Precious Moments is a brand created by American artist Sam Butcher. His illustrations of children with distinctive teardrop-shaped eyes include messages of heartfelt endurance and inspiration. Products derived from these illustrations (by license) are called "Precious Moments". Christian themes appear throughout his work. Sam always had a deep interest in spiritual things and he painted scenes from the Bible, even from his earliest childhood. Then one night, in a country church, Sam asked Jesus to come into his heart. Since that night, he decided to only use his talent for the Lord. Sam continued to grow spiritually and so did his desire to reach out to people with a message of God"s love. To convey his message, Sam began drawing the endearing teardrop-eyed children he called "Precious Moments" for family and friends. Today there are over 1600 Precious Moments pieces available, including figurines, music boxes, thimbles, plates, ornaments, bells are more. The flagship product of the brand is the "Precious Moments Porcelain Bisque Figurines". These have been sold since 1977.