Posted on

Christmas In July!

airplane family of four personalized christmas ornament

As the temperatures soar and we enjoy the beach, ice cream, and outdoor picnics it seems a funny time to think about snow, Santa Claus and Christmas, but that is what Christmas in July is all about! There are five months until families and friends gather to celebrate the Christmas holidays but it is both fun and practical to make some Christmas shopping plans now. We all know that time for shopping is hard to find in December, but now in July it’s a breath of fresh air to think of Christmas present shopping. Finding the perfect gift for your friends and family can be a challenge, but personalized Christmas ornaments handmade of dough by Calliope Designs are just the right gift.

July is Not Far from Christmas Celebrations and Gifts!

An individual handmade Christmas ornament is something that you can be proud to give as a gift. The wide range of designs that we offer means that you can find something special for your loved ones. There are personalized sports ornaments for athletes like football, wrestling, baseball, fishing, tennis, and karate (and more!) and each can be personalized with a name, a year or a special message. Do you have a new baby in your life? We have special ornaments for ‘Baby’s First Christmas’ for that new bundle of joy! These ornaments last a lifetime and will bring a smile of joy to your loved one each year that they display these treasured gifts. These beautiful ornaments are crafted to capture the joy of Christmas for you and your loved ones!

Family
When the family comes together at the holidays it is a time of celebration, catching up, remembering and having fun. You can commemorate each of these years with a special personalized family ornament that can be hung every year to remember that special gathering. We have snowmen, penguins, angels, gingerbread houses, teddy bears all to bring cheer and good wishes to your family. You can make a gift of an ornament that celebrates each branch of the family with the names of parents and children to be shared, or you can give individual ornaments to each person so that they can treasure that year. Have the grandkids found a new sport that they love? You can give them an ornament that features their new passion! Has someone graduated? Gotten engaged? Celebrating a special anniversary? These are all moments that Calliope Designs celebrates with its Christmas ornaments.

Friends, Neighbors and More!
Christmas in July is the perfect time to think about what you need as the Holidays roll around once more. December is a hectic time for everyone and getting a bit of the planning and work out of the way now will give you more time for baking, wrapping and visiting! Many children enjoy giving their teachers and coaches a present at Christmas- let them take a look at our personalized Christmas ornaments for the teacher or student! You can order the perfect ornament for the baseball or tennis coach as well as their school teachers. Does your neighbor love to fish? Sail? Are they a doctor? Fireman? Teacher? There are ornaments that feature all of these and more- a fun way to celebrate the holidays and your friendship! We have a special ornament that features two houses standing side-by-side, decorated for the holidays- perfect for you and your next door neighbor to celebrate Christmas. Have you been best friends for years? We have ornaments that celebrate the special bond of friendship, a delightful gift that can be shared with your favorite person!

Hostess Gifts
Many of us will be attending Christmas parties and gatherings with friends, neighbors, and colleagues from work and it is customary to bring a token of your appreciation and Christmas sentiment to these parties. Charming personalized ornaments for homes and neighbors make a perfect size gift that can be enjoyed in any home- or even the office! You can choose one special holiday ornament or a variety of ornaments and perhaps have them personalized only with the year or a holiday greeting appropriate for neighbors, friends, and co-workers so that they can be given as gifts. You never know when someone might surprise you with a present, so it’s a great idea to have a few ‘extra’ presents hidden away so that you can return the favor.

Easy Online Shopping
Christmas shopping online means that you can browse the wide selection of ornaments and place an order with a few clicks of the mouse! There are pictures of each of the ornaments, all of which show you how they can also be personalized, meaning you can find just what you want. We have our ornaments organized by categories to help you search, but you can also use our ‘search’ window to find something specific. We also have a section with our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ so that you can find the answers to any question. If you still have questions you can email us! No mileage on your car, no packages to carry, no parking spaces to find- shopping at www.calliopedesigns.com is a cinch!

