Guardian Angel
Miniature
“I’ve been looking for a way to celebrate guardian angels in our ornament line for a long time. We do a lot of other angels, but guardian angels just don’t seem to have a lot of Christmas about them. But even though that may be true, if anyone deserves a gift in the season of giving, they do. I feel that my angel is watching out for me and my family all the time, and I hope this ornament goes at least a little way toward showing my appreciation and gratitude.” – Anita Marra Rogers
Gnome Riding Bird
Miniature
“I’ve always been fascinated by gnomes… the little people of the forest. In fact, I have a collection of gnome books and figurines. My son Zach shares my fascination, so we often read the books together. We love how the gnomes interact with forest animals, taking care of them and each other. It’s fun to imagine a tiny little world where these little people live. What kinds of things can happen in their cozy piece of the forest? Just about anything! That’s why they’re so much fun for an ornament sculptor who loves to tell stories!” – Tammy Haddix
Santa Riding Pegasus
Miniature
“I’ve wanted to sculpt a Christmas fantasy like this one for years. This studio piece has given me the perfect opportunity to share it with you. I once mentioned the idea for this ornament to a collector at a signing event. She told me that riding Pegasus would enable Santa to travel through time. That struck me as a pretty handy thing for Santa to be able to do. With all the “naughty or nice” decision he makes every year, winging back to a particular naughty or nice moment might be very helpful!” – Ken Crow
Victorian Angel
Miniature
“Among the family treasures to be found on the farm I grew up on was a collectible of Victorian Era calling cards and greeting cards. My mother and grandmother had saved them over the years to remember various people by. As a child, I always loved looking at them, marveling at the artwork, and wondering what the people who sent or left the cards were like. I’ve always wanted to use that Victorian style on an ornament, in honor of those memories, but the opportunity has never come up. Until now!” – LaDene Votruba
Christmas Cow
Miniature
“My 2001 ornament, Moose’s Merry Christmas, was fun to do, but I’ve always wanted to sculpt an animal I know more personally. Growing up around my uncle’s dairy farm, I’ve known a lot of cows. The problem is, they’re not very Christmasy. Unless they’re supporting players at the Nativity or passengers on Noah’s Ark, it’s hard to find a place for them in the ornament line. This cow was inspired by a great Hallmark Christmas card I saw a while back that featured a cartoon of a cow with hide markings in the shape of Santa and his reindeer.” – Tracy Larsen
Rocking Rooster
Miniature
“I’ve sculpted a lot of rocking animals in my day, but I haven’t known many of them personally. This time, I’d like to introduce an old friend—the boss of the barnyard birds. Rocking Rooster is dedicated to all the brave roosters I knew as a little girl growing up in a small Missouri town, where a lot of us kept chickens in the backyard. Any hungry little scavenger who turned up around our chicken coops ended up like the fox in this ornament—answering to one of our local heroes!” – Linda Sickman
Cat in Basket
Miniature
“Cats are terrific animals, and I’ve always loved sculpting them. Since I had so much fun working on our “Cat Naps” series—way back in the twentieth century—I thought I’d revisit the subject. This may be a new century, but I still love the little guys. The cat in this ornament looks like a whole lot like one of my own pets. Her name is Cuddle Bunny, shown here enjoying one of her favorite hobbies. I think I like cats so much because they’re so good at relaxing—something I have a hard time doing!” – Dill Rhodus
Bulldog
Miniature
“When I was a kid, we always had pets—dogs, guinea pigs, fish, lizards, snakes. My favorite was an English bulldog named Cuddles. Now that I’m grown-up and the mother of two boys, we’ve kept the family love for dogs alive by adopting a bulldog of our own. Her name is Bullie. This ornament looks just like her, all primped and pretty for the holidays. She really isn’t as mean as she looks, and not real “bully” all. She’s a laid-back, carefree couch-potato dog, which suits our family well.” – Sharon Visker
Snowman With Bird
Miniature
“This ornament is dedicated to my pet parrots—Opie, Chloe, and Baby Peanut. Birds and I go way back. I grew up in apartments that didn’t allow dogs, so my family always had birds. One of the most memorable was a parakeet who used to ride around on my diaper when I was a baby! My first idea that featured a snowman and birds started out as a Christmas idea but changed when we decided that the birds in that version would make great spring ornaments. They became the characters in our 2003 Tweedle Dee Tweet collection.” – Nina Aubé
Bobbing-Head Santa
Miniature
“To do a bobbing-head figurine has been a pet idea of mine for a long time. I think it’s because they’re just so fun. Whether you’ve collected them from family trips to the ballpark or had one on the dash as you cruised through summer with your friends, they always recall memories of fun and carefree times. And if you’re going to do a bobbing-head Christmas ornament, who better to do than the “Big Guy,” Santa himself. He is one of my favorite characters to sculpt.” – Nello Williams
Holly Princess
Miniature
“I love fairy tales. They’re not just for kids, you know. We all need a little fantasy now and then. Iv’e also always had a secret desire to be a theatrical costume designer, so I’m taking advantage of this chance to play around with both. I’m not sure what other characters my little show will have in it, but I think I’ll make this sweet holly princess the first one onstage. She looks pretty confident, doesn’t she? All brushed up on her lines an ready for the curtain to go up on opening night!” – Sue Tague
Boy With Lamb
Miniature
