around the house...

felted mamas by haddy2dogs

ostheimer shepherd boy and hen house

small felted tapestry by orit dotan

third advent gift...

for maya's third week of advent gift (and in honor of the animal kingdom), we added a few animals to our ostheimer collection. the endless play of taking care of the animals, making sure they have been properly fed and cared for...has been our theme all week.

yours in celebration of this third week of advent,

shelley

tis the season...

mary with child

saint nicholas candle decoration

mary and joseph traveling

third week of advent...

during the third week of advent, we honor the animal kingdom. as we focus on our relationship with the birds and beasts, we are reminded of how they reflect our own most basic soul state. it is during this time of advent, as well as our own observation of nature, that we experience a settling down. a feeling of being blanketed for a long winter's nap. just as some our animal friends settle in for hibernation. the shorter daylight hours bring us inside much earlier than other times of the year, and advent balances this darkness and sleepiness with expectation and anticipation.

advent table decoration, third week

buntspechte donkey

osthiemer nativity animals

advent candles, third week

yours in celebrating this third week of advent,

shelley

christmas decorations...

ostheimer angel

ruth elsasser christmas print

ostheimer holy family

saint nicholas...

along with advent, december holds a few other smaller but very special celebrations. the first of which is celebrated today - saint nicholas day (december 6). this is a european, as well as a waldorf, tradition in which saint nicholas and his silent servant, rupert, visit children. on the eve of december 5, children place their shoes or boots outside the door (as well as a bit of hay for saint nicholas' horse) hoping saint nicholas will stop by and leave some treats for them - golden walnuts, clementines, an apple, maybe a bit of chocolate and perhaps a small gift. such a fun little celebration for our children to usher in this festive month of december.

ostheimer saint nicholas and rupert

felted saint nicholas' by etsy's haddy2dogs

yours in wishing you a happy saint nicholas day,

shelley

around our house...

ostheimer elf mama

ostheimer music box

heartwood arts gnome house and ostheimer gnome

late autumn nature table...

here is our new late autumn nature table...

and winner #4 is...

commenter #108, taimarie!

congratulations on winning this week's final ostheimer giveaway, taimarie!  please email me with your mailing address and i'll send this ostheimer blue riding knight and red horse off to you right away to enjoy!

i'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who was able to participate in these four joyful weeks of ostheimer knight giveaways. it has truly been a pleasure to pass these ostheimer treasures on to some new and happy recipients. it's also been wonderful 'meeting' some of you here for the first time. as well as getting to see many of you again whom i already know. i only wish i had a knight to give to each and every one of you! i do plan on having a few more vintage ostheimer giveaways in the future, so feel free check back whenever you can. i hope everyone has a wonderful week!

yours in joyful ostheimer giving,

shelley

fourth and final ostheimer giveaway...

this week's fourth and final ostheimer giveaway is the riding blue knight and red horse! to enter in this last drawing, please leave a comment in this post anytime before monday evening. i will announce the winner at 9:00pm CST on monday. good luck to everyone!

yours in one last ostheimer to share,

shelley

doll house...

maya has been enjoying her doll house a lot lately. as the weather turns cooler, her play turns more inward as well. and as we set about our tasks each day, i see these reflected in her play with her own little doll house family.

yours in doll house fun,

shelley

and winner #3 is...

commenter #30, martha!

congratulations on winning this week's giveaway, martha!  please email me with your mailing address and i'll send this ostheimer blue standing knight right off to you to enjoy!

and remember...next weekend will be the last, and final, opportunity to win one of these vintage, discontinued, hard-to-find ostheimer knights (plus horse next week). so please join me once again, beginning on saturday and ending on monday!

yours in continuing the ostheimer love,

shelley

third ostheimer giveaway...

this week's ostheimer giveaway is the standing blue knight! to enter this week's drawing, please leave a comment in this post sometime before monday evening. i will announce the winner at 9:00pm CST on monday. good luck to everyone!

yours in more ostheimer love to share,

shelley

ostheimer play...

i just happened to come across these two older photos today that i had taken of our ostheimer nativity shelter, one day after maya had been playing with it. i love the way the light falls on this scene. and the peaceful serenity and comfort i feel in being able to provide such natural and imaginative toys for her.

maya's room is really a peaceful and joyful place to be and, as requested, i plan to take a few more pictures to share later this week.

yours in joyful play,

shelley

and winner #2 is...

commenter #57, blue yonder!

congratulations on winning this week's giveaway, blue yonder! please email me with your mailing address and i'll send this ostheimer purple standing knight right off to you...for you and yours to enjoy!

i want to thank everyone again for participating in this week's giveaway. and remember, there are two more chances for some ostheimer knights over the next two weekends. :) it's interesting - several people have asked...why am i giving these beautiful knights away? well, the answer is simple. we have more than enough. plus i love the idea of sharing these older style knights because they happen to be my very favorites. so join me, won't you, for next week's giveaway (week #3) - once again beginning on friday and ending on monday!

yours in continuing the ostheimer love,

shelley

second ostheimer giveaway...

i wanted to start this week's ostheimer giveaway opportunity on friday (rather than saturday) to give everyone a chance to join in. i will still be closing the comments on monday evening at 9:00pm CST to announce the winner, i just wanted to give everyone an additional day...especially because of the holiday festivities today. so again, all you need to do to enter is leave a comment in this post sometime before monday evening at 9:00pm CST for a chance to win this week's vintage ostheimer giveaway!

and this week's ostheimer giveaway is the standing purple knight!

good luck everyone!

yours in sharing some more ostheimer love,

shelley

and the winner is...

commenter #7, stephanie!  

congratulations on winning this first week's giveaway, stephanie! please email me with your mailing address and i'll send this ostheimer purple riding knight and gold horse off to you.  enjoy!  

i want to thank everyone for participating in this week's giveaway and leaving such wonderful and thoughtful comments! what a pleasure it was to see some old friends here and to also 'meet' some new friends. please come back again and join me for this week's giveaway (week #2), beginning on saturday and ending on monday!

yours in the joy of giving,

shelley

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