Space Rocket

Space Rocket Ornament

created the Space Rocket ornament inspired by cherished memories from mine and my children’s childhoods. Its simplistic design allows for multiple interpretations. Depending on your mind’s eyes, you could see it as a Spaceship soaring in outer space. Or you could perceive it as a firework or skyrocket ready to explode into a rain of tiny sparkles. As you see, either interpretation is correct. Surely, there is no right or wrong when it pertains to imagination!

This space rocket ornament is the ideal gift for pyrotechnics afficionados, space explorers, and model rocket lovers. Pair this imaginative ornament with the Holiday Gingerbread House ornament for a charming holiday table.

Space Rocket Ornament Design Process

My Inspiration for the Space Rocket Ornament

As a child, I remember the night sky lighting up with fireworks on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. Growing up in Venezuela, fireworks were quite common and a big part of the holiday celebrations. All year, my dad would stock up on a variety of fireworks, from firecrackers to skyrockets and everything in between. Given that a multitude of tall trees inhabited our yard, the best place to launch the fireworks was the rooftop. So, right after the holiday dinner, we would all carefully climbed on top of the flat rooftop of our house. Admittedly, I was more of a spectator than an active participant in the rocket launching jamboree. Although, I have never forgotten my wonderment as the night sky would light up like magic.

Also, I have fond memories of our son and his solid fuel rockets. We would go to the park on late afternoons, when the wind had died, and the stillness embraced the trees. Like the rooftop of my childhood’s home, the park’s empty soccer field was the perfect Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.  As the rockets disappeared into the summer skies, the clouds would spit them back towards the earth. And our hawk-like eyes would attempt to locate them as they landed. Often, we were able to retrieve them. Thus, saving them for another launch during another magical afternoon. But occasionally, we would lose them in the foliage of the Buckeye and Sycamore trees. Certainly, a lucky child would find the lost rockets, during another windless afternoon. Just like we did, indeed, find our share of rockets that had lost their young owners.

Designing the Space Rocket Ornament

I love the simplicity of this ornament. For its body, I used a cardboard tube my husband found at a garage sale. Most of the recycled materials I use have a story, and this one is no different. So, these cardboard tubes came from the Columbus Center of Science and Industry (COSI). The story goes that these tubes were part of a helium experiment, and that, for health and safety reasons, they no longer perform this experiment. Therefore, I became the lucky beneficiary of such a decision. I used ribbons of all sorts of colors and patterns to represent the fire of the rocket. Or, depending on your imagination, the flame of the firework about to explode into starlight.

Dedication

I dedicate this ornament to my dad, who masterfully created a fireworks spectacle every December during our holiday celebrations. As I close my eyes, I can still see the night sky lighting up as sparkles sprinkled everywhere. Moreover, I remember wishing a river of wishes as fast as I could. One for each sparkle that I could count, before vanishing into the night, a few seconds later.

Specifications

Year Designed

2013

Size

Actual size may vary, approximately 11.0” x 1.0” x 3.0”

Materials

Cardboard tubes, cardstock, ribbons, paint, bamboo skewers

Note:  Given the handmade nature of the ornament, all ornaments are different.  The pictures depict just one sample of the ornament.