Holiday Preview...Christmas Characters From Vintage Tins!

Recent Tins.

Found at Flea-ology...a local Vintage Fleamarket.

I recently posted the picture of some tins I found at Flea-ology, which is held at my good friend Paula's home in Payson, Utah.  Paula blogs at Pollyanna Reinvents and is my favorite vendor at Treasures Antiques in Springville.  The moment I saw these, I knew they would become new additions to my collection of holiday characters made from vintage tins.  I have just finished a couple of these characters and can't wait to share them with you.

Jack Frost...

Jack Frost...a snowman from a vintage Postum tin.

Jack is about 8" tall on a 6" oval base.

Vintage Postum Tin.

I forgot to get a picture of the tin I found.

A Bit of Postum History...

I have fond memories of Postum.  My grandparents drank it all the time and I enjoyed sipping it from a tea cup and pretending it was coffee.  Members of the Mormon faith abstain from coffee, so it was very popular in the Mountain West.  It is made from roasted wheat bran, wheat, and molasses.  Although the Postum Cereal Company stated in its ads that it didn't taste like coffee, the drink was enormously popular during World War II, when coffee was rationed.

There is a similar product in Germany, called Caro...also known in the US as Pero.  My German friend, Monika...who is also a Mormon...used to invite me over for "Coffee" every Wednesday.  She brought out her nicest tea set and baked a traditional German dessert.  I must have downed gallons of Caro during my three years overseas.  I still miss it...especially the "instant crystals."

Kraft discontinued production of Postum in 2007.  Eliza's Quest Food, licensed the trademark in 2012 and sold it online.  Since 2013, it has been available in a limited number of stores...primarily in Utah and other Mountain States.

Side View.

Jack's head is paper clay...his arms are measuring spoons.

Back View.

I thought it would be fun to put Jack in a snowy scene.

Dri-Shu Santa...

Cute Santa made from a Dri-Shu tin.

Dri-Shu protects Santa's boots from Snow and Sleet.

Santa is about 6" tall.

His head is a vintage Santa ornament.

I used wooden half-eggs for his boots and trimmed them with chenille.

Tin for a tummy...no bowl full of jelly!

His hands are some kind of electrical doo-hickeys.

I bought a big bag of them for $1 at a vintage yard sale.

Side and Back View.

Santa's Winter Scene.

Give Thanks...

Thanksgiving scene with old spice tin.

I have a bunch of turkey and pilgrim candles.

I haven't made a lot of Thanksgiving crafts...my house is decorated for Christmas before Thanksgiving so my Idaho Falls grand kids can see my Christmas decorations when they come for dinner. I do decorate the tables for Thanksgiving.

I am thankful for so many things...I need to express those thanks more fully.

I am so thankful for this blog and those who read it.

Thank you!

Happy Veterans Day!

Gratitude for Freedom...
Today is Veterans Day, when we honor those who have served in the Armed Forces and those who have fought and died to protect the very liberties we enjoy today. This is a day to kneel in prayer and thank God for this country.

My husband, George, is a veteran.  He was a Captain in the Army Air Defense Artillery.  We were stationed in Germany for a little over three years and then in El Paso, Texas. I am grateful to him for his desire to serve his country. The picture is of George and me at the ROTC Military Ball at Brigham Young University.  The Vietnam War had just ended when we got married.  I cannot believe how young we were.

George's Father...
George's father, Blaine Hatfield, was a veteran of World War II.  He served in the South Seas, was decorated several times...including the Bronze Star.  But we really don't know what he went through or what battles he fought.  When he came home...he was a changed man.  He never spoke about his experiences.  He is the young man on the left.  He looks a lot like my son Geoff in this picture.  How young he was!

Never Forget...
Today is 11-11-11.  This date will never come again in our lifetimes.  Honor and thank the Vets in your life...they aren't just old men at the VFW.  My daughter mentioned a woman she knows who will put on her uniform today  for a school assembly...she's only in her early 30's.  Today my husband and his buddy Bruce are going to lunch and exchange "war stories"...apparently Texas Roadhouse is giving free lunches to vets today.  How will you remember?

Little Christmas Houses!

Christmas House Ornament Swap!

