Summer Time Limoges Boxes

It is nearly summer time and many people are donning their swim suits and getting ready for some beach-side fun in the sun!

Limoges boxes capture the essence of beach time fun with a cute sandy theme.  Colorful beach chairs, sea shells, sun glasses, starfish, ... these fun details strike up the cravings for a heat wave. 

Send a loved one off on their summer vacation with these summer enticing trinket boxes.  Usher in the sunny season with summer time Limoges boxes and set the mood to start your rest and relaxation.

Sun glasses, wide-brimmed sun hats, these Limoges boxes have lovely details that add just the right touch to the sun-worthy pieces.

Visit www.LimogesBoxCollector.com for these pieces and more that will match all your summer dreams.

Limoges Trink-cat boxes

Cats are popular pets, just as popular as dogs, and this universal popularity means only one thing -- Limoges boxes!

That's right -- you can find a porcelain trinket box to suit your taste in cats -- and highlight your favorite part about their personalities.  Some people love their independence and low-maintenance...

Some enjoy them for how playful they are...

Others regard them as effective mouse-trappers...

This is one of my favorite Limoges boxes, for sure!

And the rest, most likely, simply enjoy having them around the house just looking cute!



Sometimes you want to hug and kiss Limoges boxes when they look as adorable as this one!

Cats require some basic equipment for everyday life:  a litter box, carrying crate or container, scratch post, comb or brush, and small toys to keep them busy.  They love to play -- they will chase a string or bat around a small ball for hours.  They also love attention, as noted by their perpetual purring when you pet them.  These Limoges boxes exemplify all the sweetness of our feline friends, and they are much easier to collect than a bunch of real kitties! 

Being quite territorial creatures, this can make it rought for a new cat you may bring into your home if you already have another.  Not only with other cats, but they can be territorial with humans as well.  I will never forget a trip I took to visit my cousin for a few days, where her cat was clearly not enthused with my presence.  Each time my cousin and I would leave and return to the house, I would find articles of my clothing by the front door, that her cat had dragged out of my luggage -- he was trying to get rid of me one shirt at a time!  :) 

I like cats because they have a fearless ferociousness to them like their kindred lion, but they also have a little bit a cuddly kitten to them no matter how old they get. 

These Limoges boxes come in all types of feline friends.  A great collection to grow ... and no need for vets or canned food ... just an occasional dusting and they will be just as independent as the real thing!

Limoges Boxes In All The Colors Of The Rainbow

The most alluring thing about Limoges boxes is the colors they come in!  Artists hand panint these porcelain trinket boxes with splashes of luscious colors to make them realistic and appealing.  You can collect Limoges boxes to add a little color and sentiment to any area of any room, thus creating a showcase in any variety of themes.

I love the fresh color splash of food myself and you can get all types of veggies at www.Limogesboxcollector.com.  One box may feature a bunch of veggies together ...

.... or, I like to have vegetable Limoges boxes in a row like a vegetable rainbow, customizing my collection limited to my select favorites.  Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple Limoges boxes are a perfect mix of eye candy.

Red can be a tomato, luscious and plump....

Orange could be a carrot, freshly plucked from the ground....

My yellow Limoges boxes are lemons, tangy and bright ....

Green brings me to peas, huddled in a pod....

My bit of blue is blueberries, pickable snack and garnish...

Purple is my yummy fig ...

These Limoges boxes are an example of how fun it can be to collect these porcelain pieces -- personalized to fit any style and any taste, while adding visual interest when your decor is in need of some pigmentation.

The Happiest Limoges Boxes On Earth

Walt Disney is a legend in the world of animation and his success has left a phenomenal mark on history and the future.  Cartoons, feature films, theme parks, and distribution companies, Disney is a household name known and loved by children, animators, parents, and fairytale lovers. 

Walter Elias Disney had a great love for animals, as we can see from most of his famous classic films such as Bambi, Dumbo, The Jungle Book, Lady and The Tramp;  and, of course, any film with his most famous characters, Mickey, Goofy, and Donald. 

Many valuable classic Limoges Boxes are available in our favorite Disney characters.

