This is the week where time feels stretchy and compressed all at once.
I had every intention of publishing this post earlier in the season — but the truth is, I’m writing it right in the middle of one of the busiest weeks of my entire year. And honestly? That feels exactly right.
Because this is what the holiday season actually looks like for me.
Full production mode
Right now, I’m not dreaming up new designs or experimenting for the future. While I'm not working in my Armadillo Christmas Bazaar booth, I’m firmly in production mode — finishing what’s already in motion and getting it into the world.
My week looks a little like this...
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Completing fused glass pieces that were started weeks ago
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Creating a few last-minute wall panels
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Blowing more glass ornaments (because you can never have too many ornaments!)
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Constant kiln cycles
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Packing orders, labeling products, and loading (kilns, the van, my arms full of stuff, etc!)
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Restocking The Blue Genie Art Bazaar every few days, as well as, restocking Paperwork on South Congress
It's a busy week, needless to say!
Coming off Hallmark, heading straight into the hustle
I’m also just back from the Hallmark Christmas Experience, which still feels a little surreal.
Seeing my blown glass ornaments featured in A Heidelberg Holiday was already a huge honor — but getting to experience that world in person, surrounded by holiday magic and people who genuinely love the story behind handmade art, was something special. I even got to meet Ginna Claire Mason. Her character in the film is basically “me”: an artist who blows ornaments, paints them, and travels doing art shows. Meeting the person who portrayed that story on screen felt surreal. She was so sweet and seemed genuinely excited to meet me, too. It’s not every day you meet someone who played a version of your creative life in a movie.
There wasn’t much downtime afterward, though. I came home and immediately jumped back into the studio. A couple days later I set up for the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar - a 9 day show here in Austin, TX.
What the studio feels like right now
If you walked into my studio this week, you’d see:
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Glass stacked everywhere
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Finished pieces waiting to be packed
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Half-finished pieces waiting their turn in the kiln
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Notes to myself everywhere (“Don’t forget these!”)
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And me… hustling around the studio finishing up a million different projects
It’s messy. It’s loud. It’s busy.
And it’s also deeply satisfying.
Because every piece that leaves the studio is headed somewhere meaningful — a gift, a keepsake, a holiday tradition waiting to happen.
This is the season I work toward all year
As intense as this week is, it’s also why I do what I do.
This is the moment when handmade art meets real life — when the work I’ve poured myself into finds its way into homes, onto trees, and into people’s hands.
So yes, I’m tired.
Yes, I’m juggling a lot.
And yes… I’m incredibly grateful to be right here in the middle of it.
Thanks for being part of this season with me.