The first thing I did was clean him up a bit. I was able to gently lift off a lot of soil.

You can see by this photo that he has pretty classic proportions.  At this point, I had removed the offending eyes and tried to move some of the packed excelsior into his muzzle area.

I removed his ears which were mashed over with the raw edges showing.  I washed them while they were off.  I also gave him a new nose and mouth with lighter weight thread more appropriate to a bear his size (10 inches).  Since he will still be somewhat bald, I gave him a  sparse nose.

When the ears were dry, I sewed them back on, tucking the raw edges in and cupping them as I sewed them down.

Here’s the little guy cleaned up with his face put back the way it should be. I think he is pretty cute.  Now what should I do about the non-working squeaker and those worn-out paw pads?

I made two circuits around Collector’s Eye – first round to scope it out and second to buy.   At that first booth, I bought a beautiful old blue and white quilt.  Then I picked up a mohair elephant that I had drooled over at the fall show and made a deal to take him home with me.   I stopped to chat with Laura Arensdorf of Rusty Pumpkin on the way past. I missed out on some stuff by doing two rounds, but that meant I didn’t spend so much money!

One dealer had completely rearranged his booth by the time I came back around and I couldn’t remember what it was I wanted there.  I remembered exactly where it had been, but it was not there.  This was only an hour into the show.  Why would someone rearrange so soon?  He might have made more sales if he had restrained himself!

I saw lots of fabulous things in the Antique and Art show section, but they had high price tags.  I fell in love with a little doll-sized chair with alphabet lithos all over it.  The $795 price tag was too rich for my blood, though.  Maybe I will try to reproduce it somehow.  I should have taken some pictures with my phone.

In the last row,  I found a reproduction cloth doll with a clay head and painted head, hands and legs.  I loved her face and her price was reasonable, plus the dealer came down on her, so she went in my bag with the quilt and elephant.  (She’s the doll on the left holding the bear I found.)

Nearby, I spotted some mohair!  A bear on wheels drew my eye first.  He was too expensive, but nice.  Then I saw two large mohair dogs that were in good shape, but again, too expensive.  By the dogs was a sad little mohair bear sitting on a chair.  He had some problems, but the mohair was actually in pretty good shape, although a little sparse.  He had a happy price, so I added him to my haul.

The dealer commented on how the bear had “such character”.  I smiled to myself as I thought about what he would look like after I was done with him.

Bailey was so funny as she reminds me so much of my daughter Katie at the same age.  I am afraid I teased her unmercifully, but she is a good sport.

Our main craft was making chalk boards with a decorative painting on the top and chalkboard paint on the bottom.  I did turquoise chalk paint.  Terri used plain turquoise in the background.  Joel stuck to black chalkboard paint and gray on top.

Here’s the beginning of our projects.  Terri is cutting out a template of the rabbits in her design.  (Also hiding from the camera.)

Daniel observed while Joel mapped out his design.

Terri wanted to make interchangeable seasonal designs that she would insert above the chalkboard.  Since Easter was coming, she laid out this bunny chorus line!

I wanted to have one piece with my painting being a penny rug.  Here are the beginning pennies.

Joel, of course had to show off and make a fabulously fancy floral design.  And he says he can’t paint!

Bailey wanted to get in on the action and gave her mother encouragement until she got her own board to paint.

Here is Terri’s bunny chorus line coming to life.

Here’s my penny rug. Kind of primitive-looking and I intended it that way!

Of course, we went shopping as well!  I was totally bad and bought a bunch of tiny silk flags, a doll coat, a child’s wicker rocking chair, an old window, a trellis, a bird house with a license plate roof, and some other stuff.  I saw more that I wish I had purchased – such good deals!  Daniel and Joel made a few purchases and so did Terri, but Terri left us early to work on her wonderfully delicious supper.  It was ready when we got back.  Terri and Dave are great cooks and work so well together in the kitchen!  Thanks for hosting us, Larson family!

Bottoms Up is a climb upstairs in an old building. I already had a relatively heavy mirror and the planters in a bag that I was schlepping around. I should have left some of it behind to pick up later like Linda did. The top floor of Bottoms Up is huge and filled with all kinds of things we love. We each headed in a different direction. Since I was already burdoned with purchases, I resisted many things that were calling my name until I spotted a Putnam Dyes display box. It was a real deal and had great graphics. The booth owner did not have a bag big enough, so I tucked it under my arm. I found Linda visiting with another booth owner who kindly gave me a big bag for my dye box. I went down the stairs slowly, waiting for people to pass me since I had my arms full. Linda came down with some bulky purchases, too, so she went to get the car while I stayed with our purchases. Miraculously, the sky had cleared and the day was bright and dry.

