Holiday Stained Glass Workshop at Winchester Mansion

The opening weekend for Holidays at Winchester Mansion boasted a yuletide themed oddities and curiosities market by The Menagerie Oddities Market, holiday tour with snowfall, and a cobweb corner stained glass workshop hosted by by OKO Designs.

Dressing for Holiday Festivities AND a Stained Glass Workshop

Naturally, I cannot resist theming my outfits for these holiday festivities. However, I also had to keep in mind that I would also be involved in a workshop for 3 hours and needed to follow their guidelines. I figured I’d need to be mobile while working with glass and their guidelines recommended natural fiber clothing and hair tied back.

My gingerbread pants felt like the perfect choice! I paired them with a blouse and cardigan I have from Miss Candy Floss, then accessorized with my There Will Be Cute gingerbread earrings and The Oblong Box Shop Winchester purse. Because of a cold sore from the prior week, I opted to skip on lipstick. I also got a LOT of compliments on the boots, which are a variant of my Mistress of the Bust boots from Amazon.

Opening Day at the Yuletide Oddities & Curiosities Market

There was so much to discover at the outdoor market and I wished I had a bottomless wallet to shop with all of the vendors I chatted with. However, as I will be there nearly every weekend, I had to pace myself. That didn’t stop my from taking photos and business cards to remember for the next time or following the markets.

Yuletide Market Purchases

Most vendors were going to be repeat sellers, however, some were only showing this weekend or one other. I tried to make a point of shopping with those I might not catch later. Before I jump into the goodies I came home with, I wanted to give a yuletide shoutout to these other vendors that I fell in love with, but had to save shopping with for another time.

• Bellacat’s Stache
• Designs by Arkira
• Exquisitely Emptyy
• Flying Skull Silver
• Imagine Emerald Designs
• La Madre Bruja
• Mestiza Candles
• Mori’s Mysterium
• Nomad Aurum
• Owl La Mode
• Sandman Props
• So Many Shapes
• Swamp Mistress

Altered Light Designs

I was immediately drawn to her adorable display of stained glass nightcrawlers in bell jars with a sign advertising them as “ethically gathered”. How cute! With the nightcrawler being my FAVORITE cryptid, I couldn’t resist coming home with one. There were several other pieces from her booth I adored, but I’ll have to search through her etsy shop for them later.

Twin Flame Adornments

Her booth was full of beautiful altars, candles and when I was talking with her, her wreaths caught my eye. She had several beautiful crescent wreaths, each with pieces she had foraged herself and accented with obsidian pieces. I fell in love with this winter-flower one and also came home with a pair of her yule ritual candles which had pieces you could remove to make a simmer pot. LOVE!

Dem Bones

I always miss out getting to shop in person with Dem Bones when she is at a local event. I’m a huge fan of her loose-leaf tea combinations and had to see if she had any winter-themed ones. I came home with a winterberry mix and some mulling spices. Currently sipping on the winterberry tea as I write this!

Stained Glass Workshop with OKO Designs

Obviously, the main event for myself this day was attending the stained glass workshop. I have been trying to attend a stained glass class at Winchester since JUNE (I had a medical emergency and couldn’t attend). As such, it was very exciting to finally participate. The anticipation did not disappoint. The instructor, Angie, was so thorough and informative on both the process and her history working with stained glass. We cut, grinded, foiled and soldered our glass to create a stained glass cobweb corner.

The class was very easy to follow and didn’t feel like it was three hours long. There was constantly something to do and eventually the group of 10 got comfortable. By the end, we were chatting with each other and remarking on the results of our pieces.

I would certainly take this class again, but I would use the pattern piece to be made into consideration. The last few classes have made daisies, but this round did the cobweb corner, which is much more my vibe. And now I feel like I need a pair! If you’re interested in taking a stained class, Angie offers workshops and weekly classes at her studio. If you’re looking for taking a workshop at Winchester, they have offered them every other month and it seems that they will continue to offer them in the future. The best way to keep track of this is by signing up for their email list.

I went for a winter vibe in my color scheme and I love it! However, I wish I’d put a little more thought into the color scheme as I tend to go more classic in colors with my holiday decor and on the warmer scope with general home decor. Still, it’s proudly hanging above our bed accompanied by some snowflakes for the season, waiting to catch some fleeting sun.

Continuing the Holidays at Winchester Mansion

There are still four more Saturdays to enjoy at the Winchester Mansion in December. The oddities market continues with different themes! In addition, the weekend of December 20th, guests with tickets to any tour, event, or the Oddities Market can enjoy complimentary photos with Santa at the mansion. Lastly, special ticket events carry on as well each weekend and are still available for purchase.

• December 6th – Holiday Concert in the Gardens hosted by Renegade Orchestra
• December 13th – Vogel Victorian Christmas Tea Party hosted by The Vogel Victorian
• December 27th – Holiday Paint & Sip hosted by Bottle & Bottega