The Crescent Moon Cottage

I won this antique, hand made house in an auction few years ago. It is the current residence for my Tynietoy collection. I believe it was built in the 1920's.  It combines a little craftsman style, with a bungalow style roof and a few other architectural elements that make this old house pretty cool.  Each room is fitted with a ceiling mounted electric bulb and still has the ceramic insulators and fabric wrapped wiring.  As of now, its called the Crescent Moon Cottage, until I come up with something better.

The front of the house has real glass windows with painted mullions and moon cut-outs in the hunter green shutters.  The roof is covered with individual painted wood shingles and the base of the house is carved wood made to look like large pieces of cut stone.   The door knob on the front door is actually part of a mechanism that releases a lock to open up the front of the house like a bi-fold door.

The one story section of the house was added on at some point and houses a small kitchen.

Note also the window boxes and carved decorative brackets at the front porch and roof.

The rear of the house has windows symmetrically placed on each side of a large carved wooden chimney, made to look like cut stone or large bricks.  The chimney also serves as a support when the front portion of the roof is opened to reveal the attic.  At some point, all of the windows on the rear were filled in with wood panels - I think this was to allow for more wall space inside the house.

One end of the house has the first floor bay window with the same wood shingles.  Note also one of two diamond shaped windows on the attic room.

The attic also has a bungalow shed style dormer window.

A detail of the "stone" base that turns into the front steps.

The front door leads directly into the living room.  Currently the living room has kind of mohair type fabric carpet and the original curtains and original fireplace.  the rough solid wood walls are painted a glossy creamy yellow.  An arch leads into the dining room.

The dining room has the same carpet and paint on the walls.  note the wood "plug" where the window was before the kitchen was added on.

The small kitchen has two different sized windows to allow for a sink with a view and third that was plugged by the previous owner behind the arcade hoosier cabinet.

There are two large bedrooms upstairs one painted pink and one painted blue.

Another archway divides the two bedrooms upstairs and the house still has it original curtains.  The bed, dresser and desk in this room are not Tynietoy but from the same period.

The attic is one large space that I may divide into a couple of rooms, including a bathroom.

I have been looking at some fabrics to use as wall coverings. 

Christmas Village

Each year we enjoy setting up our "village" The village started out as a starter kit with 3 pieces on our first Christmas. It has become quite the family tradition. We have added a piece or two each year after and it has grown into a mini-metropolis. Almost all of the pieces are all from Mervyn's Village Square.

The kids love to help layout the buildings, place the people and especially throw the snow.












The pieces have become harder to come by now that they have closed Mervyn's here in Oklahoma, but They come up once and a while on Ebay.


Here are some how-to ideas for setting up your village:

http://tulsatinystuff.blogspot.com/2011/11/how-to-set-up-christmas-village.html

My Arcade Collection

Manufactured in Freeport, Ill., USA, Arcade Toys emphasized realism, although the use of painted cast iron for tables, benches and chairs (even over-stuffed chairs and sofas)  tested the limits of their slogan, "They look real." On the other hand, metal was appropriate for kitchen appliances. Made from 1925 to 1936,  Arcade furnishings are well designed in a larger than usual scale, 1:16 and marked on the bottom or back with the manufacturer's name embossed into the cast iron along with it part number.

My Arcade collection currently resides  here

To read about the Arcadian story book, click here