A Christmas Post

It's New Year's Eve today and this post is loooong over due. This December was a complete whirlwind of non-stop activity and it's finally catching up with me (yes, I now have a bit of a cold)! Last year I didn't have time to share as many Christmas goodies with you blog readers out there as I wanted to and promised myself that this year I would make sure to have time. Well...that didn't work out so well! I did a good number of shows this holiday season, including the Martha Stewart Holiday Craft Show. I snow storm started up near the end of the show and I had to drive (very slowly) through the snow back to Boston for the Bizaar Bizarre the next day. Phew! I also saw a huge spike in my website sales (thank you so much anyone who ordered Christmas goodies!) and that kept me busy as well. I also helped manage the Boston Handmade Downtown Gallery this month. I had a lot of fun hanging out with fellow BH members and talking with customers. But boy I spent a lot of time there. Ben and I of course went to my parent's house in Saratoga and hung out with the family for the weekend (a few photos to follow).

So I finally got a chance to snap a bunch of photos around the house of the Christmas decor. I did this a week ago before we left for NY and I finally got them downloaded and pick through. Here's what made the cut (there are lots of photos...just to warn you!):

I took lots and lots of detail photos of the tree but I had a hard time narrowing them down. So I've included a whole bunch. While I love my sun yellowed white tree...I'm looking forward to also having a real tree on the Christmas after next!

I have a large collection of vintage glass ornaments and am building up my collection of artisan made ornaments with a vintage twist (many made by fellow bloggers!)

I nestle a few cardboard houses into the branches. The nice thing about a fake tree is that the branches are posable! That Homer Simpson donut was a souviner from Santa Fe.

I also nestle vintage glass bead picks into the branches. Just because it doesn't have a string, doesn't mean it can't go on the tree!

I love taking the antique German ornaments I found on my trip to Germany a few years out of the cardboard suitcase I found in Amsterdam and hanging them on the tree.

There's one little spot on the tree where I can't help but really cluster up some of my favorite ornaments. I love the long necked swan that came from Germany as well as the bundle of tiny glass balls, also from Germany.

Recognize that snowman? Yup...from Silver Bella!

This Russian glass star was found at the ghetto flea market here in Boston at the bottom of a full trash bag! The glass ball is broken on the other side, but I'm shocked it remained in this good of condition. :)

Homemade and vintage ornaments intermingle seemlessly!

This is the centerpiece I built from milkglass pedestals and glass ornaments. I love how it turned out!

I found a handful of tiny ornaments around Thanksgiving time at the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market in NYC, including this tiny Santa...or it Old Man Time?

This Santa in pink is the year's favorite find. Love him!

This sweet bird was made by a fabulous local artist who has yet to emerge from his studio and sell his work publicly. It's marvelous and I keep him hanging from my dining room light fixture all year round.

This winter wonderland scene resides on my china cabinet. It's so magical!


This little incense burner house is yet another treasure I brought back from Germany (my suitcase was quite full!)

This beauty stays inside the china cabinet all year round. Another masterpiece made by the shy artist.

This grand tree is my most valued possession. I didn't get a chance to put it up last year so I was thrilled to see it and it's ornaments out and about again this year. It's a Victorian period real goose feather tree that my mom bought for me on ebay from a German seller. It came with 100 antique ornaments...including cardboard, dresden, spun glass, spun cotton, glass, beaded, and more!!

I love the ornaments that present little dioramas of religious and nature scenes. There are even a few bird houses!

This spun cotton camel is an original!!

These ducks are so sweet and are covered with teeny tiny glass beads.

This dresden boy is one of several dresden pieces that came with the tree. I'm so curious of it's value...I know that go for tons of moola online. Not that I would sell him of course. :)

And Mr. Spun Cotton Pope looks over the magical kingdom this tree contains. It's a true awe inspiring work of art!

I've been building a tiny village in my dining room cubby since we moved to Boston five years ago. I have a pretty good sized collection of houses and trees and they look so snug among the milk glass.

The tree with the pink base is my favorite. It's quite old and even more unusual.

That plain white house I recently found at a thrift store. Maybe one of these days I'll pretty it up a bit, but for now it lets the eye rest a bit I think.

