Christmas Character Preview!

I think this blog preview system is working out pretty good so far... It's a great way to showcase what's new and give blog reading collectors first dibs at these one of a kind, get them before they're gone, creations. Remember if you see anything you like, just email me. First come first served! I'll be posting any unclaimed characters in my Etsy shop tomorrow morning. I'd love to know what you think of this new system and if I can make it better in any way.

So many people requested the little girl sitting on a pine cone, so I just had to make another! Hopefully she's just as well liked as her slightly older cousin. She holds a tiny nest and a handmade real goose feather tree sprig. And her friend shows off her strength by lifting that large present!

A whimsical German Santa with a little Erzgebirge snowman and tiny vintage cotton watte mushrooms stands with a Santa that perches high on a vintage silver bell, and a large Santa with lots of gifts to bear.

These two gals balance skillfully on vintage glittered pine cones while holding their freshly opened gifts!

This smartly dressed girl rides a dashing vintage reindeer. This pair can stand or hang.

The blizzard just hit! This fabulous group of characters truly makes me yearn for snow. Including the girl who is just about to chop down her Christmas tree, the snappily dressed boy with a gift just for you, the best friends snow bunnies, and the shooting star snow girl.

A large snow bunny in a long pretty crepe dress, the large vintage flower juggling snow girl and the sweet little snow fairy are just as dashing in a winter landscape as they are next to the Christmas tree.

So Santa and two angels walk into a bar... hmmm...I'll have to come up with the rest of that joke later, but won't these ornaments look dazzling hanging from a green pine bough?

Two quite proper and polite kitties from different neighborhoods get along just swell.

A paper mache faced moon man watching the circus acts in awe and disbelief as they eat fire and spin tiny hoops while doing acrobatics!

And finally, another classic mermaid with a fully spun cotton tail.

Email me (vintagebycrystal@yahoo.com) if any of these just need to be on your tree or in your home (or the home of a loved one) this year. :)

What are you thankful for?

The things I'm thankful for are too numerous to count!
But I'm certainly thankful for you blog readers. :) Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Day!

Today was a very happy day! Because it was my very happy birthday! It's just after midnight and as I reflect on the day I'm smiling big!

Ben had the day off and bright and early in the morning was up and making chocolate chip pancakes for me...yum! Then after doing a few chores he whisked me away to the local Arboretum (where all the fancy trees live!) and we walked on wide paths and narrow paths and no paths whatsoever, all the while collecting fallen and forgotten twigs and sprigs of pine to make my holiday wreath for this year.

It was such a gorgeous Boston day! Brisk, but sunny!

And look at all we collected! I think I could make two or three wreaths! There are some unusual species of conifers and hemlocks in there too.

And what's in here? Well I'll show you next week when we get back from visiting Ben's family in New Jersey and NYC. After the Arboretum we went to the Cambridge Antique Center. Four stories of old goodies. I found some great stuff! Stay tuned for that!

After a great movie (Harry Potter...I always love the houses with all of the funny knick knacks, the London and countryside scenery, and the interesting clothing) and a yummy dinner, I'm home and very happy. :)

Thanksgiving Week Etsy Update!

I'll be doing another mini Etsy update today featuring these cute pieces! This will be my only update until sometime next week as I'll be down in New Jersey and NYC with Ben's family to celebrate what we're thankful for!

Remember, if you see them here and they haven't made it to Etsy yet, just send me an email if you're interested in claiming one. They are all between 25 and 28 dollars except for the snowmen, which are 30 dollars.

The group in the first photo contain two totally new types of figures...An adorable young stag and a piece of pizza! The elegant mermaid holds a seashell found on Cape Cod. The rest of the pieces below are winter wonderland figures...perfect for displaying after Christmas for as long as there's snow on the ground!

Santa has a full cotton beard. Angel has large dresden wings and a vintage trim layered dress. Party girl is ready to place herself strategically under the mistletoe in hope of getting a few smooches! And Miss. Christmas Cheer walks the neighborhood delivering wreaths and singing carols.

One tall coal juggling snowman and one classic broom bearing snowman.

Mr. Ax is about to harvest his Christmas tree. This girl just opened her stocking and found yummy berries and a toy reindeer. Snow bunny is staying warm with a scarf. And Miss. Snow is high up in the sky, delivering a white Christmas to all of those who wish for it.

And I've just listed icicles too! Order as many of these as you want at any time...there's (almost) unlimited stock!

I've also listed, and will continuously list open edition animal ornaments. They're a classic favorite for any Christmas tree and after Christmas, the hanging hook can be removed and they're back on their feet and to being every day display pieces!

Happy Thanksgiving week and thank you endlessly to all of those who have made room in their homes and in their gift list this year for a spun cotton cutie. I am eternally grateful! :)

Off to John Derian...

I snapped a blurry photo, mid-pack, of the box of goodies I'm sending off to the John Derian Co. in NYC. If you live in or near NY, they've got a large selection of Vintage by Crystal originals, including, as you can see, tons of snowmen! If you find yourself in Greenwich Village this holiday season, stop by and take a peek! They've got lots of other neat finds there too.

And I'll be doing another little Etsy update tomorrow, stay tuned for update photos. :)

Funny Turkeys

I know turkeys are kind of funny to look at in real life, but mid century Japan managed to make them look even funnier! I think the reason they look so silly is because they don't have any beaks! They have cotton watte bodies and heads, crepe paper tails and fluffy chenille stem necks, not a single beak between them! I'm so tempted to add some little paper beaks, but I like to keep things in their original state if possible and these guys are in perfect condition!

Gobble gobble!

More Christmas goodies!