Beat The Rush
Thinking about Christmas in July means that you beat the rush! You will have carefully planned, beautifully crafted, handmade ornaments stashed away and ready for you to give as gifts. If you finish your Christmas shopping early it means that you can double-check your lists, ensuring that no one is overlooked or forgotten in the Christmas rush. Ordering now means that you don’t have to worry about the most popular items being out of stock. And you don’t have to worry about squeezing in past the shipping deadline or delays in the mail as the 25th of December approaches! We can even gift wrap your ornaments for you- a time saver indeed! When everyone else is struggling to try and find just the right last minute gift you’ll have the best wrapped and ready to give to friends and family!

Posted on

Finding the Perfect Ornament for Each Person or Occasion

Personalized christmas fireplace ornament hanging on holiday tree.

Finding just the right gift at the holiday season is hard enough, but when you have a whole family to shop for and a large group of friends, you can quickly get overwhelmed. When we give our loved ones a present we want them to enjoy it, we want them to be excited and we want them to know that we thought about them when we bought the gift- that’s a lot of pressure! Not to worry- Christmas ornaments by Calliope Designs make a spectacular present for loved ones of all ages!

The Perfect Ornament

Every ornament is individual, handcrafted and beautifully detailed, and a fitting present for friends, neighbors and loved ones. For an added something special each ornament can be personalized, personalized Christmas ornaments let you send a message such as ‘I love you’, ‘Happy Birthday’ or can be marked with names and years to commemorate each Christmas. Don’t let gift buying nerves get the best of you! It’s fun to shop for our family and friends; there are just a few things to keep in mind when selecting the right ornament. Do you want your ornament to mark a special occasion such as a wedding or new baby? Is this gift personal to an individual? If so then maybe an ornament of something they enjoy or one that reflects their profession such as ‘CPA’, ‘Nurse’, ‘Fireman’, ‘Ballerina’ or ‘Soccer Player’ will be the one that you want. Or is this ornament a gift to a whole family? Our family ornaments reflect all shapes and sizes of family and with the ability to have each one personalized with names or nicknames, they make an ideal gift.

For Special Occasions:

Wedding
A wedding Christmas ornament is a great gift for a couple starting a new life together. No need to worry about the season when the wedding is held, this is a gift that is meant to last a lifetime and it’s always in season. Calliope Designs has brides and grooms of all types each with a space on the ornament to personalize and customize the message. You can send the happy couple your ‘Best Wishes’ or put the date of their wedding for them to always remember their special day.

Anniversary
If you are celebrating a special anniversary what better way to remember than with a beautiful anniversary Christmas ornament that marks your years together? Calliope Designs has couples of all sorts so you can choose a design that reflects your family. If your anniversary falls near the holidays it makes the perfect seasonal gift, if not then it is a present that celebrates not only the anniversary itself but gives reason to celebrate again when you hang your anniversary ornament on the tree at Christmas. If someone close to you has recently married you can give a ‘First Christmas Together’ or a Bride and Groom ornament that celebrates the happy couple and marks their first holiday together.

New Home
A new home is an important moment in our lives- from our first tiny apartment to the dream retirement home, each place that we have along the way is special in its own right. Calliope Designs has several beautiful ornaments with a ‘New Home’ theme that will be perfect for the Christmas tree in their new home. Whether your friend is celebrating their first solo apartment or you know a family in their first new home an ornament for every kind is available. Each new home ornament can be customized with a message such as ‘Welcome Home!’, the family name and year or even each person’s name. Bought a new house this year? Give a gift to yourself and your family in honor of your new home!

New Baby
There is nothing like welcoming a new baby into the world! Whether the new one is joining your family or that of a friend a Christmas ornament to commemorate the occasion makes a lovely gift. You can make a gift of a Baby’s First Christmas ornament to the new family. There are ornaments for ‘Mommy’s First Christmas’, ‘Daddy’s First Christmas’ and ‘New Grandparents’ so everyone can get in on the fun of having a new baby to celebrate. There are families of every size and shape from which to chose your favorite ornament to personalize and share. We even have several ornaments for moms and dads that are still expecting their bundle of joy when Christmas comes. These ornaments make wonderful Christmas presents or can be given as baby shower gifts at any time of the year!