I have two mirrors hanging next to eachother. I like hanging one or two things from them during the holidays. This year it's vintage Japanese bells and an old bottle brush wreath.


The living room contains a few holiday treats too. My Grandmother's cabinet is the perfect place for hanging garland...since we don't have a fire place or a mantel.

This adorable bird was a Silver Bella find.

And this sweet glittered acorn was made and so thoughtfully given to me by Heather from Birds of a Feather.

This church scene sits atop the entertainment center.

I spruced up Ben's DVD shelf with a pine forest and a Cody Foster house. I love the way it looks with the dark wood and green wall paint.

I also couldn't have resisted adding my two glass trees (the larger was owned by my mother when she was a teenager) and a trio of gnomes.

This simple little tree looked perfect in the front hall catch all container. I cotton bird is the only ornament I decorated it with.

Present's sit waiting to be brought to NY. These all have long since been ripped open and enjoyed.

I didn't have a lot of time to prepare holiday treats for Ben and I, but I did manage to bake a batch of yummy oatmeal cookies and Ben picked up a good collection of Clementine's after spending ten minutes carefully choosing the right box full.


I hope you all had a wonderful holiday! I know I did!! :)

Pretty Little Birds

Yesterday I breathed a small sigh of relief. Not a big one...but a little one. I made it to the post office with 20 minutes to spare (thank goodness there was no line) and finally mailed off the last of my Christmas delivery packages. When I got home I cuddle on the couch near Ben while he worked on his paper and looked at books, peeked through ebay and even took a nap for a few short hours. Now it's back to work as I still have more orders to fill...but it's at a much more leisurely pace...phew!

Well, while I was peeking through ebay, I found some interesting things (as I always do) and thought I might share these simple, but special little birdies with you. They are German putz birds "flying" over a pinecone. German putz is one of my favorite things (as the song in The Sound of Music goes), and these birdies captured my heart.

Each one is on a little spring that helps them "fly".

Each pinecone is thickly painted, as are the birds. Click on each photo to go to the listing...there's still time left if you want to scoop one of these cuties up! I was thinking about doing so...but instead they are inspiring me to think about making something similar for myself. We'll see. :)

Longing for...

I have been longing for a beautiful display like the ones I'm about to show you. These amazing works of art were made in Victorian Germany and each one brings together so many of my very favorite things...antique, German, Christmas, animals, handmade, and miniature.

The first two I have posted here I actually just saw over on Ullabenulla's blog. She found them on rubylane.com. I gasped when I saw them and they reminded me of the one that got away. And when I say got away...I mean ran at a fast sprint.

This amazing work of art features soooo many amazing antique miniatures. Those tiny houses on the stairs! The stairs themselves! That beaded chandelier. All that snow and the fabulous icicles hanging. Sigh....if only I had a couple grand to spare.

It would look so great in any room of my house.

This one is almost as fabulous as the first. It features tons of red, which I've been loving more and more recently and has Santa heads galore!

I think it might have mini drawers in the bottom that hold tony glass balls and Santas and children peeking out. So wonderful!

And this beauty is the one that got away. I saw it on ebay years ago with minutes to spare. It was over a thousand dollars anyway...hence the sprinting away part. I saved the photos so I could stare at them from time to time. The colors are amazing and each miniature item is more wonderful than the last! It's a toy store! The most wonderful toy store ever!

Sigh...the mini glass bead garland, the wooden animals, the bottle brush tree, the beaded curtain...

It even has a work bench! Maybe this is Santa's work shop and not a toy store...yes...I think that's right!

That clock and the tiny boots under it! The wooden trees with birds on top! The magic wand on the floor!!

And there Santa is...on his way to deliver toys to boys and girls all over the world in an....airplane? Well...the reindeer have to take a break sometime!

Well...to solve my longingness over these amazing items...I decided to make one myself. I haven't done it yet...but some day. Since seeing this toy store/workshop on ebay, I've been saving tiny antique German items as I come across them to put in my own toy store one day. I've still got a small pile...but eventually it will be big enough to inspire me to actually build the store itself, then slowly over time I can add to it! Longingness solved! :)