2015 Small Christmas Display

I've always marveled at big, elaborate Christmas displays with villages, lots of people and cars, animated gadgets, and so on. But really a lot of us either don't have the room or the energy to do that kind of work, only to tear it down and start all over again next year. But ya know, having been into either scale model railroading and toy trains nearly all my life, the appeal of doing some kind of Christmas village display is too strong. But we're in the same boat so many folks are in - no room for a big display. Ours is a small house and if it weren't for having a garage (aka The Cave) I wouldn't even be a collector, there'd be no room to put the stuff. Then we have the added challenge of trying to find space for the grand baby's stuff, like the playpen, little playhouse, etc. 

But for those limited by a small space there's always a place to carve out a little room for a display. Our German shelving unit has a 21" (53.34cm)  x 35 1/2" (90.17cm) spot up and out of reach of the little one and so is just right for a little display. Because The Cave is in such disarray I pulled the nearest boxes of Christmas stuff I could find. We have some beautiful Little Glitter Houses custom made by Howard Lamey of Florida (all of which have been covered here on Toys and Stuff), along with lighted trees, people and other scenic details from a variety of manufacturers. You may notice a little cartoon type house on the left side of the display. This is a new acquisition this year and was actually a German Lebkuchen cookie box. The backing is simple: three pieces of Navy blue covered foamcore board laying atop white cotton batting.

I know it's not much but it allows us to continue a holiday tradition in limited space. Enjoy! Opa Fritz and Oma Bettina

Howard Lamey - Big Church

Today is the last of our Howard Lamey Little Glitter Houses. It's a building which I simply refer as the Big Church. But looking at it, one could easily use it as a small castle! Remember, you can order Little Glitter Houses or learn to make your own at Howard Lamey Little Glitter Houses Enjoy!

Howard Lamey - Cottage

The past couple of weeks Toys & Stuff has featured the works of Howard Lamey of LittleGlitterHouses.com
and today we feature a nice small cottage of his. The base measures 4" (10.2cm) x 4 1/4" (10.8cm) and it is 4 3/4" (12.1cm) high. Enjoy!

Howard Lamey - Little Church

Last week Toys & Stuff featured the work of Howard Lamey of 'Little Glitter Houses' (http://www.littleglitterhouses.com/) and we continue with this beautiful little church measuring 4 3/4" (12.1cm) W x 3 1/2" (8.9cm) D x 7 1/4" (18.4cm) H.. The weather has started getting cold here and just looking at this church with its icicles and snow makes me want to snuggle up on the couch with a nice warm cup of coffee! Enjoy!

Howard Lamey Little Glitter Houses - The House of Two Gables

A simple shelf display - painted backdrop, cotton 'snow', some trees, and a couple of Glitter Houses

While paperboard/cardboard houses have been around since at least the mid-1800's, Little Glitter Houses as we know them today didn't make their first appearance until the 1920s.when the Japanese offered them for sale here in the States. For a more detailed history, visit Papa Ted's Place . Ted Althof is one of the premier authorities of these charming Christmas decorations.

For some years now, Howard Lamey, of Jacksonville, Florida, has been making and selling Little Glitter Houses, in the tradition of the original Japanese but with updated designs. His website, Little Glitter Houses  also includes detailed instructions on how to make your own houses. It is Howard's creations which will be featured over the next few weeks here at Toys & Stuff in preparation for the Yule time season. 

But first there are a couple of other Glitter House and paperboard building resources you may be interested in. Paul Race, in collaboration with Howard and Papa Ted has set up a new website Cardboard Christmas dedicated to this art as a way to bring together disparate sources and links and to provide a discussion forum for Glitter Houses. The website is fairly new and does have a good deal of content already but will be growing even more as additional  content is added. And the discussion forum is available for use right now.

The next site, Big Indoor Trains , is also owned by Paul Race and includes a lot of neat information on trains basically larger than HO scale. There is a portion of the site in which Paul plays host to Howard Lamey's projects. The section  Tribute To Tinplate is devoted to the building of cardboard buildings - but with a twist!. Howard Lamey has taken traditional tinplate structures and provided instructions on how to build these using common materials, like paper, cardboard, white glue, etc. There are patterns, free downloads and photos showing the finished projects. Many of these projects fit in perfectly with the Glitter Houses and as you browse through the various sites listed here, you will see Little Glitter Houses mixed in with Tribute To Tinplate buildings. 

We all know that the economy is in the tank and many of us simply don't have a lot of money for hobbies. Within the sites listed above are many projects that one can be involved with that are very cost effective (i.e., cheap) and satisfying. And remember, while Little Glitter Houses may be a Christmas tradition, one doesn't have to celebrate Christmas to enjoy the types of houses offered here. They make fine decorations for the Yule time or all year long. Enjoy!

(There is no specific cataloging system for theses buildings so the titles given are strictly arbitrary)

The House of Two Gables

[Base 4" (10.2cm) x 4 1/4" (10.8cm) x 4 3/8" (11.1cm) H]=