Walt Disney not only brought talent and loveable characters to the table, but his work brought monumental effects to the world of animation in a time where more and more films were rushing to produce films to capitalize on the burgeoning new technology of sound in movies.  Walt saw that there was no sense in making any more silent cartoons, as his first had been, and in 1928 he released the famous "Steamboat Willie".  This was his first step in a fruitful path to synchronize sound  with cartoon movement.  Also, by the end of 1935, Disney mastered the use of three-strip technicolor to create rich, full and vibrant films, which boosted their popularity.  It certainly made his films more magical to see Dopey's red nose and cheeks, Mickey's blue and yellow sorcerer's hat, and Tinkerbell's sparkly yellow fairy dust. 

These Limoges boxes exhibit accessories that are unmistakably Mickey Mouse!

Today, we can enjoy Disney in the movie theatres, as his films continue to be produced under his name and classics return to the the big screen time and again;  we can visit any of the four Disney theme parks;  we can take a Disney cruise adventure;  we can shop in a Disney store;  or we can visit www.Limogeboxcollector.com to have these little pieces of happily-ever-after in our own homes.

Limoges boxes your little ones can (one day) appreciate

Any parent knows that there is an enormous amount of preparation necessary, both mental and physical, before welcoming your new baby.  There are diapers to stock up on, doctors visits to keep, a room to prepare, baby showers to have, and books to read.  It is a fun time and a busy time, getting things all set up so you are ready for all the action with the new little one. 

One great thing about baby life is that they come along with the need for miniature furniture and accessories necessary for their day to day.  Cribs, strollers, pacifiers, high chairs, bibs -- things that any great shopper can appreciate the entertainment value of.  Setting up and accumulating all these baby items makes your life easier and their life more comfortable. 

And, naturally,you can get all your baby needs in the form of Limoges boxes as well!  These porcelain pieces are great for any baby-welcoming time -- for your own baby, your friend's, your sister's, your cousin's ... a gift that is guaranteed to be unique and bewitching.

So detailed and realistic, these French porcelain Limoges boxes make the mess, full-time schedule, and busywork of tending to babies seem less stressful and more enrapturing.  An adorable pink pacifier that fits into the Limoges box featuring an adorable sleeping baby girl; a cozied up little baby boy that you can set into his crib;  and those ahhhh-inspiring teeny baby booties.  Perfectly petite and a great memento for any new parent to mark the occasion of a new addition to their family!

My parents kept many of the little gifts they recieved when I was born ... piggy banks, clothes, beautifully framed photos, scrapbooks, foot prints.  I love to look through these keepsakes, as it is sweet to know how celebratory my baby-life was for them.  I do think, however,  it would have been surpassingly great if http://www.limogesboxcollector.com/ was around back then so their friends and family could have also showered them with some of these precious collectibles for the occasion.  :)

Living Happily Ever After with Limoges Boxes

Don't forget the slipper, too!!  These Limoges boxes can open up to store the slipper so Cinderella won't lose it ever again.

Pumpkins are a magical fruit most popular at Halloween time.  They are orange balls that can be carved into various spooky-looking jack-o-lanterns, painted, and propped on your doorstep.   Also popular at Thanksgiving is that delicious after-feast delight, pumpkin pie.   And, of course, the seeds are an ever-delicious convenient tasty snack at any time in the year.  Pumpkins provide so many ways for us to enjoy them!

But, they did not always have a spooky or edible purpose -- they were also at one time a fairytale mode of transportation for a overworked young lady who needed a ride to a life-changing party. 


Cinderella's story is famous all over the world and her fairy godmother was notably resourceful by choosing mice to transform into carriage-horses, and one lucky pumpkin to be her carriage for an evening.  Disney made this story a hit all over again, but it was orignially written in 1697 by Charles Perrault.  Wicked stepsisters, chores day in and day out, a prince, a ball, some magic, a slipper, and a touch of happily ever after.  Since the original version, the story has been told in many different ways and the plot has had some changes, but the pumpkin is a constant. 

