My dolls from Germany

 I told you one time, on my other blog, about these dolls that my grandmother's brother in Germany sent to me when I was a child.  His name was Oswald and I have included him in several of my art pieces lately.  I love these two little "twin" dolls and I guess they remind me of Heidi.

 But I think my favorite was always this larger doll in the middle.  She always brought Heidi to mind too.  She is 6 inches long, so you see they are all small dolls, but beautiful.

 I never met "Uncle Oswald", but he must have been a very very kind person to think of me.  He wrote to my grandmother, who we lived with, and I still have some of his letters to her.

I knew they were something special, so I never really played with them.  They look just as they did when I got them. 

Pinks!

When we moved into this house, my mother lived with us and moved along with us. Her health was failing and she was with us for about two more years. When she died, I wanted so much to keep her memory alive in whatever way I could. I wanted her around me. She loved pink.

We bought those flowered pink couches and then my art teacher had this watercolor that matched perfectly!

Pink flowers from Bella Fiori!

My mother's crocheted afgan in pinks.

My grandmother's cups and saucers that she brought over from Germany. Pinks and purples.

A rosey plate from a garage sale.

A framed mirror that I made at one of Rosie's workshops with paste paper.

I assembled lots of other pinks...

to go with my mother's pink dishes...

and started looking for these pink statues that I would find in antique shops. This charming couple...

this bashful girl...

her suitor...

another cute couple...

and this telephone. My mother loved the old time telephones!

Love birds.

And then there was pink girl and...

boy blue...

and these lovelies that she had for years, all the while I was growing up.

Treasures. All of them.

Bunnies!

Before putting Easter away, I thought I'd show you some of my favorites. I love bunnies!

The little orchestra serenades the others.

Here are some old ones that were my mother's and some from when I was a child. Treasures.

And some I have found in antique shops.

One year, I made these little hanging gingham baskets. Directions were in a Family Circle or Woman's Day magazine.

And then there's the ones my Mom crocheted.

More treasures of the heart.

Many years ago, I took ceramic classes and produced another kind of egg. Now it holds M&Ms for Danielle.

Can't forget this duck. My Mom's.

Happy Spring!

Thinking of February

Packed all my Valentine stuff away and forgot to post some of my February treasures here. This gal is still hanging around. I made her one year, before my valentine party, to sit at the little dolls' tea party. Her tea companion changes from year to year, according to who Danielle chooses to be at the party. She's just a funny rag doll, but I had fun making her and I love her jewelry and her button mouth.

She's dressed for the occasion with her heart fabric dress and look at those beautiful red shiny buttons!

My Christmas Eggs

A long time ago, in our first house, I had a wonderful neighbor and we became great friends. Her name is Ida. She taught me how to make egg ornaments. Many times, in the evening when the children were asleep, we would get together and work on them.

We would take apart old jewelry and look in all the stores to collect tiny things to put into our eggs. There was a woman who owned a very special store called "Crescent Landscaping" where we would buy rolls of gold cord and extra beads and do-dads. She had everything.

After blowing them, letting them dry and applying the gold cord, we would use a tiny scissor to cut openings in the eggs for special things to show through or sometimes leave them as they were and decorate with the finest embellishments.

Each one was a treasure to us, and as soon as we finished one we were on to another, thinking that one would be the best.

They have lasted all this time, about 45 years now. I love them as much now as I did then. And I love the memory of that time. I guess that's what I love most.

It's that time of year...

This was the first Christmas Mouse to come out this year. She is enjoying visiting with the other forest animals on my buffet.

This bunny I found in an antique shoppe and the others in a gift shop in Door County one year. I love forest animals.

These are beautiful, I think, and they stay on my buffet all year long.

When we got home from Door County that year, my husband called back and had this one delivered as a surprise! The biggest!

Now yesterday while shopping, I just couldn't resist one more. This squirrel and his acorn.

Pilgrims and Indians

My favorite pilgrim. Julie made her years ago in grammar school. She's made from an empty paper towel roll.

Complete with her cute little wire-rimmed glasses.

A basket of apples in one hand...

and her fresh turkey in the other.

Here are the Indians.

And the pie-baker.

Memories of Thanksgivings Past. These paper decorations were around in my house since I was a child. They are all stamped 8 cents on the back.

The beautiful pilgrims.

Getting worn over the years, but I still love them.