Choosing Based On Areas of Interest:

Interest
We all march to the beat of our own drummer finding things that we like to do and places that we like to go along the way. You can find Christmas ornaments here that feature all sorts of hobbies and interests. Hobbies are a big part of who we are and there are ornaments that reflect the interest of artists, musicians, dancers and more! You can give them a gift that shows you care about their interests and they can hang their ornament on the tree with pride. Just about every sport you can think of has an ornament, and lots of outdoor pursuits like camping, fishing, golf even SCUBA diving! Give the cheerleader or sports fan in your life something to cheer about! Have you been on a big trip this year? Perhaps you took a cruise or spent time at the beach; there are ornaments that will capture the memories of that special vacation for all time!

Profession
Another way to select a Christmas ornament is to find something relating to their career. Doctor, Painter, CPA, Mechanic, Nurse, Teacher and more- Calliope Designs has an occupational Christmas ornament that will bring a smile to their face. Need a gift for the boss? There are ornaments designed especially for the boss, great for the office gift exchange or as something special from a colleague. Has someone begun a new career? This Christmas is a great time to celebrate their accomplishments with an ornament made just for them!

The quest for the perfect present is over! Personalized ornaments make a great one-time gift or they can be part of a long tradition that grows with each year! There is no reason to limit your imagination when you buy Christmas ornaments for loved ones. We have a list of popular personalization phrases for all types of ornaments. Or you can create your own unique phrase to add a special touch. Be creative and have fun!

Posted on

Christmas at Gump’s, San Francisco

Gump's Store

Calliope Designs personalized ornaments are sold at one of San Francisco’s most lovely and cherished stores, Gump’s, located in Union Square at 135 Post Street. During the holiday season, one of our owners, Stephanie Eddy, is invited by Gump’s to come on Saturdays and Sundays from Thanksgiving to Christmas and meet the Gump’s customers and personalize the Calliope Christmas ornaments that are for sale. This is a tradition that has been going on for 25 years!

Christmas Celebration at Gump’s

Appearing at Gump’s has been a wonderful opportunity to experience first hand the joy of creating a collection of personalized holiday ornaments. Families come each year to select their special ornament for that year. New styles are always available. We have especially enjoyed seeing individuals, couples and families return to us at Gump’s to add to their ornament collections.

Couples come when they get engaged and have a unique engagement design personalized and dated. Following the engagement is the “Our First Christmas” personalized ornament with the name of the bride and groom and their wedding date. Then we see them come back when the first home is purchased and for each child’s “Baby’s First Christmas.” Calliope’s Christmas ornaments also make especially thoughtful gifts for neighbors, grandparents, and friends! We truly believe that all family events can be made more memorable with that special personalized ornament.

Now, after 25 years, Stephanie is making Christmas ornaments for new families – children who are grown up and getting married and starting their own collection. This is a wonderful San Francisco holiday shopping tradition for many Bay Area families. And, people who have moved away from San Francisco, often telephone in orders for Stephanie to personalize and be mailed to them in far away places. Gump’s also provides, free of charge, a lovely gift wrap for the personalized ornament keepsakes.

Over the years Calliope Designs has created custom designed products to be sold only at Gump’s or in the Gump’s By Mail catalog. Here customers from all over the world could purchase our personalized designs. In 2006 Calliope added six new San Francisco ornaments featuring the Golden Gate Bridge, Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco Skyline, San Francisco Cable Car, Lombard Street’s Winding Way, and Santa Driving the Cable Car, all to be personalized and sold at this special location.

Along with the new San Francisco personalized ornaments Gump’s customers will find a large collection of our Penguin Family ornaments, Snow Family ornaments, Baby ornaments, Wedding ornaments, and of course, a special ornament for everyone’s favorite puppy – the Dog Bone with Jingle Bells ornament.

It’s a challenge to create many marvelous new ornaments to be personalized for our long-time collectors! But it’s one we love and will continue to do for many years to come.

