24 October, 2008

ostheimer knights and a giveaway...

when i began my ostheimer collecting years ago, some of the first pieces i bought were the knights and the knight's horses. my older girls were particularly fond of castles and kings and queens and knights and princesses and all the things that go along with that world. and many a day was spent building kingdoms and villages and towns in which numerous elaborate scenes were taking place. a few years pass, my son is born and in the following years...a resurgence of kingdoms and castles begins in earnest. so naturally, a couple of more knights and horses joined our collection.

old-style ostheimer knights and horses
(with kinderkram castle pieces)


fast forward 14 years. maya is born and after a few years of having only teenagers in the house...i begin to bring out, clean and polish our beloved ostheimer toys in preparation for maya to enjoy. as well as dream of the new ones we will add throughout her childhood years on special days of celebration. this is when i learn that the style of these ostheimer knights and horses has changed and the older ones (which i love) are no longer in production. they are only making the new style now (which i'm not as crazy about).

purple riding knight and gold horse, purple standing knight


my mission begins. the search is on. i put the word out there in various and sundry places and believe it or not, i eventually locate and purchase all of the older style knights and horses known to man. now, this became somewhat of a laughing matter around our house as more and more knights and horses continued to arrive. but you see - at that point, i was committed. what else could i do? but now, i know. the reason is clear. very clear. because now i can share some of these vintage ostheimer knights and horses with you, my dear friends. spreading the ostheimer love!

blue standing knight, blue riding knight and red horse


so, for the next 4 weeks...i will be giving away the old style knights and horses you see in the pictures above. either one riding knight and horse. or one standing knight. this first week's giveaway will be the purple riding knight and gold horse. (now, mind you, these are not new ostheimer figures. they have been gently enjoyed by my children and lovingly cared for over the years.) each giveaway will begin on saturday morning. to enter, all you need to do is make a comment in the post. then i'll close the comments on monday evening at approximately 9:00pm CST and shortly after that...announce the winner. so here's to all you ostheimer lovers out there. enjoy!
 
yours in sharing some ostheimer love,

shelley

92 comments:

Unknown said...

wow shelley! how generous of you. we are really starting to get into knights and castles over here. I love the older style of knights too. I was sad they changed them.

Anonymous said...

What fun! I have loved reading about your home and love of color, thank you for so much inspiration, and thanks for such a great giveaway!

Crescent Moon said...

Those are beautiful! My son loves castles and medieval people. He's building a castle out of blocks in his room right now.

Anonymous said...

Oh, goodness. I have been admiring you ostheimer fun, but we have none in our house. I have been trying to figure out how to get my hands on some and this would be so lovely. Thank you!!!!

angela said...

You are so kind to share that wonderful collection. I wanted to also say that I too would love to see more pictures of your home. What we have seen so far is such an inspiration to me!

cari said...

You have such a beautiful blog...thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I love coming to your inspiring blog, always so pretty and peaceful feeling.
Stephanie
(who really needs to find time to
create a blog)
aproverbs31_wannabe@yahoo.com

FrontierDreams said...

oh my!! you know how much i love the old knights!!!! i never win anything but hey i gotta try right! you are too generous!!
nicole

Woolfairy said...

We love the knights over here too. Although we were not in a good place financially when we bought the knights for my DS 5 or so years ago, and so we bought the Woodland Fantasies ones on clearance at a KB Outlet near us, but DS #1 is getting old enough to be interested in the playsets and I looove the Ostheimer ones. So our collection is just getting started.

Anna said...

what a kind and generous thing to do Shelley!

TheSingingBird said...

shelley i'm so happy you are having a giveaway! i have to enter...i love the ostheimer pieces you share on your blog and this year my nephew is dressing as a knight for Halloween so i'd love to surprise him for Christmas with one of your beautiful treasures!

thanks for giving all of us a chance at this :)

Kathleen said...

Dear Shelley,
we have not had a chance to meet online yet. My name is Kathleen and I have been following your blog for the past few weeks! I really enjoy reading your thoughts and being inspired by your beautiful pictures! I have 2 beautiful daughters, 3 years old and 5 month old. Like many others, we are trying to live a Waldorf inspired life at home! Your website is a wonderful resource and inspiration! Thank you for sharing these beautiful ostheimer figures with us!

Hippy Goodwife said...

We love the Ostheimer toys, we have only been able to purchase a few over the years, but they are certainly popular toys at our house.

Anonymous said...

I'm a new Waldorf mama to two small girls, and I've been loving your blog for ideas and inspiration!

Anna said...

Wow, what an awesome contest!!!!!You are very generous.

birdandbear said...

Your photos and toys are so beautiful, thank you for sharing your favorite things.

Anonymous said...

I love your blog, and we too are looking for the old style knights to go with our new castle and Ostheimer royal family.

