I have a drawer in my studio that houses an assortment of the old glass clip on birds. Whenever I find one in estate sale land it goes into this drawer. When I opened up the drawer the other day I realized I have quite the collection of them.
Let me also preface this post by saying that I can't bear to throw these birds away. Thus I have a collection of misfit birds. Some are missing tails or the clips on the bottom. Some have the tips of their beaks missing. Some are in fine shape, but some have not weathered time well.
My drawer was quite full.
Some come in pink.
Some are quite small.
This pair came in the original box so they are in good shape with tails and clips intact.
Love the pastel birds.
Most of the birds are of the same shape. These cockatoos and parrots a bit different.
This trio of birds look like hummingbirds to me. I like the wing (note a LONE wing) with the tip in color.
These are my favorite birds. I have a thing for birds with long necks like storks and swans. I also like they tiny crown on one of the heads.
Some of the clips have a double spring that looks like bird legs.
The birds that still have their spun glass tails seem to be quite proud of them.
I took pity on the birds that lacked tails and ordered some replacement ones. I found some spun glass tails like they would have had originally from D. Blumchen & Company. I think I may do some holiday crafting with some of these birds and get them out of that studio drawer.
If you have an idea for a future collection challenge, leave me a comment and finish the sentence "Show me your collection of ___." Time to get out to the studio and fix some tail-less birds! Happy Day!
I don't collect too much but I do collect these! I have a small white tree that is dedicated to these bird ornaments...I love them. Last year I got a couple of the different birds- a cockatoo and parrot... I gave the parrot as part of the gift but kept the cockatoo. Have a great week! karen...
Posted by: karen | November 05, 2013 at 06:02 AM
My favorite ornaments that belong to my Grandma are her fancy glass birds. She has at least two dozen of them in perfect condition and I'm sure in their original box. They have everything in it's original box!
You have a great collection of them! I think my favorite has to be the parrot. So different.
Posted by: Melissa | November 05, 2013 at 06:21 AM
I have a huge collection of the birds too! And like you, I can't bear to throw away a bird if it only has a minor flaw! I have been looking all over for a hummingbird with the spun glass wings!
Posted by: Melissa's Antiques | November 05, 2013 at 06:46 AM
I just love these old birds. I found one at an antique shop a few weeks back, but passed on it as it's beak was badly broken. They are hard to find in good shape. Love your collection Laurie!
Posted by: Maureen | November 05, 2013 at 06:50 AM
This is one of the few vintage Christmas items I actually collect. I don't mind if they're missing tails or clips either. Those hummingbirds are pretty cool!
Posted by: Gina @ VintageJunkinMyTrunk | November 05, 2013 at 07:02 AM
So glad you take pity on those wounded birds. If anyone can bring them back to life, it's you! These birds bring back great memories of spending Christmas at my Grandma's. She would have them on her tree, along with some Shiny Brites and chenille santas. So pretty!
Posted by: Carol @ Old Glory Cottage | November 05, 2013 at 07:10 AM
I have a few of these birdies also. I buy them when I spot them. Some have tails and some don't. But, I leave mine out year round. I clip them onto plants, a stack of books, etc.
Posted by: Jan | November 05, 2013 at 07:23 AM
Wonderful birds! I have a few, too. When I get one without a tail, I just push a couple of feathers in the opening. The birds seem happy with their replacement tails.
Posted by: Janet Johnson | November 05, 2013 at 08:00 AM
These birds are so lovely. you have some very unusual ones. That last picture is a very sweet birdie. I have a couple that were on our tree when I was growing up. Thanks for rescuing the little guys.
Posted by: Annette | November 05, 2013 at 09:09 AM
What beautiful birds! I love the parrots and swans! Thanks for always sharing your collections with us!
Have a great week, Dorothy
Posted by: Dorothy Crutchfield | November 05, 2013 at 11:21 AM
My kind of girl! I take pity on things too and I have some that I have rescued. Thanks for the info on replacement tails. I had no idea someone sold them. I have these old tree toppers that are marginal and they have spun glass all around in a circle that look just like the tails....anyways, someone told me she cuts the spun glass off, tapes them together and they look just like the tails. Of course if I get lazy, I know where I can buy some now!
Sigh.....now you've got me in the mood to haul out my Christmas. Of course I have some Thanksgiving things to put out (in the corner somewhere) LOL!
Have a wonderful day :-)
Posted by: Doreen | November 05, 2013 at 12:36 PM
I collect those too and out of all of my Christmas décor, they are my favorite. My Grandma Gloria gave me several before she passed away and since I don't have a lot of things from her (thanks to my selfish aunts but that's a whole other story) I cherish them!
~Erica
Posted by: Erica | November 05, 2013 at 03:08 PM
Many many years ago I bought a bunch of springs and clips to repair all of mine. I cannot remember where I bought those for the life of me though...
Posted by: sarah | November 05, 2013 at 04:58 PM
Oooh, Aaah... I love that you even save the damaged ones, like "velveteen" birds!
Posted by: Kathy | November 05, 2013 at 05:20 PM
As soon as I saw this post, I thought of the song from Mary Poppins - Feed the Birds. Here are a few lines... perfect for your sweet little birds.
"Come feed the little birds,
Show them you care
And you'll be glad if you do"
Posted by: Musings from Kim K. | November 05, 2013 at 06:24 PM
arent they lovely! that is the sweetest little collection. I have three little glass birds that go on my tree every year and I love them. Mine are pretty beat up too!
have a great day
xoxo
vivian
Posted by: vivian | November 06, 2013 at 02:55 AM
What a coincidence, I just bought a small bag of these birds yesterday, none of them in the very best shape, but I'll see what I can do. I had to buy them!!! I have a few of my Mom's and they're in good shape, they are so pretty!!
Posted by: Jill | November 06, 2013 at 05:27 AM
I just sent you an email about Blumchen ! I always look through your photos first before reading ........... silly me ! Thinking that you would not already know about Blumchen ! Love this collection ............
Posted by: Lisa W. | November 06, 2013 at 05:30 PM
What a beautiful collection! I just have a couple birds. I found my prettiest one at the flea market this summer...came home and immediately dropped it on the kitchen floor, breaking it's beak. Now I can't remember if I decided to throw it away or not. Tonight we went to a gift shop and they had a x-mas tree decorated in just repro birds like this. Packed full. It was really pretty!
Great post! Erica :)
Posted by: Erica | November 06, 2013 at 08:09 PM