Lots of News

It has been a crazy time around here as we head into the winter festival season. I was just up in Duluth where I was on "Good Morning Northland" doing a Martha Stewart thing about making ice lanterns and promoting the John Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon. It was surprisingly fun and with the help of my husband Tom, it turned out just fine.

Next we are packing up to head out to the Flake Out Festival in the Wisconsin Dells. We will be selling Globe Ice Lantern Kits and Extra Ice Lantern Balloon Packs in the Vendor Tent plus we are offering 2 free Globe Ice Lantern Classes in the Family Tent - Saturday at 4:00 pm and Sunday at 11 am.

Then the next weekend we will be driving up to Duluth for the weekend of Jan 30 where we will be spreading Globe Ice Lantern Charm around the John Beargrease Dog Sled Marathon. This is our first time going to this amazing dog sled race and I am really excited--the dogs, the mushers, the cold basic beauty of winter at its best. That we can be a part of this truly wonderful!

The the next weekend after that we will be at home for the City of Lakes Loppet and the Luminary Loppet event on the weekend of February 6th! This is a beautiful step-back-in-time event where hundreds of ice lanterns line the race course and . . . it really is hard to explain the simple beauty of this candlelit event. It has to be experienced to understand the power it holds. Please consider coming and if you live in the area, consider helping. Or you can contact me directly and help with my contribution to the Luminary Loppet.

Well, I have to run, but consider helping at the Loppet - it is such fun and sooo beautiful!

Fun Ice Lantern Project Needs Help!

If you are a sculptor, like to sculpt or have even considered trying to sculpt, I am looking for people who live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area who would like to assist in a really fun volunteer snow/ice lantern sculpture project on Lake of the Isles. I am starting to plan now, but the event is the evening of Saturday, February 6th, 2010. It is called the City of Lakes Luminary Loppet and our project will be to add magic to the Enchanted Garden.
Interested? Know someone who might be?
Please CONTACT ME!

Here are some PHOTOS from my Globe Ice Lantern project for last year's Luminary Loppet event!

These amazing photos were taken by Bruce Challgren, a local award-winning photographer.

Alaska Dispatch News Article

Jill Burke, a news writer from Anchorage, Alaska, spun out a wonderful article, Frozen Glow: Ice Lanterns, on the creation and appreciation of ice lanterns. Great photos, too!
I was fortunate enough to be included.
She also mentioned the City of Lakes Luminary Loppet, an amazing ice luminary event in Minneapolis orchestrated by ice lantern gurus, Hal Galvin and David Bryan. (I usually add a few of my special globe ice lanterns to the mix.)
Thanks Jill!

Problem with Success

We have a problem. A wonderful problem. The Globe Ice Lantern Kits sold so well out of the Patina and Shoppe Local stores that we have an inventory issue--we are currently sold out. We do have a few available for online orders, but are unable to restock any of the stores . . . for now.

See, the idea was that we would do a "soft roll out" of the product to see if it was a good idea and then take it to market on a larger scale. After Patina picked it up, it became a "hard roll out".

THE GOOD NEWS is that we are well on our way to securing vendors that can keep us in good supply of all the good things that are in the kit, so we can send them out to people who are excited about Globe Ice Lanterns.

And excited they are! I get emails everyday from people who are trying it for the first time. It is fascinating to read the different responses. My favorite is from a woman from Anchorage Alaska who said she had just started experimenting with making Globe Ice Lanterns and loved that even her rejects look beautiful!

Have fun and please feel free to contact me with questions, suggestions or to send me photos of your ice lantern creations!

Welcome to "Globe Icelanterning"

Making Ice Lanterns is an ancient craft that relies on science and ingenuity to create a natural form of art that we all can appreciate but it does not have a name. I say, "I'm going out to make ice lanterns" or "create ice lanterns" which are both unnecessarily long, so I decided to give it a name, like "knitting" and see if it sticks.

So I am introducing, "Globe Icelanterning" as an old craft with a new name.

If you just received the Globe Ice Lantern Kit as a gift and are looking for tips or suggestions, please note the blog topic to the left, but please feel free to contact me with questions. I am very happy to help and REALLY WANT YOUR FEEDBACK!

I have been icelanterning for 20+ years but this is the first year of the Globe Ice Lantern Kits. We assembled all the high quality tools we use plus an instruction sheet that has the basic know-how needed to create small globe ice lanterns. If you have a suggestion for how to improve the globe icelanterning experience, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Hmmpf. The little red underline still appears under the term "icelanterning" while I am writing this. How long will it take to make icelanterning a REAL word. Maybe like Velveteen Rabbit, it will just take the love of the craft and a little time.

Oh, and if you think you have a better name for the wonderful craft of making ice lanterns, I'd love to hear it! Contact me.

Melting Globe Ice Lanterns

The temperatures in Minneapolis these last few days have caused many Globe Ice Lanterns to reduce in size - melt to be specific. But, thankfully, there are several ways that one can extend the life of an ice lantern by protecting a lantern from the wrath of the sun:

1. If possible, display in an area that is shady for the majority of the day.

2. Cover with a WHITE plastic bag during the day.

3. During warm spells, move the lanterns to the north side of a building or a freezer. (If the lantern has become frozen to a surface, a gentle kick [don't break your toe] will loosen the globe. If it won't budge with a kick, put a "Wonderbar" or flat screwdriver at the base and with a hammer, tap to loosen.)

4. During a very warm spell, put the lantern in a plastic bag and bury in a snow bank. The snow will insulate against the heat.

But then again, don't worry. Now that you own a Globe Ice Lantern Kit, you can just make yourself another lantern when it gets cold again!

Pray for cold weather!

Have fun and please feel free to contact me with questions, suggestions or to send me photos of your ice lantern creations!

Eight stores are currently stocking the Globe Ice Lantern Starter Kits!

PATINA Gift Stores have 5 locations throughout the Twin Cities:
Hours: Monday-Saturday 9:30-9:00, Sunday 11:00AM-6PM

Highland Park
2057 Ford Parkway, St. Paul, MN 55116
651.695.9955

Northeast Minneapolis
2305 18th Ave NE, Minneapolis, MN,55418
612.788.8933

Uptown/Kenwood
1009 W. Franklin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55405
612.872.0880

South Minneapolis
5001 Bryant Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55419
612.821.9315

Selby & Snelling
1581 Selby Ave, St. Paul, MN 55104
651.644.5444


The Guild Collective on Excelsior Boulevard - in between Trader Joe's and Opitz in St. Louis Park. She has displayed local artisan's wares with fun and flair!
4414 Excelsior Boulevard, Minneapolis, MN‎ - (952) 378-1815‎
Hours: Tuesday - Friday 11-8, Saturday 10-5, Sunday 12-5, Closed Mondays

Shoppe Local on 50th Street next to the Malt Shop (near Lyndale Ave S.). Shoppe Local is the new venture by Patina Stores to promote local artisans!
813 West 50th Street, Minneapolis, MN‎ - (612) 827-3071‎
Hours: 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sun.

Camrose Hill Flower Studio & Farm, "Located in the heart of downtown Stillwater our shop has beautiful flowers and wonderful nature inspired treasures for your home and garden."
233 South 2nd Street (Corner of 2nd and Olive), Stillwater, MN 55082 - (651) 351-9631
Hours: 10:00 to 5:00 Monday through Saturday and 11:00 to 5:00 Sunday.

Happy Shopping!

Contact me with questions, suggestions or to send me photos of your ice lantern creations!