Open up these Limoges boxes to find Cinderella and her Prince sitting inside 

Children and adults can fall in love with this story and once that has happened you will wish you had your very own fairygodmother and a magic pumpkin carriage to take you away!  The good news is you CAN have your own carriage from http://www.limogesboxcollector.com/, and it gets even better -- you can keep it much longer than the stroke of midnight.



Desert-ed Limoges Boxes

Browsing through the plentiful inventory listed on www.LimogesBoxCollector.com, you will find some low-maintenace flora.  Limoges Cacti are even more low maintenance than the real thing, and they will surely be the easiest thing to care for in any French Porcelain Limoges box garden.

These Limoges Boxes get you started on a little indoor garden perfect under a kitchen window

 

If you want to see an impressive amount of cacti in one place, you must visit Arizona.  Most of Arizona is desert, which means the climate is harsh, dry, and hot for most of the year.   But, this weather is just perfect for some plants including the spiny cactus.  They thrive on the limited water, as their broad shallow roots absorb water effictively after brief summer or winter rains (depending on which desert area they are in) where the water may not soak very far into the soil. 

There are many different species of cacti:  Saguaro (the most classic type and the symbol of the Southwest), Prickly Pear (short cacti with sharp needled paddle branches), barrel cacti, fishhook cacti, organ pipe cacti (resembling a spider lying on its back), and Claret Cacti (with deep red flowers), are just a few.  Many of these cacti have beautiful blossoms and they bear plump edible fruit.

Limoges Boxes are available in my favorite Saguaro Cacti form

I always enjoy driving through Arizona, as road trips through the years have lent themselves to, because the cacti are a huge part of the charm of the terrain.  You know you have arrived when you see those prickly arms raised up in the air welcoming your arrival. 

In addition to these fun plants all over the place, Arizona has many things that are very view-worthy.  The Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest National Park, London Bridge, and various ghost towns.  Yet, the only things I have ever stopped to take pictures with have been my cacti buddies!

Limoges Boxes with Trunk Appeal

Elephants are remarkable animals -- they are strong, have a reputation for having remarkable memories, and for being incredibly social animals.  Limoges boxes are available for other elephant lovers like myself, to showcase these intelligent lovable animals.

Today elephants are the logo for the Republic political party, originating November 7, 1874 from the Herald illustrator, Thomas Nast, and his picture caption showing how the elephant roamed the forest while frightening "all the foolish animals he met in his wanderings".

 Limoges boxes can even serve as a sign of your political loyalties

Physically, today elephants are found in Africa and Asia.   About 50-60 years ago nearly two million elephants existed.  Today there are fewer than fifty thousand left, contributed partly to ivory-hungry poachers and to the natural occurrences of lion attacks in areas of high elephant populations.

Elephants communicate with each other through low rumbling calls and can keep track of each other by sening their smells in the wind.  They easily remember places, other elephants and people.

 These Limoges boxes display our animal in his African habitat atop a jungle sunrise

Despite their long swinging noses, awkward tusks, enormous size, big ears, and rough skin, they are such cute animals.  Their sad eyes, the way they travel in herds while holding on to each others tails, how they fan themselves with their ears, and use a built in nose-shower system, makes me want to give them a big hug.

These animals are certainly the best part of circus performances as well, exhibiting before an audience their great strength and ability to follow directions, walking on huge rolling balls, standing on their back legs, carrying heavy items, etc....  I just adore them.

It is fun to create your own jungle scene of Limoges boxes to include these great animals .... just keep them away from the lions!

Hearty Limoges Box

Girls love hearts.  Heart shaped boxes of chocolate, heart pattern clothing, heart picture frames -- it is lovey-dovey and romantic and we just love that stuff.  This is why its so great that Limoges items are available not only as heart Limoges boxes, but as wearable porcelain heart-shaped jewelry!

Typically, when someone mentions the heart we automatically think about the emotional definition connected to the word. The heart is clearly not as lovely looking as the common rendering we see everywhere, instead it is quite an odd-shaped valve-ridden blob.  Nevertheless, the heart is powerful and responsible for many functions other than just in conjunction with our thoughts and feelings.  Our heart provides life, rhythm, and cleansing for our body at every moment, keeping us centered, alert, regulated and healthy.  

