One of the first Christmases after I was married, my father-in-law gave me a pin for my coat. It was a rather creative way to say Noel. I still have the pin and wear it each year. This pin is a great conversation starter because people often ask what the pin means and usually figure it out quickly when the start verbalizing what the image shows.

While trying to recreate the image in fused glass (more on that below), I looked up the history of Noel as a Christmas greeting.

“Noel” comes from the Latin root word “natus”, meaning birth. Early Christians used the phrase “dies natalis”, meaning day of birth, to refer to the birth of Christ. Over time the phrase became synonymous with the celebration of Christmas. As the term spread throughout the different languages, it evolved into the Old French word “noel” which was used as a joyous way of proclaiming the good news of Christ’s birth.

The word itself is all about celebrating the miraculous birth of Jesus Christ. It captures the joy, hope and promise of Christ’s redemption for our sins that we remember at Christmas. It’s a small word with a really big meaning!

Fused Glass Noel ornament

To try to replicate the pin in the form of an ornament, I first tried using high temperature enamels to paint the details on a white circle of glass. This did not turn out well at all and the glass was repurposed unto a pot melt project. The second attempt involved making a silicone mold for the No symbol and a silicone mold for the L, and then using the Freeze and Fuse technique that I have used before for other small projects. Unfortunately, the glass cracked while firing. After a few attempts, I gave up on this approach. Lastly, I contacted a friend who has a Wazer WaterJet glass cutter and had her cut out the No symbol and the letter L. I placed these on a 2.5″ circle of opaque white glass and added details to the ornament with some murini. Kinda Fun!

Noel Embroidery on Sweatshirt

While moving my mother a few months ago, we sorted through her craft supplies that she was no longer able to use. She had several sweatshirts that she wanted me to embroider for her to wear. One of the sweatshirts was red, which was perfect for Christmas. So, I used the embroidery module on my sewing machine and embroidered Noel for her. After making it, I realized that I would like a similar long sleeve t-shirt of my own. Perhaps next year I will make myself one.

Christmas Table Decorations

A few of my posts over the past year have shown the fused glass table decorations that I have made to update the décor in my dining room. The final set of glass items are the ones that I recently made for Christmas. This included an Advent Candle Bridge, made with wispy white glass, leaves cut out of various pieces of green glass, and red “berry” dots. The components of the bridge were contour fused together and then slumped into a mold with four candle spots.

I also made a couple evergreen tree plates, using Aventurine Glass, White Opaque glass and frit made from bits of these two glasses. Aventurine glass, with the sparkle, is one of my favorite glasses to use. However, it is extremely expensive. So, I am careful to think through my designs before starting so I do not waste the glass.

These new glass pieces make for a lovely Christmas table.