You'd Better Watch Out.....You'd Better Not Cry!

I thought it would be so much fun to show the Santas and German Sheep I've collected along the way. It's taken me about 15 years to get this collection together, slowly, very slowly. But I love each and every one. The two little Santas below are the oldest that I have. I believe the red suit Santa was originally sitting on a sled. His buddy to the right is very old. Very fragile. I believe he is made out of felt and he is light as a feather! His suit has faded, but not his Christmas appeal!
This little flock of sheep are just so dear to me. None of them are perfect. Some have bumped ears, and some are dirty, some have no collars, but they all look so wonderful together. I only have one that has a bell. He's seen in another picture. Behind them is some of my ironstone collection that I will share with you at another time....These little Japan santas are just too cute. The little guy in front has one of the sheep beside him. An old postcard in the background.
Just a mish-mush of Santa collectibles. The little plastic Santa mug is very small and I just love the tiny Santa pick inside of it. Don't you just love the beard on that little Japanese santa to the left?
I guess I got this picture a bit fuzzy, but isn't that how sheep are anyhow? lol! The big sheep is the only sheep I have with a bell and he is perfect. He's the grandaddy of them all!

I got this sheep a long time ago. He is affixed to an old wooden bridge and it looks like someone may have repainted his nose just a little too much! If there's a rudolph for sheep, he's the one!
Don't ya just love their little faces. The little celuloid face for the Santa in the right foreground is jut amazing, isn't it?
We certainly can't do without elves? Don't you just want to smile?
These are the only 2 old snowmen I have. They seem harder to find. But I love the 2 I have.
These are those German putz sheep. made out of plaster (or something like it).

And these 2 guys are German lead reindeer. Love the antlers and boy are they heavy! More postcards in the background.
I bought these about 10 years ago from an artist who had an ad in Country Living magazine. The artist was moving to the Oregon area. At that time, at Christmas, they had severe flooding. I hadn't received my Santas in time to display for Christmas and was a little bummed. But never fear! She had them delivered Christmas Day to me! Can you believe how thoughtful she was? A very nice Christmas gift, indeed!
Well, now you are looking at my attempt at creating my own Santas. I had such a good time creating these. I made the faces out of clay and baked them. Painted up the faces just a bit. Made clothes out of felt and beards out of real lambs wool. Just a fun project!

And yes, I even tried my hand at creating the sheep. He's too cute, isn't he? Not a German sheep by any means, but he's loved just the same.

Hope you've enjoyed our little journey through Christmas. I'd love to hear your comments and any experiences you've had making Christmas items. I just love it when I have time to compete these projects. Life is so busy (as we all know). It's been fun reliving my collecting/creating with all of you! Have a wonderful day!

Kitty

Gardening Goodies......

Come along with me and have a glimpse of my garden. Many years ago, when I pulled everything out of this oddly shaped little area, I lovingly referred to it as "The Mud Hole". It is sort of a triangular area, tucked between the front of the house and the sidewalk which approaches the house at an angle. We have a great deal of trees and needless to say, alot of shade. It has always been challenging to find plants that will grow in those little areas that may get just enough sun to plant a "sun loving" plant. Of course the sun lovers are the ones with all the bright beautiful blooms! But, as the years have progressed, I have found some "middle ground" with my garden, and so, we are both happy! The picture above is of the latest addition to my garden. A cute little lion spitter fountain. Not too big for my area and allows a beautiful plant to sit in the top with adequate drainage. Love it. The sound of the water falling into the small pool below is just heavenly!
This little darling has been with me quite awhile. My angel has been glued back together as her feet fell off! But, don't despair, I think she is stronger than ever! She goes in the garage in the late fall and back out in the early spring! She has just enough weathering and moss to make her just scrumptious to look at! As all gardeners know, all the little gardens/flower beds are a constant work-in-progress. She sits in a little flower bed that is no exception to that rule!
I've purchased delphiniums before and have not had alot of luck with them. Does anyone have any ideas as to how to keep these beautiful plants happy? I just love the yummy blue!
A small pond (and I mean small), off my deck in the back of the house. We bought the little frog spitter for the pond when my first grandson was just little. He'd take his buckets and cups and play in the tiny pond. When it would get so hot, I'd strip him down except for his diaper, and he was happy as a lark! Grandson #2 has had some of the same joys! The clematis seems happy here.
I have to say, I love love love these sheep! I do love sheep. Have collected quite a few German sheep and will share that collection with you another time. At Christmas, I sometimes leave them out and put little bells around their necks. They look adorable in the winter with snow piled high atop their heads! They look so cozy sitting here amongst the ajuga and lambs ear!

Well, you have to have a few bunnies? Right? Here's a Mom and Baby bunny sitting underneath my morning glories which seem, this year, to be running a little late. They are just now getting towards the top of the bell pole and I have not had any blooms yet! I'm looking forward to that. Just love morning glories!
This rabbit reminds me of Peter Cotton Tale! He has a wonderful amount of moss growing on him. Just too cute for words!
Pots lined up like soldiers and a few of my new arrivals ready to be planted in the garden.
Need I say more about this plaque? A while back it broke in two. I was heart broken. My wonderful husband got the right kind of glue (maybe Gorilla Glue??) and glued it back together. I just love it!
This chimney pot is my prize! My grandmother who has only been gone a few years now, always had gazing balls in her yard. This one is in honor of her and sits nicely on top of the chimney pot! Chimney pots, for those that haven't seen them, are old chimneys from the tops of buildings here in my area. Probably from around the turn of the century. I've seen people fill them with dirt and plants flowers and ivy in them. Gorgeous!

