the dining room starter set

The mantle madness started with an inherited grouping from my husband’s Aunt Vertie. Livertie was an avid Christmas collector. She and I share that trait, though we never met. After she passed, her daughter (my husband’s cousin) Kimberly Sue gathered up Vertie’s Christmas figures and brought them to a family gathering. Knowing my obsession with […]

in for a pound…

No more putzing. No more restlessness. No more waiting for 2020 to pass farther by… I’m not quite ready to put up trees; still some big things to shuffle for the season. So I started with the mantle. This is the second year for our expanded collection of Dept 56 All Through the House series […]

shhhhhhhhh…

It’s started… For Halloween, I’m gonna be: An early Christmas decorator! I need shiny. I need bright. And delaying as some sort of social contract does nothing but leave me sad and mopey. I’m renegotiating my terms, and sparkle starts now.

thrifty festivities

I must say: I’ve been having a great go at thifting blown glass ornaments this year. I’ve picked up some great random ornaments: a TV, popcorn, beer set; a pink dragon start the list. I use the blown glass ornaments to define break-away themes for trees through the house, whether by color or subject. Current […]

the unfortunate business of limited editions

At least as far back as 2009, Hallmark has produced limited edition comicon exclusive ornaments for SDCC and NYCC. These are typically repainted redux of a previously mass-released ornament, reusing an existing mold. I get most of my specifics on Hallmark Star Trek ornaments from the wordpress blog, Hallmark Star Trek Ornaments (HSTO). Also, images […]

uhura rounds them out!

At last, she is ours! Today was the second premiere for 2020 Hallmark Keepsake ornaments, which includes the Lieutenant Nyota Uhura storyteller, the fourth and final piece in this year’s Mirror, Mirror storyteller collection. Somebody somewhere knows the power of this character, because she always seems to be a delayed release or a limited edition. […]

and the weird little snowman…

So, this odd little snowman was display signage for the Dept. 56 series All Through the House, I had seen it on ebay (with the acrylic sign) exactly once during my searches to complete the series. I wasn’t compelled to include in it the set. I suspect it wasn’t exactly part of the series; it […]

tess steps out

This is Tess: Tess is hard to find. Last year, a very damaged Tess came along with a large lot purchase of All Through the House pieces. At some point in her life, Tess had a considerable tumble, breaking both ankles, removing chunks of the molded resin. I tucked her behind the christmas tree to […]

christmas in july

*squeeeeeeeee* Hallmark’s Keepsake Ornament Premiere is today. I was at the Crown Store as the doors opened. The Star Trek collection gets its first storyteller ornaments. I knew of storytellers but barely understand them as we only have the Star Trek ornaments. First, the storyteller ornaments run on a power cord instead of batteries (which […]

flowers of love…

flowers from valentine’s day: