A Honeycomb Kind of Kristmas
The "Snow Figures", as Hallmark called them, are also some of the oldest in my collection. They are a little rickety from continuous use but especially from the fact that the buttons and faces are constructed in a way that makes you have to push into the honeycomb every time they are placed on the figures.
What I love most about the older designs are the embossed gold accents. Their decorative scroll work catches the candle light and make the pieces shine. These particular snow figures have very intricate hats that require a very delicate assembly but a very simple round base.
Their 15" honeycomb bodies are very wobbly and are hard to keep upright. I have brought them out every year since I purchased them about 5 years ago and although literally on their last leg, I will continue to prop them up and display them proudly on my mantle.
My snowman collection continues with this lovely 16 inch plans-a-party centerpiece. At $1.50 and with sanserif fonts, I can tell "Christmas Snowman" is from a later date then snow couple above. His cheerful eyes harken back to "Mr. Snowman" but the design is chunkier and his arms and accents are less intricate than the older ones. He also does not have any gold scroll work.
But at 16" he hold a very strong presence on the table. His plump belly holds up nicely on his sturdy base interestingly constructed with a sawtooth edge and has remained in pristine condition. I purchase this snowman this year along with a santa and christmas bells (listed further down in this blog) from a woman who knew their original owner. All of the packages from her collection were carefully cut at the top and great care was taken in folding and storing each and every one of them.
Hallmark's signature decorating guide and planner grace the back of this package. This one suggests: "A Holiday 'Progressive Dinner' can be fun for all. Each course is served at a different home, and guests travel from house to house until dessert is served. If it's a neighborhood affair, it might be fun to walk, caroling along the way." Boy that sure would take a large amount of organizing that one!
The snowman party check-list has all the matching party accessories "you need to make entertaining easy, with more fun and less work for you"! Just make sure to keep those coordinating matches away from all the other matching paper products!
Talking about matching paper products, this little pink snowman is the only set I have with matching Bridge Table Cover and "Nut cups" (both unused). I have seen some invitations on Etsy, so if anyone has forgetten me on their Christmas list, be sure to get them for me!
Thinking about it, I should start a Bridge Club with all the unused nut cups I own!
Snowmen are cute, but this is the season to celebrate SANTA and my all time favorite paper honeycomb decoration is none other than this Christmas Decoration seen below. Once again, the accents in embossed gold foil and cheery facial expression just hit the right note for me. On top of that this large 16" wall hanging is not a centerpiece at all. It is INDEED a clever gift, or more like clever design!
This Santa is in pristine condition due to Hallmark's clever design work. The entire face, beard and hat band are one piece of paper that just slides over the DUAL COLORED honeycomb structure. I have not see a two colored honeycomb piece in all of the years I have been collecting these pieces.
Funny enough, I haven't been able to bring myself to curl the mustache and beard as instructed but even the original owner left those elements flat. A choice that has probably attributed to this decoration being in very good condition. It would be very difficult to store if I did curl them…
Holly leaves and berries accent the brim of the hat and the belt buckle, giving the paper Santa an even more festive flair! To me, the great condition that these items are in after all these years is a miracle! But one that is found time and time again with Christmas decorations. Brought out only for the holiday, these paper structures had a chance to survive if stored flat and in a cool environment.
I've propped him up here. As I mentioned, he is not a centerpiece and does not stand. He is meant to hang and is currently gracing the side of our dinning room mirror. There is obvious tape marks that were used to hold him up in another household but I find this charming and shows me that this piece was used and represents a bit of the history in the lifespan of this decoration.
These matching Santa cones are just delightful. They too encapsulate everything that I absolutely adore about these honeycomb decorations: whimsical but simple design, embossed gold accents and vibrant pop colors.
What's really interesting here as well is the very best design I've seen in my collection for the base of these delicate paper structures. Here you can see that the designer came up with an ingenious but very simple solution which holds these sweet Santas upright and have contributed to the papers longevity.
The beard and the light rays coming off the star on top of their heads are simple lines of circles but when the light hits them just right, they look like stings of Christmas lights! These are gracing our mantle piece this year and although they are not holding a string of circles wishing all a Merry Christmas, these embossed accents are twinkling by the firelight once again.
Not quite $1.50 but this later "Santa" is thee largest honeycomb decoration I own at a whopping 18 1/2" tall! The base had to be strong enough and the decorations adorning the centerpiece light enough to stand up! I am especially in love with the cotton pom-pom attached to the top of Santa's hat. When they add actual trim to the paper, such as a cotton ball, ribbon or yarn, it creates a very three dimensional feeling.
At first I thought this Santa was from the 70's but upon looking closer at the illustrations, I think it is closer to late 60's. Unfortunately, the top of the Christmas tree has been squished from years of placing the tree topper in the paper honeycomb but the vibrancy of the red and his sweet drawn demeanor makes him a lovely addition to the collection.
My second largest honeycomb is this jolly "Santa" and is most likely from the early 70's. The font used for Santa is a dead give away as well as the $1.50 price tag. This paper structure is also very well constructed. His paper ring base, which his feet are attached to, just connects together and by placing a tab in the crease of the honeycomb, doesn't tear into the actual paper.
The illustration of Santa is very different from anything I have seen in the plans-a-party series. The lines are created with small dots and the cheery face is not reminicent of the 60's graphics found in the earlier centerpieces. The extremely large honeycomb itself is a delight to behold.
The red itself has faded which I just LOVE and reminds me of a color from my childhood, specifically from the Wizard of Oz. Funny enough, it's this color red that reminds me of the wicked witch of the west and her cloud of red she would jump into and the sand in her egg timer... Blood red is cheerful for me, faded red has a WHOLE HOST of other visual connotations for me.
That same faded red can be seen in these "Christmas Bells". All of the faded honeycombs here were a part of a collection I obtained this year and I just know she must have brought them out year after year with the very same excitement and anticipation that I feel when constructing them and placing them out on display for all to enjoy. Additionally, this charming 13 1/2" centerpiece contains a satin red faded bow that harkens back to an older generation.
I have an entire collection of honeycomb ornaments but I will save exploration of their construction and variety for next Christmas. I hope you have enjoyed exploring my collection this year. Although it is not about or contain my photography (which this blog is about) it is a peek into a part of me that appeals to my aesthetics. Hopefully you have been able to garner a better understanding of how I see and appreciate the smaller things in life!
Merry Kristmas to all and to all a good Honeycomb Holiday!
Julie Pavlowski Green
December 21, 2013
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