Posted on

Great Gifts Ideas for Grandparents

Gingerbread Couple by Tree Personalized Christmas Ornament

We know Grandparents are much-loved family members! And each is unique – some wanting to be Grandmother and Grandfather, Grandma and Grandpa, others Nonna and Poppa! Some still live in the home where they raised their family, and some have had the big garage sale, sold the home and downsized to something “more manageable”, or closer to their kids. The one thing we hear from our customers, time after time, is that when asked what they’d like for Christmas Grandparents often reply…. Oh, I don’t really need anything! I have everything! Or, I just don’t have room for anything!

Great Gift Ideas

Grandparents will love our ornament designs
We’d like to suggest that you use one of our darling personalized Christmas ornaments as a gift to the Grandparents in your life! It’s not an extravagant gift in terms of money, but it’s extravagant in terms of love and thoughtfulness. Take a look at our section of ornaments for Grandparents. We have it divided up by the number of grandchildren to make it easier for you to shop.

Create a personalized ornament each grandchild’s name
You can make an ornament with a cute phrase: “Proud Grandparents of” is one of the most popular. Then add the names of your children on the little gifts or angels or gingerbread kids. You can make it using just your own children’s names…. Or you can add the names of all of the grandchildren in your extended family – i.e. all the cousins!  Don’t worry that more grandchildren might come along the way in the future.  We’ll put the current year on the ornament and Grandparents will love showing the grandkids which ornament was for the year they were added to the family Christmas ornament.

Give a Christmas ornament when there’s a new addition to the family
When you’re expecting, give a special “We’re Grandparents Again in …..” ornament such as one of our cute Snow Couple expecting ornaments.   This is also a super fun way to tell Grandparents that you are pregnant again, and that a new grandchild is on the way for the next Christmas celebration.     And always be sure to add the year to each gift. We’re certain the Grandparents will enjoy looking at their collection each year as they get their box of ornaments out to decorate the tree.

More ways to use our personalized Christmas ornaments for Grandparents
If the Grandparents are no longer decorating a tree, start a Grandparents Wreath for them!
Purchase an artificial Christmas wreath and decorate it with a big red bow and some small red balls. Fill in the spaces with an ornament custom personalized for each grandchild. This would be a decoration for the home that could be used each holiday and could be added to as more grandchildren come along.

We also know that Grandparents enjoy being part of their grandchildren’s special occasions in life. We encourage newlyweds to give their parents and grandparents each an Our First Christmas ornament celebrating their wedding! Be sure and put the wedding date on it – no one will ever forget their anniversary! It’s also a nice way to say Thank You to parents and Grandparents who might have contributed to the wedding ceremony and party!  And when there’s a Baby’s First Christmas – buy the Baby Photo Frame ornament and put a picture of the newest grandchild. What a wonderful gift to the proud grandparents! We have ornaments for Engagements, Anniversaries, and even Graduation. So always remember to keep Grandma and Grandpa in mind at Christmas time.

Posted on

Ornaments for the New Baby or Child

Baby's 2nd Christmas Personalized Ornament

Ornaments for Any Occasion

Christmas Tree Ornaments – Personalized Baby Gifts!
The birth of a baby is one of the most joyous events in a family and is celebrated with baby showers and gifts galore! Lots of baby gifts are for the moment – the size 0-3 months clothing, baby rattles, books, and teething rings.

This is truly an opportunity to give a personalized baby gift that will become a treasured family heirloom. A personalized Christmas ornament, with the year and the new baby’s name will be specially cared for and hung on the tree every year.
Baby’s First Christmas is the most popular phrase for this occasion, and remember, always include the year.

Some of our ornaments have more room to personalize and inscribe than others. Your choice will depend on what you want to communicate. Use your common sense to judge if a name, phrase, or other information will fit in the space available to personalize the dough ornament.

Often times the baby’s weight and length will be included. That is often included on the birth announcement, which is also a good source for the proper spelling of the baby’s name.

