miller

2. DIY Gold Leaf Ornaments

Transform clear glass ornaments by swirling colorful paint inside and gluing gold leaf outside. / via The Sweetest Occasion

3. Quick Clay Owls

These cute ornaments start from a circle of clay that you fold to create the shape of an owl. If you don’t happen to have modeling clay around, Paging Fun Mums has a recipe for making your own with cornstarch, baking soda, and water. / via Paging Fun Mums + 4 Crazy Kings

4. Simple Felt Tree Ornament Tutorial

Basically, you just use Handmade Charlotte’s PDF template to cut out felt circles of increasing sizes, stitch up the sides, and stack them up. I can’t decide which I like more: the trees with different colored layers or the ones that are just a single color! / via Handmade Charlotte

5. Upcycled Fabric Ornaments

Braid scraps of fabric to give old ornaments a new look! / via Simply Notable

6. Jar Ring Map

An old map and the ring part of a mason jar lid make a keepsake for remembering a trip or celebrating your hometown. / via Happy Mothering

7. Modern Leather Ornament

Delia (of Delia Creates) took leftover pieces from a leatherwork project to create this lovely minimal ornament. She mentions that you can substitute grosgrain ribbon for the two smaller (contrasting) strips. / via Delia Creates

8. Kusudama Paper Ornament

While Japanese kusudama balls were traditionally made from real flowers, you can make a paper version by folding origami petals and gluing them together. Robin (a.k.a. Robayre at Inspiration Junkie) makes a new one every year before Christmas. She has made them from old catalog pages, origami paper, and paper she’s decorated with herself with gelatin prints. / via Inspiration Junkie + Full tutorial at PlanetJune.

9. Pet Photo Ornament

Make a mini-plush pet ornament with a favorite photo and some iron-on transfer paper. You can use a complementary cotton fabric for the back — check your stash for those random extra pieces! / via Live Free Creative Co

10. Woven Cookie Stars

Super easy project using thread wrapped around cardboard! To mix it up, use variegated string or multiple colors. / via Aesthetic Outburst + Full tutorial at The Crafty Crow.

11. Watercolor Ornament

You get this watercolor look by dipping the ornament in nail polish and warm water. / via Unexpected Elegance

12. Wood Burned Christmas Ornaments

Use a wood burning kit to decorate thin wood slices cut from a tree branch. / via Simply Notable

13. Cinnamon Stick Himmeli

Gwen McKenzie (for Jojotastic) created this project based on the geometric shape of traditional Finnish himmeli ornaments, except using 12 cinnamon sticks instead of straw. I bet it makes your house smell like the holidays! / via Jojotastic

14. Hoop Ornaments

This is actually a series of 8 different ornaments designed for various people on your gift list — including grandmas, Goths, teachers, and teammates! They make use of small (3-4″) embroidery hoops and require little to no sewing. / via Crafts Unleashed

15. Resolution Time Capsule

I shared this one in the Violet color stories post, but such a fun idea is worth repeating! You fill a glass bulb with confetti and rolled up pieces of paper with your New Year’s resolutions on them and then, a year later, you can see how things turned out! / via The Crafted Life

Each image links to its source.

December 4, 2018

October 2018: Terra Cotta Pots

On our anniversary this year, we took Quijote for a picnic at The Farm at South Mountain.

We saw herbs in terra cotta pots on these stepped shelves that looked like little plant bleachers. Maybe they were cheering on the good weather!

November 21, 2018November 21, 2018

11 Cranberry Recipes for the Holidays and Beyond

It’s the time of year for all things cranberry!

The fruit’s tart taste is an excellent balance to the creamy and sweet foods the holidays are heavy on. And they just happen to be that deep red color that goes perfectly both with Thanksgiving’s fall palette and the merry shades of Christmas.

Whether they’re in a centerpiece or a serving dish, cranberries instantly make a table look more festive.

Here’s a scrumptious compilation of cranberry recipes, so you can get cooking!