“When the idea for this project came up, I went straight to a cabinet where I keep the pieces I’ve done that we haven’t put in our line. I like them a lot, but they just weren’t exactly what we needed at the time I sculpted them. The rough sculpt of this little guy and his wholly pal came from a project we did about 10 years ago. For me, they represent the steady pace of our studio as we go about making sure we give our collectors exactly what they’re looking for from Keepsake Ornaments.” – Bob Siedler
Cowboy Snowman
Miniature
“This cowboy snowman reminds me of my childhood in Wyoming and how much I enjoyed going to see the Central Wyoming fair and rodeo. There was always a rodeo clown named Benny Bender performing there, and we kids loved to watch him tease the bulls. In another life, he might have been a friendly cowboy snowman. As a city kid from Casper, I wasn’t much of a cowboy myself. You would have thought I was made of snow, the way I got thrown off of just about every horse I ever rode (grand total, about five).” – John “Collin” Francis
Santa in Springtime
Miniature
“All of using the Keepsake Ornament Studio have spent a lot of time looking into what Santa Claus does to prepare for Christmas Eve. But have you ever wondered about what he does the rest of the year? What do you suppose Santa doe sin the spring, for instance? That’s something I’ve thought about many times. I’ve always wanted to sculpt a “springtime Santa.” I hope he’ll be able to get away from the North Pole to enjoy the beautiful birds and sweet breezes we all get to enjoy. After all, who deserves that more than Santa?” – Joyce Lyle
Airplane
Miniature
“I suppose my greatest passion as a sculptor is directed at the romance of flying and the beauty of the machines that make flying possible. I flew for the first time at age seven and have been building model airplanes ever since. I spent that first flight in a passenger seat on a commercial plane, but the romance of flying got through to me nonetheless. This ornament is inspired by the emotions pilots experience when flirting with clouds in close proximity to small airplanes, when they speak lovingly of “catching a cloud” while flying for pure pleasure.” – Lynn Norton
Hot Rod Santa
Miniature
“I love American hot rod culture. There is nothing cooler than an old car with a huge motor and the biggest tires possible shoehorned onto it. Inspired by the wild hot rod artwork of the 60s and 70s, this high-octane ornament has Santa replacing his trusty reindeer with a tunnel-rammed V-8 mill capable of rocketing all the way around the world in one night. This “sleigh” has got to be cranking out some serious horsepower to move that load of naught-kid coal Santa is hauling. You better watch out!” – Chris Webb
Christmas Bell
Miniature
“I’ll bet a lot of people think of my office as a little automotive factory of sorts. Quite a few cars and motorcycles have driven in over the years—and driven out miniaturized. I love those machines, but I have other interests as well. For example, I’ve been an avid gardener for more than twenty-five years. I also have a fondness for decorative bells. I’d like to share both of those interests with you, so I’ve combined them in this floral Christmas bell decorated with that most famous of flowers, the poinsettia.” – Don Palmiter
Pierrot Playing Lute
Miniature
“The lovelorn Pierrot playing a lute on a crescent moon is a revamp of a pendant design I once did for Hallmark. I have a collection of Pierrots at home and have always been intrigued by the character’s quest for the perfect expression of enduring love. Harlequin, Pierrot’s romantic rival in so many stories, may have had the words to woo the lovely Columbine, but Pierrot had the melody. If only Columbine would listen. Not a very Christmasy icon, but who doesn’t want a little romance at the holidays?” – Julie Forsyth
Man on Horse
Miniature
“My husband Paul and I had the most memory-making honeymoon anyone could wish for. We visited some wonderful places. For me, the most memorable were Ireland and Wales. Riding through the rugged Welsh countryside together on horseback was storybook romantic. And visiting Ireland gave me a chance to celebrate the Irish part of my heritage handed own by my Grandfather. I sculpted this ornament in celebration of him, the Irish roots he was so proud of, and in honor of the many sweet memories Paul and I make as we started our life together.” – Katrina Bricker
Elf’s Chair
Miniature
“Sculpting “furniture with personality” is one of my favorite assignments. The level of detail and the little surprises I get to put in are a lot of fun. In 2000, I sculpted a Santa’s Chair ornament. In 2001, I made a chair for Mrs. Claus. It didn’t occur to me until just recently that I’d left the poor elves with no place to sit! Sure, they could build themselves some chairs in the toy shop, but I at least wanted them to work form a design that matched the ones I made for the boss and his wife.” – Robert Chad
Mermaid on Sea Horse
Miniature
“I love sharing things I care about with our collectors, from the true meaning of Christmas to the fun an fantasy of Star Wars. Of course, there are some ideas I just can’t find a place for But when this studio project came along, I knew I finally had a chance to sculpt the mermaid fantasy I’d been wanting to do. I think mermaids are just amazing characters (I’ve watched The Little Mermaid more times than you’d believe)! And what better way for a mermaid to get around than on the back of a sea horse!” – Kristina Kline
Baby Fairy in Seashell
Miniature
“I wanted to sculpt something that reflected the area in which I was brought up—near the ocean in Massachusetts. Walking along the beach with my sisters and friends, picking up shells and sea glass, has always been a big part of my life. I still enjoy doing it with my daughters, nieces, and nephews whenever I’m “home” visiting family. In order to put a little bit of home into this ornament, the shell this baby fairy is sleeping in is a copy of one I found on the beach during my last visit.” – Joanne Eschrich