Another way to create a personalized baby gift is to write “(Baby’s name)’s First Christmas – such as Adam’s First Christmas. This type of personalizing works for Second Christmas, Third Christmas, etc. Don’t forget to add the year on each personalized Christmas ornament.

We also offer Mom, Dad, and Baby. A cute phrase is “And Baby Makes Three! Add the child’s name along with Mom and Dad’s names or the family name with the year. Any of the dough ornaments or claydough ornaments with three characters can be inscribed this way.

The new baby isn’t the only one who might like a personalized ornament gift celebrating his/her birth! This is a perfect personalized gift for Grandparents. One ornament we have is a photo ornament, just the size of one of those tiny photos from the hospital… and we inscribe “Proud Grandparents of…(name)” on the frame, with the year. Don’t forget both sets of Grandparents!

Our First Grandchild, Grandma and Grandpa’s Sweetheart, Grandchildren are a Blessing are some other phrases that can be used. Or use a Baby’s First Christmas design and say Our Grandaughter (son)’s First Christmas.

Ornaments can be personalized in this way for Aunts, Uncles, and Godparents. A lovely personalized baby gift.

Personalized Expecting Christmas Ornaments for Parents- to- Be!
Our ornament couple is holding a Baby Names book, and Mom-to-Be has a T-shirt with
BABY on the tummy. This ornament and a Baby’s First Christmas ornament would be great personalized baby gifts.

Expecting your baby is an occasion to celebrate. Expecting! 2005 can be inscribed.
Or, “Great Expectations! 2005”.

Sisters, Brothers, Twins, Triplets Personalized Christmas Ornaments

These styles are perfect to add to your children’s collection of personalized Christmas ornaments. We’ve noticed a lot of parents begin buying a dough ornament when their children are born and create a collection of personalized ornaments for their children’s first 21 years to be given to them when they have their own home.

Sisters Are Special
Friends Forever
Best Friends Always
My Sister, My Friend
Brothers Are the Best

Twin’s First Christmas
Triplet’s First Christmas
Double Joy
Triple Joy

Personalized Sports Christmas Tree Ornaments
Children of all ages love our personalized sports ornaments.  Always include the child’s name and the year.  These ornaments make a great gift for the coach, or even for all the team members.  If there’s room it’s fun to put the team name on the ornament as well.

There are field sports, water sports, and snow sports.

Posted on

Ornaments for House and Home!

Personalized House personalized christmas ornaments

Ornaments for the House

Personalized Home Christmas Tree Ornaments
One of the most frequently used phrases for a personalized Christmas ornament is “From Our House to Yours”. We have quite a few “house” dough ornaments. What a great gift for a neighbor or friend. Often there is room to personalize with names such as “From the Smiths to the Browns” on another part of the ornament. One of the house Christmas ornaments has little reindeer in the windows and you can choose the number of reindeer by the size of the family.

Other phrases we use are:

Good Neighbors are a Blessing.
Home for the Holidays.
Merry (state or city) Christmas – Merry Texas Christmas.

A personalized Christmas ornament for the family in a new home:

Our First Home
First Christmas in Our New Home
Christmas in Our First Home
Happy Holidays in Our New Home

One of our customers is a successful and thoughtful Real Estate Agent. She purchases a new home ornament for each of her clients who have purchased a new home from her, and continues to send one out in following years! She keeps a careful list of the family’s name and spellings of the children’s names so she can create a unique Christmas tree decoration each year. What a lovely way to show your appreciation!

The Family Dog – Personalized Pet Christmas Ornaments!
Believe it or not, this is one of our most popular categories of personalized ornaments.
The dog bone is the favorite – every dog should have one!

Puppy’s First Christmas
My Favorite Pooch
Spoiled Rotten Dog Lives Here!

Posted on

New Family Tree Ornament

Fireplace for family of two with two pets

Here’s a drawing of one of our new designs for 2008. It’s a Family Tree because you can personalize each little character on the tree with a family member’s name. You can see our last minute change – a bigger star on the top. We think the year, 2008 will look cute up there and our customers can put a family name or a phrase on the white base. We’re thinking of doing some similar products using a dog and a cat. We’ll see how the sample comes out. This will be a nice addition to our other Family ornaments.