Mama Stamberg’s Cranberry Relish

Every year NPR Correspondent Susan Stamberg shares her mother-in-law’s recipe, a surprisingly controversial twist on the classic side dish. The relish was originally meant for Thanksgiving, but she also recommends it putting it over latkes for Hanukkah. / via The Salt

Cranberry Balsamic Roasted Chicken

This is a gluten-free, paleo, single-dish entree with a one-minute video showing the simple prep. I imagine you could use the same recipe for turkey breasts, as long as you adjust for a longer cook time. / via Cotter Crunch

Sugared Cranberries

Candying cranberries adds sweetness and gives them a little extra sparkle. You can then use them to top desserts or garnish drinks. / via Fork and Flower

Sweet Potato Bake with Fresh Cranberries and Apples

Memories of a friend’s Thanksgiving table – and of the sweet potato and apple dish that was served on it – inspired Marlee of I Just Make Sandwiches to create her own version for family members trying to eat healthy. / via I Just Make Sandwiches

Cranberry Hazelnut Pear Tart

A unique addition to your Thanksgiving dessert table, I’m pretty sure that both #TeamCake and #TeamPie will be fans of this tart. / via The Everyday Mess

Cranberry Pistachio Baked Brie

Ali at Gimme Some Oven has a great tip: choose a “go-to appetizer” for the entire holiday season that you can whip up every time you need something to take to a party or serve to guests. This 7-ingredient, 20-minute recipe for a melty wheel of brie topped with cranberry sauce, pistachios, and orange zest looks so pretty and festive! I’d be curious to know how well it travels, but it certainly sounds delicious! / via Gimme Some Oven (h/t Jenny Collier’s Friday Favorites)

Holiday Cocktail

Vodka, rosemary syrup, tangerine and cranberry juice make up this Warhol-inspired cocktail, which you can garnish with a sprig of rosemary and sugared cranberries (use the recipe above or the less-sugar version in this post.) / via Fork Knife Swoon

Chiltepin-Cranberry Relish

Another unusual take on cranberry relish uses wild chiltepin peppers to spice it up and either honey or agave syrup for sweetness. Try it with peppers that grow where you are! / via Savor the Southwest

Mixed Nuts & Cranberry Magic Bars

Great idea for a holiday season snack! / via The Kitchen Is My Playground

Fig and Cranberry Compote

This recipe calls for fresh or frozen cranberries, dried figs, cardamom, and honey. You can make it up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate, and then just bring it back up to room temperature before serving.

Chicken Salad Sandwich

Greek yogurt standing in for mayonnaise is the secret to lightening up this chicken salad. While it isn’t just for the holiday season, I could also see it inspiring a new take on Thanksgiving leftovers! / via Damn Delicious

Photos via their respective sites.

November 3, 2018May 23, 2023

Downtown Mesa’s Día de los Muertos

A 10-foot tall skeleton in a sombrero leaned over to ask if I knew what time it was.

Which is not that weird when you’re at a Día de los Muertos celebration with skeletons everywhere – on banners, as sculptures, painted on kids’ faces, and for sale on tote bags.

So, of course, there would be a skeleton with stilts, a full beard, and no watch.

When you think about it, the lack of a timepiece may be the least surprising part. Schedules are probably pretty irrelevant in the realm of the dead.

Phillip, Quijote, and I had showed up near the end of Mesa Arts Center’s festival. We started at the custom car show and worked our way toward an oversized Frida Kahlo skull made from tissue paper flowers, stopping to listen to a band on the way.

We visited the community altar, which was decorated with photos, candles, art, and flowers in memory of departed loved ones.

On a second stage, Mariachi Pasion, an all-woman mariachi band, began playing.

When Quijote got restless, we moved on to check out the arts and crafts vendors. There were handcrafted decorations, jewelry, papel picado banners, and small ceramics that looked like ones we had seen in Peru.

Now it was 4:30 – half an hour before it was all scheduled to be over – and the party showed no signs of stopping.

In fact, it was still so crowded that our stilt-walking friend had trouble getting through. The bands played on, vendors continued to serve up churros and hot dogs and tamales and paletas, and there was still a line to get into the craft-making area.

As we walked away, the celebration continued behind us – everyone enjoying the moment, like time was irrelevant.