The heart is not just a pump, it is part of your circulatory system, electrical system, and emotional system.  The heart is a muscular organ about the size of a fist in the middle of the chest.  It beats 100,000 times a day and with each pump it sends blood throughout the body and cleans out the waste. 

The circulatory system is how the heart transfers blood in different directions in the body.  Blood is brought to the heart, away from the heart; nutrients and oxygen are transported, and carbon dioxide  is taken away.  The electrical system produces a signal with each heartbeat, which makes the heart contract and pump blood from the top of the heart to the bottom, pumping to the lower chambers and to the lungs.  This signal occurs sixty to one hundred times per minute.  

The heart is the most vital organ and the busiest one.  It deserves all the popularity it gets as a decorative and symbolic representation highly marketable for special occasions.  We do not often think about the significance of the heart as working daily for us to keep us running.  This is all the more reason to love these French porcelain Limoges items, which can serve to remind us of how treasured our hearts should be to us, if not only as a beautiful daily adornment. 

Lucky Limoges Boxes

As with many long-standing traditions, the fortune cookie does not have a clear origin.  There are various stories about where and when the charming after take-out treat got its start, but we cannot be certain of any of them.  Some things we do know is that they are not from China, they are produced by the millions today, and they always contain a fun message inside for the partaker.

With these Limoges boxes you are always guaranteed good fortune

One version of the fortune cookies story is that they were created by a Chinese immigrant in 1918.  In consideration of the poor individuals that wandered the streets around his business, Hong Kong Noodle Company, he created the treat and passed them out to them for free.  Each one contained a slip of paper with a Bible verse written on it. 

Another possible origin was the invention by a Japanese immigrant who designed the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco.  After experience much opposition from prejudice individuals, his employment was saved through the support of influential characters in the city.  As a form of thank-you, he created and passed out these cookies regularly in the Garden.

Lastly, fortune cookies may date back as far as 13th or 14th China at the time of the Mongols.  There was much uprising due to frequent invasion, so these cookies (in a earlier, more primitive form) were used to carry messages tipping off revolutionaries to planned attacks.   Story has it that this technique was effective and led to the Ming Dynasty.

Wherever they came from, fortune cookies are a fun way to end (or start) a yummy Chinese meal.  You can even order your own little Limoges boxes in take-out package form, and feel lucky even if just to own a non-perishable cookie that comes with it!

This French Porcelain Limoges comes with little chopsticks and a cookie

Limoges Boxes That Inspire Relaxation

My favorite instrument-inspired Limoges boxes are by far the various pianos available.  I am inspired to buy a huge multi-level doll house, just to showcase one of these pianos in each of the rooms.  Pianos for me symbolize relaxation, stress-relief, and auditory rejuvination -- whether listening to piano music or playing it oneself, it is remarkably therapeutic.

This upright piano Limoges box features a live musical event on the lid

Today we are offered music in virtually every setting -- at home, in the car, at work, in the elevator, and even from the morning singing of our neighborhood birds.  Music plays in grocery stores, oudoor malls, doctor's offices, health spas, in commercials on TV and radio, at athletic events .... anywhere people are for any purpose.  Even if we wanted to we could not avoid music; and everyone loves music becase it enhances our everyday lives. 

I have found that unlike any other musical form, piano music can calm and center us in stressful situations, relax us at the end of a long work day, and it can be welcomed company when our idea of retreat is not in pure silence.  Each element of this music can have subtle positive effects ... the rhythm, the melody, and the tone. 

When trying to reach a point of calm self-collection, we have many choices that will slow us down and put us in a gentler frame of mind.  Baoque and Classical works are ususally good selections, due to their slow movements, which our heartbeats and breath cycles will naually move along to.

Due to the fact that these Limoges boxes are so intricately detailed, I feel as though I could touch the keys and start playing a tune.  I can even almost hear my most loved sonatas just by looking at these lovely French porcelain pieces.  They remind me constantly of my favorite moments in life, when I stumble upon a gorgeous peice of music and once it ends I find myself transported.   Melody has that power to lift us up, even the sheer presence of a melody-inducing item like these! 