This holiday season I am participating in several "swaps."  Many crafty bloggers organize groups of like-minded friends and swap tags, cards, or ornaments.  It's a lot of fun, but if you are a newbie...like myself...it can be a little daunting.  What if my creations aren't good enough?  Will I be invited back? 

We don't grow if we don't take chances.  So I am sharing with you my contributions to Cindy's Neighborhood Ornament Swap.  Cindy hosts Rick-Rack and Gingham where she shares stories about her life in Texas.  The assignment was to make an ornament that is shaped like a house or trailer.  My theme was "'Fixer-uppers."  I have quite a collection of those little made-in-Japan paper houses that were popular in the 40s and 50s.  I thought it might be fun to transform them into little Christmas candy houses.



House #1.

Reverse side.

House #2

Reverse side.

House #3

House #4

Reverse side.

House #5

Reverse side.

House #6

Reverse side.

The houses were upgraded with new snow, some new windows and doors (if needed), glitter, vintage buttons and graphics and lot's of tiny candies and gingerbread.  The landscaping was also upgraded to include new trees and tiny little snowmen or toys.  I sure hope the new owners like them.

Gratitude...

I am grateful that my husband encourages me in my creative endeavors.  He cuts wood and drills holes and gets things down from really high places.  He tells me that Christmas would never be the same without me.  I can't imagine a Christmas without him.  I am the lucky one.

Don't forget to leave a comment on the Gingerbread post!

 

Gingerbread House Giveaway!

Get in the Holiday Spirit...
Nothing boosts my spirit like a little gingerbread man...so imagine a whole town...or maybe just a neighborhood...of gingerbread.
To help my friends get in the holiday spirit, I am giving away one of my gingerbread houses.  There are no hoops to jump through...no "likes" or "follows" involved...simply post a comment on this blog post.

One week from today...November 16...I will randomly pick a winner from those comments.

Here is a side view of the house.  It's 9" tall to the top of the chimney.  I am including two battery-powered flicker tealights to make it homey inside.  I forgot to add that these houses are made from papier mache...not real gingerbread!

I hope you will enter and make a place for my little house somewhere in your cosy Christmas home.  If you are comfortable with it...please include your email address.  If not...please check in next Wednesday to see if you've won.

My anniversary is this weekend and I want to use my "gratitudes" for the next few days to express how much I love my husband and the cute ways he makes my life happy.  Today...it's silly I know...I am grateful for the yummy cheese and mushroom omelets he makes me for breakfast every morning.  How did I get so lucky?

It's a Lovely Indian Summer Morning,



Collecting Santa Face Mugs and Pitchers!

Here Comes Santa Claus!
I've posted this picture before...my newest set of Santa Face mugs.  I cannot resist them...they are so much fun.  This set of mugs if still in the box would sell for about $35.  I got these for $4.

Holt-Howard...
During the 1950s, Holt-Howard started designing Santa Claus coffee mugs and pitchers.  The company was started by John and Robert Howard and their friend, Grant Holt.  They were college students at the time and started their company with a $9,000 loan from their families.

At first they focused on Christmas items, then branched into kitchen items as well.  These mugs were so popular that they started creating coffee mugs for everyday use. They are now credited with pioneering the coffee mug as we know it today.

The mugs on the right are very small...only about two inches tall.  I found them in a box of six.  They are so cute!

Decorating with Mugs...
The picture on the left is from Country Sampler November 2004.  I was already collecting the Santa mugs when this article came out, but I decided that I was going to:
1. Buy this sink...
2. Decorate just like this.

You can't see it in this picture, but I eventually got that sink!  I'm probably the only person I know who would buy a sink just because it looks cute with Santa Mugs.  I love this Santa pitcher the most, because it has red and white stripes.

More Mugs...

The handles of these mugs spell "Noel."

These pug-nosed mugs are newer, made in Taiwan by the Price Company.

Santa Pitchers...

This pitcher and matching mugs are made by Wales.

The red cold paint is flaking off these.

Cold paint isn't fired on.

These two pitchers have the jolliest faces of all.

This page of ideas from Country Sampler shows how versatile these little guys can be. 

 I've hung them from garlands and around my front door.