We were still chilled and went looking for a Panera for some soup. We couldn’t find what we were looking for, but stopped at an architectural salvage place and another small vintage shop for a look and then got back in the car. We decided to go to W.D. Pickers in Platte City and were headed out when we remembered Linda’s purchases at Bella Patina! Lucy and Ethel moment! Maybe I wasn’t so dumb to carry my stuff! We went back and got her purchases, then headed to W.D. Pickers.

I don’t go to W.D. Pickers too often because it is out of my way, but I always find stuff there. Linda was the winner, though with a pile of goodies including weather vanes and a Steiff Teddy Baby puppet.

It was a much nicer drive home in the good weather and we visited all the way. Another successful trip!

We got up before the chickens and headed out in the dark to get there as close to opening as possible.  We had a fun time catching up on the 3-hour drive.

The parking lot was pretty full when we got there, so that was a good sign.  Inside the Pavilion at John Knox Village, a maze of tables full of wonderful treasures awaited us.  We hadn’t been there long before Daniel and Joel found us. We had several nice little visits with them as we progressed through the show and ran into them again and again.

We stopped at a table with a lot of paper ephemera where Linda found a great candy box with a wonderful graphic of a little girl and a teddy bear on the top.  I picked up three cute vintage Valentines and a flower frog.

We saw lots of different things than we usually see around Des Moines, so that was fun.  When we first came in, we saw a “bench” seat from an old outhouse painted white turned on end.  I suppose you could use the holes for a strange picture frame, but what really caught my eye was the quilt top it was resting on.  The colors and fabrics just caught my eye.  I went back later and asked the lady if she would sell it.   We dug it out and struck a deal and I brought it home.  I have lots of ideas for it.

I was looking for the Weston Primitives Co. booth from Iowa as I follow them on Facebook.  I found them and enjoyed visiting with the owner.   They had lots of fun pieces.  I zeroed in on a little green/white stool or table that would look good with my bear collection.

It was around noon when we finished and said goodbye to Daniel and Joel.  The shops in Greenwood, Mo. were not far and were calling to us, so we drove there.  We combed all of the shops and Linda found a chippy white cabinet that she had to have for her studio room.  It was screwed to the wall and pretty heavy when we got it down.  There was plenty of space for it in my Edge, though, so we left Greenwood happy and went looking for some lunch.

There just happens to be a Panera in the same shopping area as the Mission Road Antique Mall, so we stopped there for some delicious soup to rejuvenate us.  Mission Road Antique Mall is pretty big!

I have to say that this is one of my favorite places.  It’s clean and bright and full of high quality stuff and I never leave empty-handed!   The first thing I found was a wonderful chippy white birdhouse.  It was sitting up high on the top of a cabinet and it was a good price.  Plus, the whole booth was discounted.  I just thought it was so charming and Linda agreed.  We got it down and took it to the front desk.  I have it on top of my teal cabinet in the family ro0m now and have added some bottle brush trees.  It will be fun to decorate for different seasons.  I don’t think it will make it out to the garden for a few years!

One of my favorite booths has a lovely selection of quilts and that’s where I found a beautiful doll quilt with lots of hand-quilting and beautiful colors in a small Grandmother’s Flower Garden pattern.  I have a twin bed sized quilt in the same pattern, so this smaller scale version really spoke to me – and joined my collection!

Checking out, several other shoppers coveted my birdhouse – another validation of my purchase!  I brought the car around to the front of the mall and gathered up Linda and her finds and we headed for home.  We’d been together all day, but we still managed to gab all the way back to Des Moines!

About 12 hours after we set out,  we were back at Linda’s having one last Lucy and Ethel moment as we manuevered Linda’s cabinet into her basement studio room.  It fit perfectly on the top of her green and black cabinet where she had intended.  That girl has a good eye!  Now she can keep her Christmas treasures out to enjoy behind glass – safely away from prying cat paws!

Usually, I put sweaters on all my bears in the winter time and display them on sleds.  This year, we just don’t have any snow, so sleds just don’t seem to be right.  I scored a number of little coats this year to add to my collection, so I had fun finding the right bears (and bunnies) to wear them.

Justine by Petra DeVries is wearing a sweet little green coat with an embroidered yoke.  The Jeanette Warner bear sitting on the Kathy Wallace bear’s lap on the green/red chair is wearing a silk smocked coat that I found at the Valley Junction Antique Jamboree last year.