Limoges Boxes as Baseball Memorabila

Perhaps Jacques Barzun put it best: "Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball."  For morethan 150 years, this simple yet intricate game has been a mirror in which we can see ourselves -- and our country -- in all its contradictory, paradoxical glory.  In addition to keeping up with televised games, many love to surround themselves with collectibles, insignia, and memorabilia, to keep themselves in that euphoric state of living and breathing the beloved pastime.

This Limoges Box opens up to reveal a hand-painted baseball scene.



When it comes to baseball, the most popular collectible has always ben trading cards.  Originally packaged as inserts in packs of cigarettes, candy, baked goods,and bubblegum, baseball cards started out as gimmicks to boost sales for peripheral items.  Fast forward to today, when baseball cards are issued under more than half a dozen brand names (i.e. Topps, Score, Upper Deck).  They are more popular than ever, and rarely come attached to items unrelated to baseball.  The rarity of a card, as well as its condition are what make these exciting and valuabel collectibles.

Another popular baseball collectible is the bobblehead, which came about in 2000.  These dolls have big fat faces wired to springs so they nod in enthusiastic agreement to everything.  These are highly valuable, especially the bobblehead dolls that started the trend -- those of the Minnesots Twins.

Penants are another popular keepsake.  They are a nice way of saluting your team (or distracting the other team) from the stands.  Waving it around during the game is a fun way to enjoy the moments, just swaying
your team's symbol around or the sheer excitement of it all.

Whatever your collectible may be -- a dish towel, magnet, autographed ball, Wheaties box -- a true souvenir is only as valuable as the joy it brings to own it.  These Limoges boxes are a meaningful and classy way to express your love of the game to the world.  On your mantle, on your desk at work, in your bedroom or home office, these are enviable memorabilia by any standard. 



Earthly Limoges Boxes

Earth is a wild and exciting place.  At any given moment somewhere on the planet, storms are brewing, winds are howling, lightning is striking, fires are raging,  and floods are rising.  We do not often think about it, but our world is always moving and pumping with energy and life.  Most of these events depend on where are world is at that moment in its rotation.

Our planet from one view looks like a simply perfect ball, like the Limoges Box below, but it is made up of three basic layers, the partly liquid hot metal core at the center, the fleshy layer of semi-molten rock called the mantle, and the thin rocky surface skin, known as the crust.

Taking a look inside Limoges Boxes are always a world of fun!



Every twenty-four hours, our earth spins like a top.  While it is day on one side that faces the sun,it is night on the other.  The earth also travels on a 23.5 degree tilt which cause the seasons.  In the Northern Hemisphere, we experience summer when the earth is tilted toward the sun and winter when it is tilted away fromthe sun.  The opposite is true for the other side of the world -- so, always when one side of the earth is basking in summer, another part is shivering in winter.  This is why so many people choose to buy their "summer homes" so they can always escape their least favorite season, and enjoy the opposite weather at the same time in another part of the world! 

Limoges Boxes like this are great gifts for those who like to pack up and move about the globe!





I love maps, but find that globes are my favorite way of viewing the earth at a glance -- being able to do the old "spin the globe, close your eyes, and use your pointer finger to stop the globe to select where you will vacation next" technique of trip-planning is always a favorite of mine.  Plus, with Limoges boxes like these ones, I always feel powerful, as I can open up my own personal earth to look inside, then store something that means the world to me.

Limoges Boxes Are "Sew" Cute

Whether  you are dressmaking, tailoring, crafting, or accessorizing, sewing is a hobby that involves a keen eye!   Sewing can be so therapeutic, relaxing, and satisfying, as the ability to produce a unique item of clothing or something for your home is truly rewarding. 





I am not sure whether it is the things I am interested in making or if it is that I like combing pattern with fabric that I enjoy most, but I do know that I like having the right materials on hand if I suddenly find myself ready to sew.  My basic tools include the following:

Scissors:  One 8-10 inch long scissor that is only for fabrics, and one much small scissor for trimming and clipping.

