The Nutcracker Ornaments Collection

The Nutcracker Ornaments’ 

Charming Magic

Letter I designed The Nutcracker unique ornaments collection with lovers of this enchanting ballet in mind. These charming characters are handcrafted with repurposed and recycled materials that will delight you this holiday season. I designed these ornaments to be hung on the Christmas Tree or simply to be arranged on the fireplace mantle. These ornaments offer great versatility when decorating your home for the holidays. Seize your memories of going to the Nutcracker ballet with your family. Or commemorate the first ballet performances of your little ballerinas and dancers with these one-of-a-kind keepsakes. These ornaments are sure to bring to life Tchaikovsky’s timeless music and ballet.

My Inspiration for The Nutcracker Ornaments

Going to a performance of The Nutcracker or the Christmas Carol was a tradition that we fostered with our children. Always the weekend of Thanksgiving, attending the performance marked the beginning of the Christmas season. I vividly remember the excitement in my children’s eyes. One Christmas, my mother-in-law came to visit for Christmas from Florida. And as tradition was, we all went to see The Nutcracker ballet.

During the intermission, grandma bought each of the children an ornament. Our son received the Mouse King, and our daughter a Ballerina Cat. Mine was The Nutcracker. The Ballerina Cat hangs from our daughter’s tree at her house, while The Nutcracker still decorates our Christmas tree. The Mouse King, safe in a box, awaits the time our son is ready to have a tree of his own.

These ornaments have survived two Christmas tree falls! During the last incident, my ornament split in two, although it was easily repaired with super-glue. Listening to the music of The Nutcracker during dinner on Advent Sundays, and reading the many versions of this story (Hoffmann, E T. A, Maurice Sendak, and Ralph Manheim. Nutcracker. New York: Crown Publishers, 2012. Print.), added to our collage of memories. To capture these memories, I created The Nutcracker collection in 2017, based on Tchaikovsky’s ballet The Nutcracker, first performed in 1892.

Mouse King Ornament
Clara Ornament
Sugar Plum Fairy Ornament

The Nutcracker Characters

I designed The Nutcracker collection in 2017 after many requests from my customers. Selecting which characters to include in a collection is always my first dilemma. After reading many versions of the story, and watching different ballet performances, I settled on the first four characters. First, I created The Nutcracker itself with his crunching-nuts smile. Second, I made the Mouse King, a whimsical mouse with very long whiskers, yet with a slightly daring and frightful expression. Third, I chose Clara, a darling little girl dressed on Victorian style nighties. And finally, I added the Sugar Plum Fairy, a spirited fairy wearing a pink tutu.

A few years back, in 2015, I had created a unique Christmas Tree ornament which did not belong to any collection. So, in 2018, it found a home in this collection. The Christmas Tree plays a big part in the Nutcracker Ballet when it grows into a giant Christmas tree during the first act of this wonderful Tchaikovsky’s ballet. A few years later, in 2019, I added the Nutcracker Candy Cane Fairy, which appears in some ballet choreographies. This is a small fairy with unruly hair and a body made of candy. Looking at it, you can vividly imagine this delightful fairy flying out the candy bowl.

The 2022 New Nutcracker Ornaments

For this year, 2022, I added four new characters to The Nutcracker ornaments collection. Two of the ornaments, Herr Drosselmeyer and the Toy Soldier, were a specific request from one of my most loyal fans, Anne, from Dayton, Ohio. I also added the Nutcracker Columbine Doll and the Nutcracker Harlequin Doll. These characters appear during the first act of the ballet when Herr Drosselmeyer joins the children and adults for the Christmas Eve celebration.

This year, 2022, I also added variations to some of the existing ornaments as well as the new ones. Using recycled and repurposed materials forces me to eventually makes small changes to the designs based on what materials I have available. I also added different skin tones. These new variations offer many choices for my fans and loyal customers to choose from.

Nutcracker Toy Soldier - Dark Skin
Nutcracker Columbine Doll - Dark Skin
Nutcracker Harlequin Doll - Fair Skin

Sneak Preview for what is to Come in 2023

Like many of my collections, there are so many other characters that I would love to add. Scheduled to be release for the 2023 holiday season, we have the Spanish and Chinese dancers. The Sugar Plum Fairy will finally have her Cavalier. The Snow Queen will make her appearance accompanied by a group of snowflake ballerinas. And finally, Mother Ginger, with her jolly face and her Polichinelle children, will join the rest of these magical Nutcracker ornaments collection.

Have you decided which The Nutcracker ornament you want to add to your ornament collection?

The Nutcracker Ornaments Collection Dedication

I already shared with you the memories I forged with my children around the Nutcracker as they were growing up. Likewise, I have similar childhood memories of my own. Even more, I can guess you find these anecdotes familiar to you too. In recognition of that I dedicate this collection to all grown-ups who create Nutcracker memories with their loved ones, year after year. The most wonderful gift you can give to your little ones is to create Christmas magic together!

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions about CELIStial Art products

  • How can I order customized ornaments and figurines?
    Some of our ornaments have been designed with a level of customization in mind. For example, the Bride and Groom ornaments and Wedding Cake Toppers offer a large array of customizable options. These ornaments are not readily in stock since they are hand-crafted to your specifications based on our primary design. You can do your desired customizations and let us know of any specific instructions you might have. We will contact you with any questions we might have and an estimated delivery date. Please allow plenty of time for us to create your customized keepsake. 

