Santísima Virgen María del Monte Carmelo

Santísima Virgen María del Monte Carmelo
Originally uploaded by Auxilium Christianorum

It's Christmas in July once again!

It is hard to believe that half of the year has come and gone.
The month of July is here and for us Creche collectors out there, it is the time we start to think about what our Nativity display for this year would be like.

But before I start to brainstorm for ideas, I always find it inspiring to look back at how I set up the Nativity scene the year before.




These have to be my favorite Creche figures. They are antiques from the turn-of-the-century and are made in Germay. Each are hand-painted and made of composition, similar to papier-mache.

I used a simple layout to showcase this charming Nativity tableau.
Usually, I would set the figures in groups of odd numbers and display them on different "levels."
This time around however, I chose to set all the characters on one plain.
To add interest, I set the Holy Family and the Stable on a small little "hill." You can view the complete Nativity Scene here:

On ecrater: Heart Broken and Bleeding Heart Necklace

A necklace for those who love too much and whose hearts are broken. Love lost.

Or perhaps, for those who are defiantly single.

On my ecrater store.

June 13

Saint Anthony of Lisbon's feastday.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

An old, hand painted plaster statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe appearing to Juan Diego.
Now in my ecrater store.

Infant of Prague

An Infant of Prague I had parted with sometime ago.