This is one Christmas setting in one of our two china cabinets. Sorry for the poor quality of the picture, however ...
The two little Santas on the left have
sentimental value. The farleft one was a gift to my children
from an older lady Mrs. Steinhardt, who lived across
the street from us in the late 60's. The right Santa
was a gift from one of my students many years ago; she
handpainted him.
The glass hurricane candleholder
was a gift one year from our Great-Aunt Mabel. The milk
glass pitcher and large plate belonged to my late mother-in-law.
This is the same glass box with a mirrored
back that I use for several different displays, including
the chicken scene most of the year. In this holiday display,
it has a Christmas dresser, a table and one chair in
it. (Early in the holiday season it often holds the gift-wrapping
display!)
I took it out of the china
cabinet in order to get a clearer picture. It looks a
bit misshapen because I had to take the photo at an angle
so I wouldn't capture myself and the camera in the mirror.
The green braided rug is from Sadie Ludeke.
This dresser was a piece intended
for the Christmas house which I never finished..
Here's some china pieces,
and a red Chrysnbon candy dish, atop a long Jeanetta
Kindall doily.
The plates at the back of
the shelf are paper coated with a glaze and given a gold
rim with a fine marker. The smaller plate in the center
is Chrysnbon, as are the green candy covered dish and
the red cups.
The mug, a gift from Karen
Stull, barely holds my full name (Juawanna). Now you
see why I'm known as just Wanna on the internet!
More Chrysnbon red gobles. Wonderful, but
lightweight, so it pays to glue them to a clear plastic strip which can glide onto the shelf. There's a chocolate
cake with either raspberry or plum sauce; I forget which.
The hanging doily is by Jeanetta Kendall.
I only used one because more would obscure the other
items too much. The Santa mug is one of those pewter
pieces that you paint. I don't particularly enjoy painting;
never feel satisfied with anything I do. The candies
in the glass bowl are Fimo.
I bought the brass plate
with the Nativity image of Mary and Joseph a long time ago. Unfortunately
the scene doesn't show up as well here as it does in real life. The tiny Santa is plastic;
don't remember where I got him. The lollypop tree was
brushed with white paint, then dipped in colored beads.
I should have covered the base with something.
The base for the flower arrangement
is a button on a little square of fabric edged with bunka.
It actually looks better in real life than it does in
pictures. I need to replace the greenery; it has beome
brittle and the color faded somewhat with age.
The candlestick on the right
side was one of several I made as token gifts for my
then-mini club so many years ago. It is contrived of various jewelry findings
and beads. The candle is real, cut down from one of those
long very thin party candles.
The top drawer has Christmas
towels, the second drawer has placemats, and there's
a candy tin in the bottom drawer.
The gingerbread house inside
the doors on the bottom shelf was a gift from my late friend
Josefina, who made many of the great Christmas ornaments
on the white tree (see Josefina's Tree Workshop in this
same section).
Here is the table, set for
a small holiday party; another example made from a cut-down
frozen orange juice can. A new cardboard top is glued
on for stability and a smooth surface. The glass round
adds more usable space. The fringed topper has cardinals
and other tiny Christmas designs on it.
The chocolate cake with the
marzipan cherries was a gift from a friend. The gingerbread
cake is from a package of mini Christmas ornaments. The
ceramic tree was also a gift from a friend; I think she
made it. The cold cuts are Fimo.
The napkins are cut from the
corners of single-ply Kleenex. I used a red pen to draw
on the ribbon trim. The small plates are paper; the larger
ones are china.
We were in Lubbock once for
a funeral, but swung by The Little Shop for a few minutes.
Norma was gracious as always, even if it was very late
in the day. I was so disappointed at not having more
time, but managed to purchase this little Santa candle
anyway. I think it was made by Mary Bures.
The white frosted cake with
red sugar roses was an early Fimo experiment. The rolls
are also made from Fimo. Triangle shapes are rolled up
exactly the same as the real rolls are done. Chalks were
used for browning.
The red snowflake-design of
the chair seat is cut from embroidered Christmas ribbon,
which I also used for a table runner on a dessert table.
There are two chairs with these seats; one used in this
scene, the other is used elsewhere.
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