DISPLAY IDEAS, HINTS, AND OPINIONS . . . Michaels in Duluth had TOOB people I don’t remember seeing before—a very nice assortment of members of the United States Continental Army. By very nice, I mean very nicely done—much better than most TOOB figurines. The price is $7.99, and I’m not sure of how many soldiers that includes (I’d guess six or seven).
. . . Found some new, at least to me, mirror ball ornaments, $4.99 for a dozen. Maybe an inch in diameter, red/ white/silver and glitter. The word I used to describe them to Linda was classy. They would make a nice addition to the right Department 56 Snow Village or Christmas in the City vignette. Probably would be used with ballroom dancers or wedding party. Saw them at Michaels.
Trees can be made using common plants and weeds (yarrow, in this case). Just spray- paint and place them in your village.
. . . In the Barbie department at Target, I noticed (new to me) items that might work in the right village display. They were The Ice Cream Truck, Pet Shop, School Barbie, and Beach Barbie. Note: It’s been suggested that these items might best be saved for a granddaughter display. . . . Found some antique brass earrings in the September “Birds and Blooms” magazine. They’re small watering cans and would look good in a village garden display. They’re $12 a pair from victoriasjewerybox.com. Village D-Lights
. . . Hobby Lobby advertises lots of Christmas items with many on sale. Not sure what is usable, village-wise, but to me it’s always worth a look. . . . We purchased our first 2013 Department 56 pieces: North Pole Village Christmas Toys on Schedule, and Alpine Village Kids with Kids. They are both very cute. Now that we’ve added Alpine, I see that we will have more additions to make to our collection.
. . . One of Linda’s projects for this past fall was showing yarrow converted to trees for our village displays. It’s easy to remember this because I continually had to stop the car and let her off near ditches to collect the plants (weeds). She spray paints them with (mostly) fluorescent seasonal colors.
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the idea in the Fall issue of “Village D-Lights.” With my love of parades, I wonder why I hadn’t thought of that myself. Thanks to Anne Korchevsky for telling us about it and using it in her New York City village. Note: Come to think about it, where else would you find balloons but overhead?
Winter 2013-2014
. . . How about a John Wayne play set? Yes, I said play set! Linda thought that it might good for the right “guy.” The packaging did say for “Ages 3+.” It has one western building, two building facades, a stagecoach and four cowboys on horseback. Oh, and a bunch of old western town accessories. They are village size and cost $31.99 at L&M Supply in Cloquet, Minn., landmsupply.com. . . . Frances wrote asking about a piece called San Francisco Bait and Tackle. Thanks to Kevin Reddy’s response to my question on the Department 56 Yahoo group. On page 401 of “Village D-Tails,” 2nd edition, I found Pier 87 Bait & Tackle. It mentions that the San Francisco version was made for the Department 56 store in that city. . . . Christmas tree ornaments as overhead balloons in parades. Saw
. . . We purchased another animated Lemax Angel’s Wings. I say “another” because Linda said we needed a backup (we now have three). Our first, in 2004, was $16, this one was $29.99 (good thing we had a 40% off coupon). Angel’s Wings is a little girl making a snow angel. Each year it attracts more attention than any other animation in our display. . . . Even after Christmas you should take a look at the Lemax Sears exclusives. People and accessories can sometimes fill a need in your Department 56 display. This year we looked at the Moto Mechanic (man and dog working on a motorcycle). We don’t even have a Harley-Davidson display—yet. . . . Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from our village to yours! u Your comments and ideas are welcome. Contact David at 105 E. Toledo St., Duluth, MN 55811; 218/724-6148; spears.duluth@juno.com