The Terri Larson bunny standing below her models two of my favorite pieces.  I found the little coat and striped dress at the first Urban Finds show last year. I was really surprised that they fit the bunny so well.  I never even thought of her and she looks so good!  I haven’t seen that gal there again, so I’m glad I snapped those up!  Bruce was ahead of me that day and tipped me off to the doll clothes.  He makes a good bird dog!

The sweet little chippy birdhouse was nabbed at Rescued Junk – thanks Jo-Jo and Kasey!  The bulldog on wheels is an eBay find several years ago.  I don’t know much about him, but a bulldog is my college mascot and I love animals on wheels, so he had to come live with me!

Flossie the bunny by Lori Corelis is still wearing a coral corduroy coat that I came across on our anniversary tour of Kansas City in September.  In front of her in the wagon is an 8″ antique Steiff bear in a darling little green coat that I have had for a long time.   I found the bear years ago at the Majestic Lion here in Des Moines.  Bonnie Windell gave me the tiny shoe button eyes to replace her crumbled ones.   Thanks, Bonnie!

I usually just breeze by Valentine’s Day as far as decorating goes.  However, I came across some wonderful old valentines at the Rusty Pumpkin booth at January Urban Finds.  I had been there on the first night, but it was very crowded and I had trouble seeing everything.  I went back at the end of the second day of the show on a lark and there they were – just waiting for me.   Sometimes I am just drawn to a place where something is calling to me.  Thanks, Laura!

I have a Sue Lain sailor bear and a little Marsha DeHaven bear wearing a mink stole that was the souvenir bear at an ABC Productions show in Schaumburg, Illinois years ago.  Even though I got them years apart, they are similar in size and I have always thought they belonged together.  I was putting Christmas decorations away in the red trunk and took one of the ornament boxes for a riser for the furry little couple.  A vintage chalk board that I had in my stash went in for a backdrop with a Valentine message.

The two little old valentines stand on the trunk.  The one with the Victorian couple is 3D and pops up when you open it.  There’s a little faded red honeycomb that pops out in the front.  The girl on the scooter is jointed at the waist so she can move back and forth as she rides!

When I dismantled my Christmas basket of bears and bunnies, I discovered my Bonnie Windell bear is wearing a red and white sweater with a heart on the front that says “I Love Hugs!”  Obviously, she belonged with the Valentine vignette!

Some of my tiny batting Santas

It’s no secret that I love Christmas!  I collect little cotton batting Santas with plaster molded faces.  I also love the ones with chenille stem bodies or heads on a stem used as gift ties or floral picks.  Some were made with celluloid faces, too.  Some had hands made of the same material as their faces and some had pipe cleaner hands.

These were made in the first half of the 20th century in Japan.  I have one that still has an Occupied Japan tag, but many  just say Made in Japan.  Santas in a similar vein were made in Germany and often have sleds and are stamped “Germany”.  German Santas have more stern faces – kind of like my German ancestors in old photographs I’ve seen!  I have a few of these also, but they are usually much more expensive than their Japanese-made cousins, so I don’t have as many.

I also have a herd of little stick-leg German putz sheep.  Their plaster heads are often chipped – usually the ears suffer the most.  Their legs are fragile and are sometimes loose or missing when you find them.  Since most are white, their wooly coats attract dirt.

What I’m getting at here is that I have a bunch of these and have tried different methods of storing them to preserve them.  Generally, our Christmas decorations are stored in plastic tubs on shelves in our basement laundry room.  I worry about my vintage pieces down there with dust sifting down from above, humidity from the laundry, and the occasional river running through there if we have a wet year and a hard rain.

Getting ready to put them away this year, I first ordered some acid free tissue paper.   I found some nice rattan trunks on sale and lined them with natural duck fabric to keep dust out.  I figured the rattan would breath much better than plastic.

Years ago, Terri gave me a papier mache box that she had decoupaged with an image from a vintage Christmas card on the lid.  I have always kept my little batting Santas in this box and used it for display during the holidays as well.   It reminds me of a similar, though plain box in my mom’s Christmas decoration box that always held the special little ornaments like my Dad’s batting Santa that started me on the road to this collection.

Santas Going into the Box

The tissue paper arrived and I was planning to put the Christmas stuff away over the weekend.  I found myself at Michael’s which was very crowded with shoppers.  Weaving my way through the, I ended up by the papier mache boxes and shapes.  For once they had a nice stock of boxes with lids that are 6 or 7 inches square.  I bought four and since I was passing by the Martha Stewart craft paint (on sale!) I picked up a couple of bottles of Geranium and a couple of Beach Glass.  The Geranium seemed the closest to the tomato soup color of the faded batting Santas and Beach Glass is just right in my favorite color range and looks good with the Geranium.  I painted two boxes Geranium and two Beach Glass.  They look so good together, I switched lids.