Limoges Boxes like this one are decorative AND functional!

Pinking Shears:  For simple seam finishing

Pins and Pincushion:  To keep things together while you sew or iron

Needles and Needle Box:  For hand sewing and a variety of sizes ranging from fine to heavy duty for your machine.

You can keep your pins and needles together in ornate Limoge Boxes.





Tape Measure: Accuracy is key to a perfect project.

Rulers:  In the form of a yardstick, transparent ruler, and six-inch seam guide.

Seam Ripper:  To re-do any mistakes.

Tracing Paper, Chalk, Markers:  To mark your project from the pattern onto your material.

Thread:  Avoid cheap brands that can break or separate during sewing.

A spool and a tool!  Store a thimble or buttons in Limoges Boxes like this one.

Pressing Tools:  Include an iron that steams, press cloths to protect fabric from iron and vice versa.

These basics will help you complete any sewing task you set out to conquer, but there are many other tools you may accumulate from project to project.  Until then, why not accumulate sewing treasures of even greater value available at www.LimogesBoxCollector.com.



Having A Ball With Limoges Boxes

Golf is a popular sport played in a green, serene, and earthy environment.   The game, first called "the gouf", originated on the east coast of Scotland five centuries ago.  Initially, golf was little more than a pastime with virtually no organization, restricted to a relatively limited number of players.  These players consisted mostly of the gentry, who could afford the high cost of club-making and more particularly the very high cost of the balls of the time.

The most dramatically developed instrument of this game in the golf ball.  The very first golf ball, played with until 1848, was quite feathery, being made of a fragile leather pouch with boiled goose feathers. 


The next ball, created in 1902, was a rubber-core "wonderball" refered to as a rubber guttie.  It was made from a substance obtained for the tropical percha tree, as was much easier to produce.

Today, the standard gold ball is 1.68" in diameter and 1.62 ounces.  It was created in 1921 for the purpose of  instituting conformity, as the game of golf was finally coming to a place of uniformity throughout the world.  The Limoges box below shows an example of the ball we use today.

Requiring great skill and patience, many people gather for tournaments all over the world, to watch their favorite players focus intently and perform under pressure.  Whether you like to enjoy the game at home from your TV, live at official events, or simply on your own on Saturday mornings, these Limoges boxes makes a perfect gift for any "gouf"-affectionado!

Limoges Boxes To Have and To Hold

Weddings are a process -- but thrilling in every step.  Not only does one's wedding day stay with them forever, but the same goes for the months prior to the event (proposal, engagement, wedding planning), and the highlighted events afterward (honeymoon, gift opening, name change).    Weddings are a wonderful tradition and there are many critical pieces of the ceremony that define the event.

Wedding ring buyers always want to go to a reputable jeweler and consider the four C's when purchasing a diamond -- color, cut, clarity, and carat.   For the man, initially presenting the ring to his bride is important, and Limoges Boxes like the one below are options to consider. 

Taking your time when looking at various rings is key as you will be wearing this piece forever, and it is always nice to know the you took the time to find the perfect symbol, especially when you can be reminded of that fact by all the compliments you will get by those who catch a glimpse of your rock.  

Coming in all flavors, colors, sizes, and styles, wedding cakes can be just as difficult to choose as the ring.  They can also be just as pricey, in some cases.  Most important to consider is matching the style of your cake to the style of your wedding as a whole, and also making sure the size corresponds to the number of guests you have invited.  A two or three-tier cake selection, as exemplified by the Limoges boxes below, are standard wedding choices.

The wedding dress is another obvious must, and probably the most exciting choice for the bride.  Usually white, and available in many classic and contemporary styles, important considerations are mainly finding a dress that best fits with the overall theme of your wedding and, of course, whether or not it flatters ones body.

A most memorable and romantic occassion, weddings are a joy for you and your friends and family.  Limoges boxes make for excellent gifts not only for the bride and groom, but also wonderful keepsakes for those involved in your own wedding process.