I'm so happy to see my funny little characters getting new homes quickly! And so many more lovely people are asking about when I'll be posting more Christmas characters and snowmen. It brings me so much joy to see them all consistently so well received! Thank you everyone!

And before I get into mini descriptions of these guys and gals (like Santa and the angel on cotton swings...my personal favs from this group), I'll give you a run down of my new Christmas season Etsy posting schedule. If you're not interested in this, just skip down to the photos.

I normally post to Etsy quite randomly whenever I've finished up a group of characters, but for the remainder of the holiday season I'm planning to post small groups of brand new items once or twice a week. I will have blog previews for each group and if at any time you fancy any items in a new blog post that hasn't been listed on Etsy yet, just send me an email and I'll hold that piece for you. A little perk for blog readers and good for me because that's less I have to post on Etsy! Of course if there are any conflicts, it's first come first served. These pieces will largely be one of a kind and I will be unable to recreate any of them on request.

I'm hoarding a much larger collection of items that will be for sale during my three big holidays shows, one in NYC and two here in Boston. If you live near those areas and would like to attend one of them (which I highly recommend, not just for my cozy characters, but for the plethora of handmade goodies that will be available), check out my event schedule details on my website. In the two or three days following my last show, I'll be posting any remaining pieces still needing homes, plus any new pieces I finish up. I plan to make daily trips to the post office for a speedy delivery. The week right before Christmas I'll finally be breathing my big sigh of relief and will be cozy on the couch watching Christmas movies and making gifts for those near and dear to me! :)

Does that plan make sense? I am struggling to build up my stock of ornaments and figures and I want to make sure they are spread out evenly. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to email me (vintagebycrystal.yahoo.com).

Now, time for the rest of the goodies!

Who doesn't love three snowy, sugary Santas? I know there's only supposed to be one Santa Claus, but we can pretend!

A pastel angel on one side and a snowflake elf on the other. The girl in the middle is my true pride and joy...she wears a tiny crocheted hat...one of my first ever attempts at crocheting! Maybe someday I'll attempt a full sized hat.

Candy cane goodness with neat antique sequin buttons. And isn't that one of the strangest pine cones you've ever seen?

Another duo of snowmen. One quite surprised (or whistling) with a doll sized button nose and the other holding a very old berry that I'm pretty sure is cotton filled.

And of course we can't forget a few hanging ornaments for the tree! Moon man, Santa and angel make a strange group of buddies, but during the most wonderful time of year, everyone is best friends!

I'll be posting these guys to Etsy starting tomorrow (Friday) morning, but remember if you'd like me to hold any of them for you, just send me an email! :)

Snowmen and Children, oh my!

As promised I just posted some Christmas goodies to Etsy! Snowmen...

Sugary girls...

And the traditional red and green!

If you see any you like, grab them while they're here! :)

More strange birds on Etsy!

I like to try and please the masses, so I've created 6 new original owls and two Thanksgiving turkeys. They are all currently available on Etsy along with some other animals, including the newly debuted duck billed platypus! I will not be making any more turkeys this season and I'm not sure when I'll next make owls...it might be a while. I've been spinning and painting and gluing like crazy to get ready for my three big holiday shows this December, it's fun and hard work all at once!

Also, check back here tomorrow, I'll be listing more Christmas goodies to Etsy tomorrow, including snowmen! Yay! I just wanted to let my faithful blog readers be the first to know in case you had your heart set on owning a Vintage by Crystal owl or turkey! If not, then I hope you enjoy the photos! I promise to show you some other cool vintagey things soon. Including these adorable and really funny looking crepe paper turkeys I just got. :)

Thanksgiving goodness!

Yay! I'm so thrilled with being able to not only offer a fun collection of Hanukkah goodies, but also a nice collection of Thanksgiving goodies too!

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that really means a lot, but very often gets ignored in the decoration department. A big part of that is because good Thanksgiving goodies are hard to come by. For those of us who like to celebrate with a visual feast for the eyes as well as a yummy feast for the table...good decorations are a must! I've got a little collection of vintage Thanksgiving goodies that I'll show you a bit later. They inspired me to create this group to share with you. They are available in my Etsy shop now! :)

Pilgrim girls and boys dressed in classic black and white.

And we must not forget the important role our native american friends played in the ritual of the Thanksgiving feast!

I love the sweet little gal in the middle...a young girl excited about the prospects of a giant celebration!

Fringe and beads embellish this handsome duo.

And I have two little fun facts about myself and Thanksgiving. The first, is that I'm part native american! My great great grandmother was a full blooded Indian from the Delaware tribe! And the second fun fact...I was born on Thanksgiving Day! Which also means that my birthday is coming up soon! :)

My first ever Hanukkah collection!

I am so thrilled to introduce my first ever Hanukkah collection! Between the craziness of Halloween and Christmas, it's so hard to think about other holidays like Hanukkah and Thanksgiving! But it's about time! Especially since most of Ben's side of the family celebrates Hanukkah and we light our menorah candles every year too. I love working in a limited color palette and this was no exception. These colors came together so beautifully...I'm finding it hard to now switch back to an unlimited color palette.

I know the essence of Hanukkah isn't about decorating or material things, but if you think of it, neither is Christmas...so what the heck! I say whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah or both...go all out with the decorations and the celebrations! And you'd better hurry too...Hanukkah is super early this year! It's starts on Dec. 1st! Hopefully these cuties will help. They are available now in my Etsy shop. :)






Happy Hanukkah! And stay tuned for Thanksgiving goodies...they'll be up in my shop very soon!

Hope your Halloween was Scary!

I hope your Halloween was just as scary as Miss. Onion's! :)