I've made them into gifts for my neighbors and friends.

I'm planning to make a wreath this year...if I get around to it.

They're Merry...

They're Bright...

And they're inexpensive!

If you come across their cute little faces...take them home.

 I'm Thankful...
I wish to express how grateful I am to be a member of this blogging community.  I never realized what a diverse and fascinating world it is.  I have met so many new people through Zetta's Aprons...more than I ever expected.  My fellow bloggers are delightful women who paint such charming scenes of their lives and the parts of the country they call home.  Thank you for welcoming me to your neighborhood.  I'll return the cookie plate when I've washed it...

Bless you all...



Tea Sets and Violets...Memories of Mother

Memories of Mother
"Sweet Violets
Sweeter than the Roses
Covered all over from head to toe
Covered all over with Sweet Violets"

I cannot hear this song, or smell the sweet scent of violets without thinking of my mother.  Violets were her special symbol, chosen when she was a young girl.  They were her Young Women's flower and painted on delicate china cups and saucers stored lovingly in her cedar chest with her wedding gown and treasures.

She was like a violet herself then, small and delicate with the dark eyes of a fawn.  I can see in my mind the sepia photograph of her as a lovely young girl of 12, gazing serenely into the camera's lens.

She was a pretty child and the darling of her family; the lone girl in a pack of boisterous brothers who alternately spoiled her or teased her mercilessly.  And boy could they tease!

When I was very small, Mother gave into my care the remaining plates of a green Depression Glass tea set.  This tea set had been her most cherished possession when she was pre-school age.  One day, as she carefully carried her little dishes into the living room, one of her brothers sneaked up behind her and yelled in her ear.  With an earsplitting crash, the little tea set was dashed to the floor.  Tearfully, she gathered up the plates that remained unbroken.  Somehow through the years, those plates survived.  How they survived my childhood is another miracle.

I was about five years old when she gave them to me and told me how special they were to her.  I am still amazed that she trusted me to care for them.  True to my stewardship, I kept the little plates carefully wrapped in newspaper and stored in a small box.  It was such a treat to occasionally unwrapped those treasures and imagine playing "tea party" with the pretty little girl from the Depression.

When Mother was a girl, Grandma and Grandpa made for her a wooden treasure box covered in pretty wallpaper that matched her bedroom.  As the oldest granddaughter, I inherited that box.  Inside were special dolls and toys that I kept at Grandma Patta's, safe from my boisterous brothers and sisters. Only I could play with the things in that box. 

When I visited my grandparents I spent many sunny hours playing under a tree in the backyard, or on the upstairs landing on rainy days. My favorite game at the time was to imagine that my mother was still a little girl, just my age, and that we were friends.  We played for hours, her in an old-fashioned dress from the 30's and me in shorts and a tee-shirt, reading old issues of Children's Friend and designing our dream houses with pictures cut from Better Homes and Gardens. Sometimes she watched me make Barbie clothes from the bag of sewing scraps that Grandma saved for me.  She only watched...because Mom could not sew worth a lick!

My grown-up mom was not on friendly terms with her old sewing machine.  Any sewing project made her so stressed-out that we kids used to hide whenever she put in a zipper!  It's kind of funny, because her mother made beautiful gowns for antique porcelain dolls and I've made quilts most of my life.  I guess some things skip a generation.

But she loved collecting dolls almost as much as Grandma Patta did.  And the countless gifts of dolls from her children and grandchildren gave her a lot of pleasure.  Especially during those last years...that endless stretch of time when she couldn't go out, but could only sit in her doll room surrounded by memories.

I have many warm memories of my mother, but I always like to think of her as the small girl whose unsteady little legs carried her and her tea set into Grandma's living room.  And that memory is always accompanied by the scent of violets.

In Memory of Rhea Lee Gray Devey

April 7, 1935-November 6, 2006

I wish to acknowledge my sister Lisa, who designed the little memory pages.  She made each of the sisters a beautiful miniature scrapbook.  So much love and effort was put into them.  I will always treasure mine.

I am grateful today for the love of my Father in Heaven.

"I am a child of God

And he has sent me here

Has given me an earthly home

With parents kind and dear..."