Folk Art
Americana
Eight Hallmark Showcase ornaments in the Folk Art Americana tradition — each one sculpted by Linda Sickman to resemble hand-carved wood, individually painted, reproducing the interesting angles and cuts of the carver's tool. An angel in flight in 1993. Five frontier-life scenes in 1994: a cow on roundup, a sleeper catching 40 winks, a pig going to town, a racer through the snow, and a horse rarin' to go. Two more in 1995, including a Collectors Club exclusive. Rural Missouri by way of Kansas City.
Linda Sickman — The Artist Behind Every Folk Art Americana Entry
Linda Sickman started at Hallmark in 1963 and at Keepsake Ornaments in 1975 — one of the founding sculptors of the entire Keepsake line. She grew up in rural Missouri, and her childhood memories of farm life and frontier America directly inspire the Folk Art Americana series. The Tin Locomotive, Rocking Horse, Clothespin Soldier, and Centuries of Santa series are also hers. She has described the Folk Art Americana collection as one of her favorites: "I love all the series, whether Americana or rocking horses or nutcrackers." Each Folk Art Americana ornament is sculpted to "resemble hand-carved wood" — not actual wood, but resin shaped and painted to reproduce the angular, handmade aesthetic of folk art carving. The 1996 Caroling Angel entry is described as an ornament that "reproduces the interesting angles and cuts made by the artist" — each one individually painted.
"Home from the Woods" 1995 (QXC1059) — Keepsake Ornament Collectors Club Exclusive
The 1995 "Home from the Woods" entry carries the QXC prefix — Hallmark's Keepsake Ornament Collectors Club designation, meaning it was originally available only to paid members of the Collectors Club, not through general retail. For non-Club collectors, these QXC entries are harder to find on the secondary market than standard QK entries and typically command a premium. At Already Christmas, this Club exclusive is available alongside the standard Folk Art Americana entries.
Hand-Carved Wood Aesthetic — Frontier Life, Farm Animals, Angels, and Folk Art
The Folk Art Americana Collection launched in 1993 as part of Hallmark's Showcase line — a premium sub-catalog of the Keepsake ornament range, sold alongside but distinct from the standard QX Keepsakes. The QK prefix identifies Showcase entries, which typically featured more elaborate materials, larger sizes, or higher craftsmanship standards than standard ornaments. The Folk Art Americana series combines the Showcase premium format with a specifically American aesthetic: Linda Sickman's sculpted ornaments resemble hand-carved wooden folk art pieces — a tradition rooted in Pennsylvania Dutch carving, Appalachian woodcraft, and the frontier artisan tradition of the American 18th and 19th centuries. The founding 1993 entry is an Angel in Flight (QK1052, 2½" H) — an angel with the angular lines of folk art carving rather than the smooth curves of conventional ornament design.
The 1994 entries are the collection's most abundant year — five pieces, each depicting a scene from rural American life. "Roundup Time" features a cow being rounded up by a cowboy; "Catching 40 Winks" shows a frontier figure taking a nap; "Going to Town" has a pig heading to market; "Racing Through the Snow" captures a winter sleigh race; and "Rarin' To Go" shows a horse ready for action. Each carved in Sickman's folk-art style, each can hang as an ornament or stand as a figurine. The 1995 entries include the Club-exclusive "Home from the Woods" (QXC1059) and "Fetching the Firewood" (QK1057) — adding two more scenes of frontier domestic life to the collection.
"Part of the Folk Art Americana Collection. Christmas was a very busy time for woodcarvers long ago, creating toys or special items for giving. This piece captures that hand-carved look with added touch of metal wings. Each individually painted design reproduces the interesting angles and cuts made by the artist. This ornament can hang or stand."
— Etsy/product description, Hallmark Folk Art Americana Collection · Artist: Linda Sickman · Showcase / QK line · Resemble hand-carved wood · Individually painted · Can hang or stand
Tips for the Collection
-
01These ornaments can hang on a tree OR stand on a shelf — both displays work equally well. The Folk Art Americana collection was specifically designed to function as both hanging ornaments and standing figurines. The flat bases on many entries allow them to stand on a mantel, bookshelf, or table as a folk art display arrangement. For a dedicated shelf display, arrange all eight as a genre scene of frontier American life: the Angel, the farm animals, the winter racers, the woodcutters.
-
02Display as a Linda Sickman retrospective — all eight are hers, and together they show the range of her folk-art vision. Linda Sickman has been at Hallmark since 1963. The Folk Art Americana collection is where she most directly channeled her rural Missouri childhood into ornament form. Eight entries across three years represent a significant body of folk-art work from one of Hallmark's most important artists. Display them together as a coherent collection rather than scattered.
-
03The 1995 "Home from the Woods" (QXC1059) is a Collectors Club exclusive — it is the rarest entry in this collection. The QXC prefix marks this entry as originally available only to paid members of the Keepsake Ornament Collectors Club. For anyone who was not a Club member in 1995, this is the hardest entry to find. It is available here at Already Christmas.
-
04All 8 Folk Art Americana Hallmark ornaments — 1993 through 1995 — are at Already Christmas. The founding angel, all five 1994 frontier scenes, the Club exclusive, and the firewood fetcher. Eight pieces. All Linda Sickman. All here.
Every Folk Art Americana Hallmark Keepsake
Angel · Cow · Sleeper · Pig · Racer · Horse · Club Exclusive · Firewood. Click to shop.
Linda Sickman started at Hallmark in 1963, at Keepsake Ornaments in 1975, and grew up in rural Missouri where Christmas was shaped by the same frontier domestic life she put into the Folk Art Americana collection. An angel with carved wings in 1993. Five frontier scenes in 1994 — a cow on roundup, a sleeper catching 40 winks, a pig going to town, a racer through the snow, a horse rarin' to go. Two more in 1995 — one a Collectors Club exclusive. Eight ornaments that can hang from a tree or stand on a shelf. Each one individually painted to reproduce the angles and cuts of the carver's tool. Christmas was a very busy time for woodcarvers long ago. It still is. All eight here.
✦ Part of our Collection: Hallmark Folk Art & Americana Series, Explored ✦