2018 Reveal: Musical Toy Soldier
The popular unofficial Musical Toy Soldier series will be returning for a fifth year as Hallmark’s thank-you gift for purchasing Keepsake Ornaments at both Ornament Premiere and Ornament Debut!*
Clashing-Cymbals
5th in the unofficial Musical Toy Soldier series.
Wearing his best dress uniform, this marching toy soldier percussionist confidently carries his cymbals, which feature a glittery snowflake design.
*NOTE: When you purchase a Hallmark Keepsake Ornament during Ornament Premiere weekend, July 14 – 22, 2018, you will get a coupon for a free Clashing Cymbals ornament for redemption with purchase of another Keepsake Ornament beginning Ornament Debut Weekend, October 6-14, 2018, while supplies last.
Two shopping trips equal one free ornament
The popular unofficial Musical Toy Soldier series will be returning for a fifth year as Hallmark’s thank-you gift for purchasing Keepsake Ornaments at both Ornament Premiere and Ornament Debut!*
Wearing his best dress uniform, this marching toy soldier percussionist confidently carries his cymbals, which feature a glittery snowflake design.
The popular unofficial Musical Toy Soldier series will be returning for a fourth year as Hallmark’s thank-you gift for purchasing Keepsake Ornaments at both Ornament Premiere and Ornament Debut!
*NOTE: When you purchase a Hallmark Keepsake Ornament during Ornament Premiere weekend, July 14 – 22, 2018, you will get a coupon for a free Clashing Cymbals ornament for redemption with purchase of another Keepsake Ornament beginning Ornament Debut Weekend, October 6-14, 2018, while supplies last.
Q&A: Nello Williams
Keepsake Artist Nello Williams was asked a few questions about his creative process and about some of his ornaments coming out later this year. Here’s what he had to say!
Syrupy Snow Cone Surprise
Nello: Many Keepsake fans will remember Chris Webb who worked in Keepsakes several years ago. He owned a number of actual, full sized carnival food machines including a popcorn machine, shaved ice machine, softserve ice‐cream maker, cotton candy maker, you name it. And, he used to bring one or two of them into work for various parties. So thanks to Chris, we’ll always have a soft spot (mostly in our middles) for those types of food machines here in Keepsakes. Once I had done the popcorn machine, I realized that some snow cone machines are similar in form. I wondered also if we couldn’t use the same type of mechanism inside. While I was able to come up with a design that was very much “Nellco” and similar to the popcorn machine, Jean Newton (our engineer) and I ended up having to come up with some other way of doing the “falling snow” effect. Another reason that made me want to do a snow cone machine is that a close friend owns a shaved ice stand that he runs every summer. I’ve given him all of my other Nellco ornaments in the past. And I think it’ll be fun to give him an ornament that he can put up in the window of his stand.
Little Strummer
Nello: At a certain point in my youth I decided that I wanted to be a rock star. In a Jr. High music class they gave us some ukulele lessons. Somewhere in my young mind I thought that having an electric ukulele would be a cool gimmick that would get me a recording contract and then fame and fortune. I’ve always been a big DIY‐er, (something I got from my dad) so I decided to build myself an electric ukulele. I used parts from a cheap ukulele, electronics from a broken electric guitar, a 2 x 6, and some metallic purple spray paint from the auto parts store. It was pretty darned cool. For an amplifier, I took the head off of the arm of an old record player and soldered a plug onto the wires. Alas, having an electric ukulele didn’t lead to fortune and all, but I did get inspired enough to take a guitar class in high school. Some friends and I started a band and had a lot of fun. I still mess around with building and modifying instruments. That DIY streak and creativity are what eventually led me to Hallmark and Keepsakes. My love of making music hadn’t gone away when I got here, so when an opportunity came up to propose some music for an ornament, I jumped on it. That was Ken Crow’s Jazzy Jalopy. I’ve since done the music for a number of other ornaments, along with the song played at the Keepsake Ornaments 25th Anniversary celebration, “A Collection of Memories.” I always jump at the chance to do musical instrument ornaments. I don’t get the chance to do the music in them much anymore, but, that’s okay. Another Hallmarker, Tracy Icenogle, does most of the music for the ornaments and is fantastic at it. Also, I still get to work on a new genre of music at home. I call it “Jangle Metal.” It’s a cross between the melodic jangle of the sixties British Invasion and metal. I just know this will get me the record contract that the electric ukulele didn’t.