A kitty cat and another of my cherubs. She sits on a bench watching anyone coming down my walk.
St. Francis of Aseci (spelling?). I love the idea that there is someone watching out for the animals.
Well, that's my post for today. I could have put a ton more pictures in, but will save more for a later date. I'd love your comments on your gardens and what you do to make them special? Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend.

Just to let you all know, my mother is coming along from her stroke. She is getting stronger every day. Getting things lined up for her therapy and more tests has been a bit of a problem, but we are getting there! Thanks for all your prayers. Please keep praying!

Kitty

Buttons and Babies....

Isn't this the sweetest bisque baby? This was given to my Mother-in-Law when my husband was born. Notice the little string around his neck with the paper pacifier at the end? I'm not sure why the baby is a red head as my husband is a brunette (well, gray now - lol)! But, he is sweet. The pictures below are of a german bisque baby that I bought at an antiques show Heather and I did in June. The detail on her dress is amazing. The lace with the gold braid, both at the waist and in her hair! So darling! Notice the blue lines that indicate socks and the brown painted on boots. Just love her. Also a sampling of the buttons Heather and I discovered on our jaunt north to the flea market that we were just a bit late for (about a week!) .

You girls will have to bear with me as I learn this picture uploading process. The picture below is the back of the doll dress on my mannequin at the bottom of this post. I'll get it right one of these days. This dress is so cute. The black velvet ribbon threaded through the dress is just too cute. Love the way the top poofs out over. And the lace edge is part of the dress, not added on!

The German bisque doll sits next to a pin cushion I bought at an Antiques Fair. The base is some sort of metal with a gold velvet cushion. Since I had so many rhinestone buttons from a recent jaunt, I pinned them to the top of the pin cushion. I have hat pins and will share those in another post with you. These collections just seem to grow!

These are some more of the button find Heather and I discovered when we went to our Big Flea Market that wasn't! So, the sleuths that we were, we uncovered a local antique shop to find the most beautiful buttons we've ever seen! The lady at the antique store told us alot of the ladies buy them up to make jewelry. Well, I haven't ventured down that road yet!
Don' 'cha just love the small mannequin with the Victorian doll dress? This was my birthday present from my kids and my husband. Notice, I put more rhinestone buttons on top of the neck! What to do with all those buttons? Any ideas? I've put her on top of one of my washstands in the dining room. Just love looking at her.
Well ladies, that's my post for today. Thanks for stopping by and sharing my finds with me. I hope to post some more photos (and hopefully get better at the picture taking!) soon....

Life Is A Test......

Thanks to all of you for stopping by my blog. I promise you I will be more diligent in putting lots of pictures on the blog and sharing my finds, as well as my home. Last night I had the time to take some photos and will soon put some new posts.

Heather and I have been quite busy this last week as my Mother had a small stroke. Those of you that have had serious illnesses in your families can relate to what absolutely needs to be done to get your loved ones back home. Mom is home now and improving a little every day. Dad is so happy to have her home. They have been married 57 years and he is absolutely lost without her. I think she missed him too (ha! ha!), even though it might have been a stretch to get her to say that.

My Mother is absolutely the strongest person I know. Her strength is a daily inspiration to me. If anyone can come back from this life test, she can. Please keep her in your prayers.

Talk to all of you soon!

Love Those Cute Little Baby Quilts.....

Isn't this the cutest little patchwork baby quilt? So many blocks. So much work! It seems to have cotton fabric. I'm thinking a new backing was added over an old one because I can see striped fabric behind it. I have a collection of quilts. I haven't paid alot of money for them. But I love them. I'll put a post on soon to show you some of them.

This is a closeup of some of the fabric on the patchwork quilt. What age do you think the fabric is? Some of you quilters out there probably know. I was guessing 40's?

This is the other baby quilt I got. I just love the fabric. It has some spots and could stand washing, but I am always afraid to do that. I'm afraid the colors will run. Especially the reds. What do some of you recommend as far as cleaning? I'd love to get your thoughts.

This is some of the fabric on the back of the floral quilt. Again, can anyone guess an age?

Well, that's my post for today. I've been on vacation this week and lots of chores have been calling my name! So, until the next post.......

I'm Up and Running!

Well, hasn't this just been an adventure?!!?? My daughter helped me set up my blog today. I love learning new things on the computer, but at the end of it, I think my brain was buz-z-z-ing a bit! But, since I love reading all of your blogs out there, I thought I'd give it a try.

This is a picture of my dog, Lady (the big black one) and Heather's dog, Jada. I babysat Jada when they went on vacation a while back. They are two peas in a pod! Lady just doesn't know she's big.

Heather (my daughter) and I are always busy locating vintage finds. The latest was the buttons we both bought (see her blog - http://www.prettypetalsboutique.blogspot.com/ for a picture of some of those buttons).

I'm still learning how to put pictures on the blog. I guess it's all a learning process. But thanks for stopping by. Later today I hope to put on some pictures of 2 baby quilts I bought on Ebay. I got them for a good price and they are adorable. Hopefully you all can help me identify the materials and the era of the quilts.

Talk to ya later!