New Ornament for the Family Tree

If you like this design, be sure to check out our new DIY personalized Christmas ornaments!  Not only can you put all the names you would ever want on an ornament, you can actually have them made absolutely to order, right here in Santa Rosa, CA.

Over the last 4 years we’ve developed an entire line of base products – The Christmas Tree, a House, a Fireplace mantle with stockings (1-5), and soon we’ll be adding a Christmas wreath.  These items are blank!  You get to design exactly what you would like on the background.  We have several dozen ” characters” to decorate your products – one special one for each person in your family, and a special one for your pet or pets.  Dogs and cats that is!  The cats come in standard cat colors – orange (our personal favorite!), black, white, and grey.  The dogs are more varied – and of course we can’t make every single breed out there, but we have quite a few generic styles, and some breed specific ones too.  We ask you to pick the one you think is most like your pet, or your friend’s pet.

We also have items for a wedding ornament which includes men and women with either brown or blue eyes, light and darker skin.  And we’ll be adding the characters seen in the drawing above.

Where else can you find something so absolutely adorable and so personal of a gift as something you have designed yourself.  And for under $20.  Let us know what you think.

And of course, if you have any wonderful ideas for an ornament design, be sure to let us know.  We love that creativity from our customers.

 

Posted on

Ornament Maker Calliope Designs Thrilled with New “Partner”

skiing family of five personalized christmas ornament

Personalized Christmas ornament maker Calliope Designs has broadened their appeal to families of all shapes and sizes. This year Calliope is offering gay and lesbian families across the US charming personalized family Christmas ornaments.

Santa Rosa, California (PRWEB) December 19, 2007 — Personalized Christmas ornament manufacturer Calliope Designs is always looking to broaden their appeal to families of all shapes and sizes, and this year is no different. Targeting the gay and lesbian families across the US in their marketing strategy has made this holiday season that much more successful.

Christmas is all about family, and we really believe that every family, no matter the shape or size should be able to celebrate with their own personalized holiday ornament. We obviously sell a very traditional product, but our personalized ornaments are truly for everyone and we are so excited to be offering partner holiday ornaments to the gay and lesbian families in the US.

We really have tried to think of every gifting option in the holiday season, from hostess gifts to ornaments you can give your whole family every year as a tradition, and we felt that partner ornaments and family ornaments for the gay and lesbian community were an important addition to our line.

Every person, family and child deserves to celebrate their holiday in a personal way, and that’s why we love our ornaments – they prompt the creation of traditions. We have ornaments with partners, partners with one child and two children and more. This means you can find the ornament that represents your family in that moment every year.

“Christmas is all about family, and we really believe that every family, no matter the shape or size should be able to celebrate with their own personalized holiday ornament,” said Stephanie Eddy, owner and president of Calliope Designs. “We obviously sell a very traditional product, but our personalized ornaments are truly for everyone and we are so excited to be offering partner holiday ornaments to the gay and lesbian families in the US.”

Calliope Designs specializes in creating claydough ornaments that can be personalized for any occasion. With categories of ornaments including everything from the traditional Baby’s First Christmas to Pet Ornaments and Sports Ornaments any customer can find the personalized ornament that will be the perfect, thoughtful gift.

“We really have tried to think of every gifting option in the holiday season, from hostess gifts to ornaments you can give your whole family every year as a tradition, and we felt that partner ornaments and family ornaments for the gay and lesbian community were an important addition to our line,” said Eddy.

The gay and lesbian market demographic is growing quickly in cities and suburban communities alike. Additionally, according to GL Census, 17% of lesbian couples hope to have children and 6% of gay couples also hope to add children to their families. Many of these families want to celebrate the traditions of their own childhood and gay and lesbian holiday ornaments can make the holiday feel that much more inclusive.

“Every person, family and child deserves to celebrate their holiday in a personal way, and that’s why we love our ornaments – they prompt the creation of traditions. We have ornaments with partners, partners with one child and two children and more. This means you can find the ornament that represents your family in that moment every year,” adds Eddy.