Melissa
lishoprah@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

Hi Shelley...Had to enter this giveaway as we love Ostheimer here...Thanks for doing this, very generous of you indeed :-)

MamaWestWind said...

Those are so beautiful. Thanks for the giveaway, enter us!

vy said...

I'm fairly new to Waldorf (called Steiner here in Denmark) and have enjoyed your blog so much. Very inspiring!
-Violet

Anonymous said...

Wow, Shelley!
That's a wonderful idea. I would really like to see the whole kinderkram Castle... because I love castles and knights and princesses and all that stuff :)

Have a nice day
Maike

Evelyn said...

how lovely! my husband and i are expecting our first child in the spring, and i am so excited to have an excuse to start my own ostheimer collection. i think i am going to start with the nativity figures but i'm sure others will pop up around our home! thanks for the giveaway chance and all of your shared inspirations. :)

Stacy said...

Wow Shelley what a generous giveaway. Well, I have two boys and of course they are crazy about knights, dragons, horses, etc. etc. We are just starting our Ostheimer collection. These are wonderful.

Kimberley said...

Ooooh, I'll join in the fun! Fantastic figures and I love your blog.
Kim

MamaBirdEmma said...

Oh! My daughter and son would love these! We are becoming Ostheimer fans and are looking forward to buying our first three pieces in two weeks when we take a family trip and visit a store that sells them!

Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!

Angela said...

what a wonderful giveaway! thank you! my girls are just now reading about medieval times and are really enjoying exploring the topic. thanks for passing along the joy that these guys have brought to you and your family!

~JEN~ said...

I do not need a giveaway- i just love your blog and this particular giveaway is touching. Your love of waldorf inspires me daily.... and to think of myself years from now giving away my little treasures made a little bit in my heart ache and rejoice... thinking that all of these lovely pieces will still be in the hands of children 20 years from now.

here's dreaming of all the little hands these knights will find a home in.

Anonymous said...

Oh, giveaway gods, please be good to me today. My children love knights etc. and I just converted most of our play things from plastic miscellaneous to wood and natural. I have a wooden castle (no Ostheimer, because there's no way we can afford with the size of our family) on lay-away for Christmas and have been wondering where I will find wooden knights and queens and horses etc. that will suit it (and that we can afford). You are so generous. And I just discovered your blog recently and can I say, what an absolute treat, every bit of it. I am enjoying visiting very much!

Anonymous said...

Very generous, Shelley, I don't know how I could part with any of my Ostheimer!

Lucy Honeychurch said...

A world of brave knights in battles hard fought and won. Sweet maidens passing by, rescuing princes in a fix. Kings and queens pondering the safety of their kingdom and the treachery of their neighbours. Oh the joy and anticipation of introducing my lovelies to such a realm of history, dreaming and imagination.

Woodsprite

Courtney said...

What a generous giveaway! I have been enjoying the pictures of your home very much! Looking forward to seeing even more. :-)

Anonymous said...

What a lovely gift to pass along... Keeping my fingers crossed :)!

Anonymous said...

I would love to start a collection!

Anne hotkarl@cable.com

Anonymous said...

YOur blog is gorgeous. Now that my baby boy is almost three, I am sure I will be starting my own collection of knights and castles!What a sweet giveaway, how nice to share the love like that.

Mama Ash Grove said...

Coming out of lurkdom to say:
How wonderful!
My son is 4 years old and is just now really enjoying knights and dragons and such- it began after Michaelmas.
We have been hoping to get him some knights- he has some I knitted but he says he "does not like wool toys as much as wood."

Anonymous said...

What a prize to be had!! I would so much love to win, what a generous thing for you to do... passing on the ostheimer love:o)

* * said...

How fun to read about your growing family and how you put away and took out again these beautiful figures!
You are so sweet and generous to share these!
Your Ostheimer collection is always inspiring to see, we are just starting out with ours : )

Anonymous said...

I've been lurking your blog for a while now.....your home is so inspiring :-)
Don't have any Ostheimers yet, but just got some castle blocks handed down....time for some knights! Thanks for sharing your collection in this way.
blessings~
kimsalerno@cox.net

Anonymous said...

That's so generous Shelley! I love Ostheimer and am hoping to eventually start a small collection for my (future) child/ren. There's something so special about their pieces.

Rachel Weiss said...

ooo, vintage ostheimer. how kind of you. yes, those purple heart shields are pretty fantastic and that neat red horse. what fun to share your treasure with other waldorf kinders. merci...xo

Anonymous said...

wow, talk about giving, these are gorgeous.

i have been eyeing these up the last few months and think i'm going to have some appearing in the girls stockings this year.

Anonymous said...

I've only seen the newer knights - thanks for sharing pictures of your older ones! They really are lovely.

Teaching Handwork said...

