Gratitude

A friend did something very nice for me recently, and I wanted to say “thank you very much“, with more than words. 

So, I went to my local flower store, Best Buds, in Madison Park, Seattle, they had just received a rainbow of peonies from a grower in Skagit Valley — purrrrrfect, thought I.

Next stop, the Glassybaby store and factory in Madrona. Usually, it takes me awhile to choose which color I want, because the selection is so wide.

But, today, I knew just what I wanted to buy.

I love giving Glassybabies full of flowers for thank you or hostess gifts, because I know that once the flowers are gone, my friends will drop in a candle and enjoy the beautiful glow and color from these specially crafted glass pieces for years to come.

You’ve probably seen Glassybabies on Splendid Market before. I thought you might enjoy a visit to the factory to see how these beauties are made.

Each glassybaby is made out of three layers of glass by an experienced team that performs a poetic relay, handing off what begins as a glowing blob of molten glass and manipulating it until it becomes the finished vessel.

Each day is planned out and organized by the color that needs to be produced.  These color sticks are used to make the middle layer.

The irregular color coverage, size and shape of each glassybeauty is what creates its intrinsic beauty.

Once the layering and shaping is completed, the vessel is cut and finished.

On this day when I visited the factory, I knew which creations I wanted to buy. I was seeking pairs of glassybabies called “Sarah’s Strength”.

This beautiful pair of glassybabies was named for a little nine year old girl who lived in our community.

I did not have the pleasure of meeting Sarah during her 9 years on this earth, but I have heard from many that she was an enchanting and courageous girl and she touched the hearts of many people I know.  Sarah lost her brave battle with brain cancer just over a week ago. 

Sarah loved the color pink.  Before she left, she visited glassybaby and chose her two favorite vessels. The pediatric brain tumor research fund will receive 10% of the sales of these babies.

A wave of sadness came over our community when she passed.

As a way of showing support for the family and love for Sarah, the neighbors began displaying her favorite hue on all of the trees and street signs in the neighborhood.

I love doing several small bouquets when bringing someone flowers, they can be combined to make a larger arrangement, or displayed separately and spread about the house.

Before adding the peonies I started with a base of mixed greens.  Three or more different shades of green creates support and an attractive background for the flowers.

Sprigs of sage (Lamiaceae argentea),

Hebe (Scrophulariaceae carnolula),

and Lady’s-mantle ((Alchemilla mollis) created a base structure, the lower leaves were stripped away before they were placed in the vessel of water.

Then the open spaces, between the greens, were filled with peonies and fragrant sweet peas with their greens and tendrils.

I’ve found that odd number groupings of flowers look more natural.

I tucked the flowers into a tissue lined box with a card, some long matches and votive candles.

I hope they like them.

Rest in Peace, sweet Sarah.  We’ll keep tying the pink ribbons for you.