Now I am wrapping my Santas in the acid free paper and tenderly tucking them in the boxes.  I can get quite a few in each box and the tissue paper will keep them from snagging on some of the guys who have exposed wires.  I will put the boxes inside the red trunk in my famiily room or in one of the trunks which I plan to stack in my studio where the climate is better for them.  I’ll do the sheep next.

I also plan to store my papier mache Santa boots that were originally candy containers, mercury glass bead garlands and mercury glass bead picks in my studio in the rattan trunks.  Little feather trees and bottle brush trees will likely go in one as well.  I make Santas and like to use some of my stash for accessories, so it makes sense to have it all  in my studio, right?

Here’s a tip for batting Santa lovers:  Sometimes the batting has gotten snagged and Santa is kind of wild and out of shape.  Use a felting needle to reshape the batting and restore Santa’s tidy appearance!

I put up a skinny white tree on the hearth for all of my Steiff Christmas ornaments.  I wasn’t going to let them stay in their storage basket over Christmas when they hardly ever get to come out of there!

My hubby gave me the 2011 Goodman soldier bear ornament.  He’s so cute!  There’s always room for more!  Another new one this year was a Rupert bear ornament I bought on eBay.  My mother-in-law was from Scotland and she loved all the British children’s stories and made sure my kids were familiar with Rupert.  I had to have one on my tree.

My big Terry John Woods bear got a vintage handmade Santa jacket from eBay this year.  He just can’t stay off eBay and loves new costumes.  He sits in his vintage chair on the hearth all year round, so I can’t blame him for wanting to change things up a bit.  Here he is with Rowdy.

I got this cool pie safe from Carter Station at Antiques Iowa last year so this was my first chance to decorate it for Christmas.    There are cardboard houses and bottle brush trees – a mix of new and old – on top of the cabinet.  A string of LED lights winds through it and it looks cool at night.  The top shelf is vintage Santas, bottle brush trees and candy container Santa boots.  On the right side, some of my little antique Steiff bears are waiting for Santa by a 1950s cardboard fireplace.

The shelf below was the rest of my antique mini bears riding in the wagon I got at the Cedar Rapids show bringing home a Christmas tree.  The wagon is being pulled by a 1970s Herman bear on wheels.  They were in a bottle brush tree forest and Santa was whizzing by on his sled.

A basket of bears were in the Christmas spirit.  A star is hung on the front of the basket and the Barbara Conley white bear is holding another star.  The Lori Corelis bunny is wearing a vintage corduroy coat that I found in Kansas City on our anniversary tour.  She has a small Christmas tree beside her.  The black bear is by Sher’s Bears. She holds a stitchery pillow with a feather tree and wears a little Santa hat.  The other bear in a sweater is by Bonnie Windell.  I threw in a glass ball and a little Santa for fun.

 I got this pretty old ornate metal bowl from a guy at Urban Finds.  For Christmas, I filled it with vintage mercury glass balls and tiny Santa ornaments, a new Steiff mini bear in a sweater from Etsy.com, a bottle brush tree and a multi-colored string of mercury glass beads that I got from another guy at Urban Finds.

One more thing I got off eBay this year was a beautiful primitive Santa made from a vintage quilt with a clay face that was molded using an old candy mold.  He is meant to be hung up, so I hung him from my cabinet handles.

There was so much cool stuff there, if we had unlimited funds, we would have had to rent a U-Haul!  I found a darling old bear of undetermined origin that had to come home with me.  There were quite a few old bears there, but this one was small, had most of his mohair and had a cute baby face.  Most of his body is filled with a non-working squeaker and the excelsior in his upper body has deteriorated so he has a nice slump.

At another booth, I found four old trombone kazoos.  I have one of these already, but I have never put it with a bear for sale because I don’t want to part with it.  I bought two of them and another lady, after I explained what they were and how I was going to use them, bought the other two.  I spotted three little wool baby sweaters for a great price in the more expensive part.  The husband who was tending the booth for his wife gave me a deal on them too.  Sweet!

The last thing I bought was a wonderful little wagon.  Linda and I were both tempted by a  child-sized wagon earlier in the show and I still kind of wish I had bought it when she decided not to, but the little one is perfect for my little bears and I’m happy I got it!