You have a wonderful collection of wooden treasures. Well...Hmmm, if I won these jewels....I would donate them to one of our 3 kindergarten classes. I think they would be LOVED LOVED LOVED.

I think all your viewer would agree that your wooden toys are a high light on your blog. You have an amazing camera!

Blessings on your day.

Anonymous said...

generous lady! thanks for the great giveaway. my little guy would love these :)

Suse said...

You're so generous Shelley. But won't Maya miss them?

waldorfmama said...

thanks, everyone! i'm so glad you are all participating in the giveaway! i wish each of you luck. :)

suse - we have more than enough to share!! :)

Tan Family said...

Wow...how wonderful! We are currently learning about the Middle Ages as a family, and we have been longingly looking at sets of knights and castles. Thank you for sharing your beautiful pictures with everyone! :)

Anonymous said...

I only discovered your blog a view days ago...and it seems so lovely!! I am in love with all things wooden and am looking at starting an ostheimer collection for my children. I live in New Zealand so there don't seem to be many stockists here, so they are a bit harder to come by...I think it would be quite special to start with an "antique" piece :)
I look forward to continuing to read your blog.

Lizz said...

Love!

Anonymous said...

Hello Waldorf mama... I love "waldorf" toys and ostheimer toys but they are so expensive over here. Since my kids love to play with a castle and knights, I decided to make their own "waldorf castle". It took me many days to make it but it was with love and they love playing with it!(you can see a picture at this link http://mama-ilse.typepad.com/photos/papas_kunst/sint_011.html
(or click on my name for the link to the pictures)
Now they are playing with plastic knights but I think they would like to prefer playing with the wooden ones of ostheimer ;-)...
Thank you!

Greetings,
Jurgen husband from mama ilse

christine ~ ourdayourjourney said...

What a amazing treasure!! Also, thank you for sharing your inspiring & peaceful pictures around your house.

Anonymous said...

There is probably no chance that I'll win one, but they are so lovely...I thought I'd give it a shot! :0) Thanks for the incredible offering!! Much Love~ ♥ ♥ ♥

Carle said...

Hi Shelley,

Now you get to see how many people read your blog! lol

I guess you wont ship them internationally, but I still just wanted to comment on the beauty of them. I will use your pictures to hopefully inspire myself to make some. I think they would be perfect for maths knights [instead of gnomes.]

Good luck to everyone,

Blessings
Carle

Anonymous said...

It's so very kind of you! My 5 year old grandson is all about knights right now. I didn't know about Ostheimer when my children were young, but I'd love to start buying them for the grandbabies. Thanks for all your sharing!

Linda said...

Hello Shelly,

This is truly such a generous gesture, I have to enter your competition because my two little boys would absolutely love to receive something like this. We live in South Africa and with our exchange rate a purchase like this is not possible. So thank you for this opportunity, you are a blessing....

Anonymous said...

*shriek* pick me PICK ME ME ME me memememmememememmem!!!

Anonymous said...

What a great way this would be to start our collection!

Annette said...

What a sweet idea. I may have to "steal" it when it's finally time to start getting rid of some of the baby toys...

Anonymous said...

I have only the nativity set (baby, Mary and Joseph) and I love them. My kids are getting some ostheimer figures in their stockings. I would love some knights!

Marina said...

Wow, what a lovely generous thing you are doing! Of course I am entering in hopes of growing my Ostheimer collection. But I am also hoping that many, many warm and kind blessings are sent to you in all forms :).

Unknown said...

i just found your site and am in-love. i'll be adding it to my blog list for sure! i also just discovered the ostheimer beauties and am hoping my dh finds a job soon so i can get some for the girls! those are gorgeous! :)

Anonymous said...

Woo hoo! Loving your blog. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi Shelley!
I love your blog of which I've become addicted to :) My little boy and his cousin are really into knights and kingdoms. Thank you for the giveaway opportunity.

Anonymous said...

OH Iwould love to enter your little give away which by the way is so sweet of you... we don t have those in france and it will be a great way to start looking for them... so finger cross and thank you for your great blog!
pascalinel@hotmail.com

Anonymous said...

What a lovely gesture! Australia is probably too far for them to travel, so my boys and I will admire them from afar! Your ostheimer photos are always so beautifully composed, well all of your photos are! Thankyou for such an inspiring blog.

Angel Funk said...

We have a very small Ostheimer collection here, but I can't wait to expand it! What a great giveaway.

Anonymous said...

what an incredibly lovely thing to do- I often enjoy reading your blog-
Fingers crossed!

chris-

Anonymous said...

I love your blog it is very inspiring. My son just started to be very interested in castles and knights, so this is perfect for him.

Simply Stork said...

they look like such great fun can be had by playing with them :o)

what a kind giveaway :o)

~simply~

Kerri in WV said...

