Putz Sheep

Good morning everyone!  Spring is just around the corner and I thought I would write about one of my favorite things for the season- Putz sheep!  I sell out of these little darlings at Christmas time but they are just as popular at Easter.  

At Christmas, they remind us of the lowly shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks while the baby Jesus was being born in Bethlehem.  At Easter, they remind us of the perfect Lamb of God who was slain for our sins.  

How about a little history lesson on these guys?  These traditions derived from my favorite group- the Moravians (German speaking protestant missionaries who came to America in the 18th century).  Families would construct a nativity scene at Christmas time and each year the scene would grow larger and more elaborate as you can see from the picture.  The central scene is of course the nativity with the Holy Family, wise men, shepherds, sheep and camels.  The village would grow around the nativity scene.  

There are several meanings for the word "Putz". In German, it can mean plaster, finery or adornment.  All of these words apply to a Putz village because most of them are rendered or decorated with fine, plaster figurines.  In the Jewish Yiddish, it means a fool or someone obnoxious, someone who is a "putz!".  Personally, I prefer the German derivation! 

Beautiful little houses and animals are rare and expensive finds if they were made in the Erzgebirge mountains of Germany (think of cuckoo clocks and the Black Forest region).  

The sheep pictured in the first picture are antique ones probably made before WWII.  Today, fine reproductions of those same sheep are for sale right here in my shop and much less expensive than the real things!

Colonial Sugar Cones

Today, I thought I would make some colonial sugar cones and share the process with you all.  These are a great seller in the store with my line of early American teas and I was sold out so time to replenish! Supplies needed: 5lb. bag of sugar, a glass or object with a cone shaped inside, non stick spray, a blunt ended object for tamping (I used the one that came with my meat grinder and it’s perfect!), wax or parchment paper.  I begin by putting about 2 cups of sugar in a bowl and add approximately 2 Tbsp of water. Stir the sugar and water with a fork until it’s the consistency of wet sand. Put a small amount in the bottom of your glass and tamp down. Keep adding sugar and tamping til the glass is full and shave any excess from the top. Turn your glass over and gently but firmly slam it on the counter to unmold. I only sprayed my glass the one time and I got 6 cones from one bag of sugar.  They weigh 12 oz. each.

Leave them out to air dry for 2 or 3 days, depending on the humidity. Then wrap in blue paper and you’re done! This is a great way for homeschoolers to learn the history of processing sugar while they’re at it.  For prim lovers, this can also be done with brown sugar and wrap in tea stained cheesecloth.

Let's Play A Game

Colonial games and cards were popular in New France as well as in the British colonies. . .The fun-loving French hunters and trappers spent many a day around tables such as this. . .smoking their clay pipes. . .drinking their wine. . .wagering money from the sale of their pelts. . .and often losing a pocketful of coins. . .No problem. . .There were plenty more animals to trap. . .C'est la vie. . .(That's Life)

Turning a new page

OK folks, it's been over a year since I posted to my blog and I really don't have any excuse for this other than the fact that I really don't know what I'm doing with this technology stuff.  I am an artist and art and technology is for millennials, not old fogeys like me.  Anyway, I am going to try to do this on a regular basis since I am opening a new shop in Ste. Genevieve and I want to keep everyone up to date on the progress.  I feel like this is redundant since I put the same things on my facebook page but here it goes.  I close on the final paperwork for my store on Wednesday, Nov. 22.  Finally!  This has been in the working since late August.  I had no idea it would take this long so it's been a learning curve.  I would like to have a website for my new store with the ability for you all to purchase online but I have no idea how to do this without it costing a fortune.  I have tried several DIY sites only to stop about 1/4 of the way through because it's too complicated and they don't have a template for colonial enthusiasts like me!  Anyone out there with any suggestions, please help!

Mice In The House. . .

Just put these sweet little mice in my two booths (St. Mary's and Farmington's Forever Antiques).
They are completely handmade by me and have little folded sailor hats made from copies of vintage newspapers.  I have neglected my blogspot lately and I apologize.  I will try to get things going in the future.  I am working on some new hand-sewn band boxes covered with civil war era fabrics.  So keep an eye out for those in the antique mall.  I will also have some big news involving chocolate in the near future and I am so excited about it.  That's all I will say about it for now.  Hopefully in the next couple of weeks it will be ready.