  • Can I supply the materials for my custom ornaments and figurines?
    Certainly! We love making ornaments from materials that have a special meaning to you. We have designed some of our ornaments to be customizable. For example, we can incorporate the leftover clippings from your wedding dress fittings, into your Bride & Groom Wedding Cake topper and Our First Christmas Together ornaments. When ordering a customizable ornament, please indicate that you will be providing some of the materials. We will contact you if we have any questions and we will let you know when we receive the material. It is then when our work will start.

  • Are the ornaments made from recycled materials?
    Yes, all ornaments are mostly made from recycled materials and repurposed materials. The most common recycled materials we used are toilet paper rolls, empty ribbon spools, empty tiny boxes usually from travel size toothpaste, caps from ChapSticks and medicine ointments, old clothing, old linens, old books, leather garments, board game pieces, puzzles, wigs, old jewelry, computer parts, electronics parts, discarded 3D printing filament, pop tabs, etc. As for repurposed materials, we find new uses for ordinary items such as wooden door knobs, wooden pegs, buttons, cocktail decorations, hors d’oeuvres picks, push pins, etc. We also use the gifts of mother nature in our ornaments. So, you will often see nuts, seeds, pinecones, buckeyes, seashells, tree bark, twigs, eggshells, etc. On occasion, I buy unique materials that are needed to enhance and accentuate the character the figurines represent. This is the case of the King Arthur collection in which swords and daggers came from artists suppliers. I usually buy new paint, polyacrylics, glues, fabric stiffener, and decoupage finish. But I also use leftover house paint.

  • Can you suggest the creation of a collection based on your favorite book?
    Any suggestions are welcome! We will indeed entertain any suggestions you might have and will let you know if we are going to pursue the idea. Of course, the theme must support our goal of creating figurines that will fuel the imagination of all young at heart. That said, we only create ornaments and figurines based on creative works that are in the public domain. And of course, we create our own make-believe characters from the well of our imagination. To know if a creative work is public domain, the best way is to google it or get the advice from legal counsel specialized in copyrights laws.

  • Do you make figurines and ornaments based on Disney, Marvel comics, etc. characters?
    Most Disney characters are under active copyrights. The same applies to the Marvel comics’ characters and the likes. So, unless the copyright of one of these characters expires, we will not be able to create figurines and ornaments depicting them. For example, Superman won’t be in the public domain until 2033. Now, Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse will enter public domain on January 1st,2024.

  • How can I send you materials I think you could use for your ornaments?
    We always welcome materials from our fans. You can send us the materials to the address: 156 Webster Park Ave. Columbus, OH. Please address the package in care of Catalina Celis Reasoner. If you are in doubt whether we can use the material, just drop us a line via email describing the materials you have. If by any reason we cannot use the material, we can always find a good home for it. We often get packages in the mail from our customers, and some even bring it to us at art shows. So, we would love to push our imagination with anything you might send our way.

  • Are these ornaments and figurines only suitable for the Christmas season?
    Absolutely not. Our ornaments and figurines are suitable for many holidays. We have ornaments and figurines designed specially for Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Halloween, the Fourth of July, Easter, and many more. More importantly, our ornaments and figurines are designed for collectors of all ages. So, you can display them all year around, bringing a splash of magic to your home.

  • In which ways can these figurines and ornaments be used to decorate?
    CELIStial Art figurines and ornaments are great to decorate fireplace mantels, shelves, and side tables. Most of CELIStial Art ornaments and figurines have been designed to stand on their own or to be hung, so they are extremely versatile. They are great to create magic table escapes that will be the talk of your parties and holiday gatherings. Some of the ornaments that cannot stand on their own, are perfect as dreamcatchers in front of your favorite window. And of course, they are perfect to decorate your Easter tree, Halloween tree, and Christmas tree.

  • Where can I see your work in person?
    We usually participate in two art shows in the Columbus and Dayton area. These shows are usually towards the end of year during the holiday season. The largest show is the Winterfair, in Columbus Ohio. The second show is the Christkindlmarkt at the Dayton Liderkranz Turner.

  • Can children play with these figurines?
    No, these handmade figurines and ornaments are NOT toys. Adult supervision is required when figurines and ornaments are being handled by children. This applies to products in all collections, including the Stick Puppet Ornaments Collection.

    WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD – Contain small parts. Not for children under 3 years.

  • How can I take care of my ornaments and figurines?
    If you keep your ornaments out all year round, you should dust them while you do the rest of your housekeeping. Do not let it go more than two months before dusting, otherwise the dust may get engrain in the fabric and hair, making it more difficult. If you keep them inside your curio cabinet, it is also advisable to dust them from time to time. Use a very soft and round paint brush as your duster. Preferably, a watercolor paint brush. These are usually the softest. Gently, brush off the dust starting from top to bottom. Place it back where it was and continue enjoying its charm.

    If you only display your ornaments during the holiday season, dust them as described above. You will be surprised how much dust can the ornaments collect hanging from the Christmas tree or sitting on the mantle. Whether your ornaments came on a white cardboard box or a clear plastic one, it is advisable to wrap them in tissue paper after being dusted and before placing them in their box. Store the ornaments in a dry place with little temperature fluctuations.

    Never use water or any other liquid to clean the ornaments.