Knights, fair maidens, castles... ahhhh the stuff that childhood play is made of :)

Shannon said...

oh, my. what splendid knights! what a shame they have changed, but alas, it is the only thing we can be certain of. what a wonderful gift your winner will receive!

COLLEEN said...

That is so generous of you Shelley. I think you are amazing. We love anything medieval in our home and anything made out of wood; so add us to the list for the giveaway please.
Thank you.
Colleen

Anonymous said...

Oh my word! Good give-a-way! My son would flip over that!

Those figurines are so beautiful :-)

Thanks for your generosity!

Anne said...

There beautiful!
Its very generous of you!
Im not sure if Im too late to enter!

Leslie said...

Hope I'm not too late!! Thank you for being so thoughtful and kind to your readers!

Relyn Lawson said...

Wow! I've never even heard of Ostheimer until reading your blog. How generous you are. I would love to have a chance to win a knight for my own sweet little princess. Bless you for your generosity to some lucky mama and her little ones.

Anonymous said...

Wow! What a wonderful gift. My kids are wild about knights too.

waldorfmama said...

okay everyone - it is 9:00pm CST here in texas so comments are now closed. :) i will announce the winner for this week's ostheimer giveaway shortly! thank you all for participating and for your wonderful words and thoughts! i can't wait to do this again next weekend. :) ~ shelley

GGC said...

Oh, Wow, I would love some type of Ostheimer artistic toy. I have been drooling over all your Ostheimer things and your decor style. How nice.
Gingercarraher@yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

oh my,you are a very generous lady.
I am toying with the idea of starting to collect the castle for my babes this year.What a great addition one of these would be:0)

Counting Ducks said...

Thank Shelley! I love passing on outgrown toys to a family that will love them. My boys would have fun. Your blog is inspiring - thanks for sharing.

Daffodowndilly Farm said...

I have never posted to a blog before, I actually just realized the joy and beauty of reading blogs. I saw your Osteimer give away and I thought it was so generous and amazing. I found your blog through another beautiful and inspiring blog. I homeschool my son in a Enki/Waldorf blend and find so much beauty and peace in our journey together. Finding blogs like yours are a true inspiration, a sign post for different way of living. A harbor from the harshness of the news of the world, like a quiet walk in the forest. Whenever I start my computer I love to check in with my favorite blogs before I read my emails or the news...it is like a mantra of peace and beauty, the direction of my day of homeschooling. It allows me to feel the beauty of a Waldorf community even though we are so far from a Waldorf school.

So thank you for sharing your beautiful images, ideas, words and inspiration. It is a wonderful way to start my day!

Debbie L.
deep in a forest in New Hampshire

suzanne said...

Dear Shelly

Thank you for sharing your daily inspiration with me. Wish upon a shooting star.....

Have to leave this one up to the universe...
Warm Regards
Suzanne

pixiemomma said...

We too love the Ostheimer wooden world, despite everything the world and relatives throw at us over the festive season ( Nastic-Plastic) Its these toys we coem back to again and again. Bless you for your generosity.

Unknown said...

ooppsss I did not get to finish..as I was saying, my son is knight daily. I love your idea of sharing. Thank you for considering us!

Jan + Eva + Eli

Hope said...

I love your blog!!! Keeping my fingers crossed that I win!!!

Anonymous said...

You have a great blog. My son would love it if I won!

Anonymous said...

It is rather interesting for me to read this blog. Thank author for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to them. I would like to read a bit more soon.

Anonymous said...

beautiful blog :) I love reading your posts. The knights are amazing ..what a great giveaway!

Blue Skies & Dragonflies said...

i have only just discovered your blog, though i have been eyeing your sweet caps for many a moon.

we began our waldorfing journey when our eldest, now 9, was 6 years old...and what an amazing discovery it was, and continues to be.

we have had 2 children since then, bringing our brood number to four. i understand about over-extending yourself, as i think it is something that we moms all struggle with...especially those of us who homeschool, and have shops on etsy, etc.

many things happened this past christmas, a falling out of sorts, but also the chance for a new beginning... my new year's resolution is based on honesty...mainly honesty to oneself, no longer saying what people may wish to hear, but speaking from my own heart. also honesty in how we live, vs how we should live...these deeper roots all the way up to the little things of keeping gifts that don't fit our lifestyle b'c they were gifts.

this is no "fad", and i vow to make this resolution last.

your amazing generosity is a gift not only to whoever's name is drawn, but also an example for us all to follow.

be true to thyself...i hope my thoughts are not too disjointed as there is so much beneath the surface that i feel trying to escape, though this isn't quite the right sounding board. :)

blessings, jessi

Blue Skies & Dragonflies said...

very sorry, i really didn't mean to post 3x...

so sorry...jessi

jrsreagan said...

Thanks so muc!! Great giveaway!