About Calliope Designs
When Dorr and Stephanie Eddy began making bread dough ornaments in their kitchen in 1972 they had no idea how popular their handmade Christmas tree decorations would become. Today, after more than 35 years of distributing their Christmas tree ornaments through fine retailers and major department stores nationwide, their whimsical little clay dough ornaments are treasured by children and grownups all over the world.

Each Calliope dough and claydough ornament is an original creation designed by Dorr Eddy. The unique character of each personalized Christmas ornament adds to the style of a completely handmade product. The bright colors and high gloss coating add to the ornament’s attractiveness and durability. The special techniques and the tools we have created greatly enhance our consistent quality.

Every design can be personalized to order creating a unique and treasured gift.

Posted on

Storing your Personalized Ornaments: Ornament Storage Boxes

Triplet Penguins in Stocking Personalized Christmas Ornament

Crafty Holiday Storage Solution

Ornament storage boxes:
Martha Stewart Living recommends each ornament be stored in it’s original box before putting away until next Christmas. If the original box is not longer available, wrap each ornament in acid-free paper, and carefully place it in a cardboard box with cardboard dividers to protect each ornament. The cardboard dividers give the box strength too – to keep it from being crushed in storage thus damaging your wonderful ornaments.

Martha recommends labeling each box with the inventory of what’s inside!

In our family, we made our own Christmas ornament storage boxes using our favorite gift wrap paper glued to the sides of the cardboard box. We decorated the outside of each box with cut out portions of our favorite Christmas cards – making a collage of Christmas memories. My 87-year-old mother has given me these boxes now, and it’s amazing to remember the many years we decorated a tree together.

Here are some ornaments that might be nice for a collection for the children in your family, https://www.calliopedesigns.com/friends-and-children-509.html. We recommend keeping that collection for each child in it’s own box. If you have dough ornaments, be sure and keep them in an airtight, Tupperware type container. Label each container with the child’s name so that next year the child can anticipate unpacking his or her own special collection.

Posted on

Storing your Personalized Ornaments: General Info

camping family of four personalized christmas ornament

Storing Your Ornaments 
Beautiful Christmas ornaments are often fragile so it’s important to develop a nice way to store them and keep them safe from breakage, weather conditions (humidity, heat, dampness, etc.) and little-unwanted creatures (bugs and mice)!

Calliope Designs offers two types of personalized ornaments. Our traditional “dough” ornaments and our new clay dough ornaments.
Our traditional dough personalized ornaments are made of a mixture of flour, salt, water, and colors, and are baked in an oven until hard, then glazed with a clear shiny coating to protect them for years. No matter how thick the coating, dough ornaments need to be stored in an airtight container to protect them from any moisture deterioration. We recommend they be stored in a Tupperware type container or a zip lock freezer bag for ultimate protection. Using this practice we continue to use the ornaments we made when we first started Calliope Designs in 1971!

Our new clay dough ornaments are made of a polymer clay – and it is not subject to any moisture or weather conditions, bugs, or mice. They are also extremely durable. So there are no specific storage requirements for their preservation.

Posted on

NEW: Whimsical Snowball Scene Christmas Ornaments

Snowball Family with Tree personalized christmas Ornaments

Calliope Designs is thrilled to be offering a new line of personalized Snowball Scene Christmas ornaments exclusively on their website, https://www.calliopedesigns.com. Designed by Calliope’s lead designer, Dorr Eddy, the originator of personalized ornaments since 1972, these clay dough three-dimensional globes offer a new handmade ornament for Christmas 2007. Priced between $19.99 and $25.99, these Christmas ornaments are highly collectible and a wonderful original holiday keepsake or gift.

Santa Rosa, CA (PRWEB) August 27, 2007 — Calliope Designs is thrilled to be offering a new line of personalized Snowball Scene Christmas ornaments exclusively on their website, https://www.calliopedesigns.com .