Jolly Old St. Nicholas
Nello: We started with a couple of concepts. One was a sort of spinner, where Santa would be suspended in a frame and would be able to turn or spin, and the other with Santa in a chimney. We ultimately settled on the Santa in the chimney. We were each told to design our ornaments according to the style that we’re most noted for. My style is rather retro. So I looked at some of the fireplaces in the art deco style (one of my favorite styles), but decided that something in that style might not be as easily recognized as a fireplace. So, I looked at how things looked in homes from the forties. While not as distinctive a style as art deco, they had a warmth that we wanted—that nostalgic feel that you see in a movie like “A Christmas Story.” For Santa, I looked at books of old advertising clip art from those periods. That gives him a more distinctly retro feel. I do love to sculpt Santa, and I think I’m going to look for more opportunities in the future to use this particular style.
2018 Dream Book Reveal: Keepsake Ornament Sneak Peek
Hallmark has put together a presentation for local retailers to use in conjunction with their May Dream Book Reveal event. In addition to showing the four new series making their debut in 2018 along with sneak peeks of two 2019 second in series ornaments, the presentation also previews a new lighthouse design and four continuing series pieces.
2018 First-in-Series Ornaments
And sneak peeks of second in series ornaments coming in 2019!*
Journey to the Stars (2018)
1st in the Christmas Carnival five-part series.
Toyland Travler (2019)*
2nd in the Christmas Carnival five-part series.
Peace (2018)
1st in Christmas Angels series.
Love (2019)*
2nd in Christmas Angels series.
1938 Buick® Y-Job (2018)
1st in the Legendary Concept Cars five-part series.
1957 Chevrolet® Bel Air® (2018)
1st in the Lil’ Classic Cars series.
Lighthouse
Luminous Lighthouse (2018)
Tabletop Decoration
Luminous Lighthouse (2019)*
Tabletop Decoration
A Look at 2019!
*NOTE: Designs are still in the planning stages and may change.
Cozy Critters (2019)*
3rd in the series.
Tea Time! (2019)*
4th in the five-part series.
A World Within (2019)*
5th in the series.
40th in the series.
2019 Sneak Peek: Frosty Friends
Frosty Friends (2019)*
40th in the series.
Celebrate the longest running series with this ornament featuring Frosty using a candy cane to help his penguin pal learn to fly.
*NOTE: Design is still in the planning stages and may change.
2019 Sneak Peek: A World Within
A World Within (2019)*
5th in the series.
Displayed within a miniature Christmas tree, Santa Claus stands next to his sack of toys with a teddy bear peeking out and glittery snow underneath.
*NOTE: Design is still in the planning stages and may change.
2018 Ornament Spotlight: Marjolein’s Garden
Inspired by a bird bath on her countryside property in Missouri, Marjolein Bastin’s Bathing Blue Jays is 5th in the Garden Collector series. Depicting two jays determined to have fun in frosty weather, this ornament will delight gardeners and bird watchers alike, as well Bastin devotees. Sculpted by Jim Kemme, designed by Marjolein Bastin.
Bathing Blue Jays
5th in the Marjolein’s Garden series.
Ornament Spotlight: Bathing Blue Jays
Bathing Blue Jays
5th in the Marjolein’s Garden series.
Inspired by a bird bath on her countryside property in Missouri, Marjolein Bastin’s Bathing Blue Jays is 5th in the Garden Collector series. Depicting two jays determined to have fun in frosty weather, this ornament will delight gardeners and bird watchers alike, as well Bastin devotees. sculpted by Jim Kemme, designed by Marjolein Bastin.
Featured Artist: Nello Williams
Title:
Hallmark Artist
Started at Hallmark:
July 1995
Started at Keepsakes:
July 1995
Hometown:
Safford, Arizona
.
Since joining the Keepsake Studio in 1995, Nello Williams has drawn inspiration from pop culture, classic film and Americana, and Disney. Nello’s 2018 ornaments all have a fun sense of nostalgia, and two incorporate his biggest inspiration of all: music.
Nello Williams grew up drawing anytime, anyplace, even in school—and not just in art class. His class notes ended up looking more like artwork than a study sheet.
The young artist started out sculpting the ships and robots from the television program Lost in Space. Once, he saw a scary dungeon set advertised in a comic book, but like most kids, couldn’t afford to buy it. So Nello recreated the toy instead.
Popular culture kept on inspiring Nello’s art. In high school, he and a friend made masks of characters from Planet of the Apes—a big movie of the day. Now he keeps up on the latest trends for his creations in Keepsake Ornaments.
Nello spends much of his outside time nurturing one of his other big interests—music. He designed the album covers (wishful thinking) and T-shirts for his high school garage band. He even designed a guitar for himself, and twenty years later, he actually built it! Nello sees guitar design as a place where his two great loves, sculpture and music, meet.
May Keepsake Wallpaper
Discover small wonders and big surprises with this month’s free desktop or mobile device wallpapers featuring several holiday-themed mini’s set to debut in 2018.
Among the many holiday mini’s found in this free wallpaper are a cheerful marshmallow in his mug, a beautifully-detailed carousel, a glistening snowflake and a lovely strummer guitar, designed to scale.
Small Wonders, Big Surprises