A mix of photography, recipes, personal thoughts, faith, and lots of family stuff, but not necessarily in that order.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

My Christmas cottage

This little lighted Christmas house has been with us for a l-o-n-g time....


It started out,  a clay-like substance that was poured into a mold, it's baked in a Kiln
 and then it looks something like this...
example photo from goggle images

Now it's called Greenware
My mother-in-love would then "clean it up"
 which meant using a tool to smooth the seams,
 repair any imperfections
 and finally paint it. 
Then it was baked in the Kiln again and finishing touches were made...
like the little colored rocks in the windows
the shimmering snow on the roof
 and the itty-bitty lights in the trees
All hand painted with special care by my husbands talented mom
Her steady hands painted the shingles, stones and wood to look real!
It's quite amazing, even the figurines faces are done free hand.
I'm guessing this little treasure is about 25 yrs old
Had a little fun here adding some snow to the photo and tweaking the color! Now all i need is a little smoke coming out through the chimney  :)
I love bringing this little treasure out every Christmas season, then when it's time...
 I carefully pack it up and store it away until next year

6 comments:

  1. Oh Jackie...it's just magical and beautiful! A true treasure! A little torn cotton ball pulled from the chimeny can look like smoke. ;)

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    1. Good Idea Jill, I might have to try that.

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  2. I love it! Back in the day I used to do ceramics ... and really enjoyed the few hours a week in the class with friends.

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    Replies
    1. I've tinkered with a few easy things but, never anything this intricate. I think it would be fun to do classes :)

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    2. Let's do it! But. where?

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  3. A very pretty little treasure.

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