Designed by Calliope’s lead designer, Dorr Eddy, the originator of personalized ornaments since 1972, these clay dough three-dimensional globes offer a new handmade ornament for Christmas 2007. Priced between $19.99 and $25.99, these Christmas ornaments are highly collectible and a wonderful original holiday keepsake or gift.

We wanted to offer a truly original concept in claydough. Each style is expressly created to become a personalized ornament, and each ornament will be dated with the year to increase its collectivity.
Snow Globe Ornament
Calliope Designs has been a designer, manufacturer and importer of personalized holiday ornaments seen at Gump’s, San Francisco to Fortunoff of Westbury in New York, as well as at many gift shops and department stores, kiosks, and websites across the United States. With original designs ranging from traditional Santa Claus motifs to Penguins, Snowmen, and Teddy Bears, these new Snowball Scene Christmas Ornaments mark an exciting new addition to their product line and the website.

“Within each Snowball Scene ornament is a special Christmas story. We offer everything from the Night Before Christmas Snowball Scene to the Holy Family Nativity Snowball Scene. You’ll find Snowball Scene globes that commemorate the family our Christmas tree shopping in a festive winter sleigh, a rocking horse personalized ornament marking Baby’s First Christmas, and even a Christmas Snowball Scene wedding ornament with a bride and groom for Our First Christmas,” said Owner and President, Stephanie Eddy.

“We wanted to offer a truly original concept in claydough. Each style is expressly created to become a personalized ornament, and each ornament will be dated with the year to increase its collectivity,” she added.

These unique Snowball Scene Christmas ornaments can also be used in various holiday displays in the home. They are designed to hang on a tree or sit on a mantle or holiday table because they have a slightly flattened base. These ornaments can be used as pieces in a lovely holiday centerpiece, as party favors sitting at each guest’s table setting, or as a hostess or housewarming gift.

“We’re also excited about these Snowball Scene ornaments because our wedding theme ornaments are often used as holiday wedding favors, as gifts to the bridal party, or as part of a wedding or shower centerpiece! Our goals at Calliope Designs are always to provide a wide selection of holiday ornaments to our customers and these exclusive, fabulous, and versatile Snowball Scene Christmas ornaments will be another wonderful addition to our site and catalog.”

Calliope Designs has also added over 75 other new clay dough Christmas ornaments to be personalized for Christmas 2007. As well as new Penguin and Snowman groupings, there are all kinds of new themes including Irish ornaments featuring shamrocks and Celtic crosses, fresh New York ornaments, new Las Vegas ornaments and New Orleans ornaments!

About Calliope Designs
When Dorr and Stephanie Eddy began making bread dough ornaments in their kitchen in 1972 they had no idea how popular their handmade Christmas tree decorations would become. Today, after more than 35 years of distributing their Christmas tree ornaments through fine retailers and major department stores nationwide, their whimsical little clay dough ornaments are treasured by children and grownups all over the world.

Each Calliope dough and claydough ornament is an original creation designed by Dorr Eddy. The unique character of each personalized Christmas ornament adds to the style of a completely handmade product. The bright colors and high gloss coating add to the ornament’s attractiveness and durability. The special techniques and the tools we have created greatly enhance our consistent quality.

Every design can be personalized to order creating a unique and treasured gift.

Posted on

Gift Ideas: An Individually Handmade Christmas Ornament

Two Grandchildren For Grandparents personalized christmas Ornament

An individually handmade Christmas ornament is something that you can be proud to give as a gift. The wide range of holiday ornament designs, from pet ornaments to occupation ornaments, means that you can find something special for everyone on your list. There are ornaments for athletes with sports like football, wrestling, baseball, fishing, tennis, and karate (and more!) and each can be personalized with a name, a year or a special message. Do you have a new baby in your life? We have special ornaments for “Baby’s First Christmas” for that new bundle of joy! These ornaments last a lifetime and will bring a smile of joy to your loved one each year that they display these treasured gifts. These beautiful personalized ornaments are crafted to capture the spirit of Christmas for people of all ages! Find a huge selection of personalized ornaments at https://www.calliopedesigns.com.