You collectors will understand the feeling.   Once you find a piece that excites you, you want to go out and find more.  Pretty soon your collection has taken over and you don't quite know where to put it all!  I can't remember when I began my Springerle wooden mold collection, but it fast became a favorite of mine.  Springerle is a cookie made in the German region of Bavaria, and the dough is laid over the wooden molds and pressed into the carved designs. 

I have tried to concentrate on collecting the prized Springerle molds from the Biedermeier period (1815-1848).  This mold is probably the oldest in my collection.  It displays the talent of the woodcarver who has done very intricate subjects.   It is also desirable because it is two-sided (see reverse side above).  My favorite is the animal trainer with the dancing bear and monkey dressed up in a little suit.   The piece of wood is over an inch thick, which is a good indication of age, along with the irregular shape of the wood. 

Another two-sided mold showing the talent of the woodcarver.  As with any antique, the heart makes the piece very desirable.  The alphabet is an added bonus!

Another mold with wonderful subject matter, fine detail and an unusually  long shape with 10 squares.   The standard Springerle molds are commonly found with four or six squares running vertically, not horizontally.

I never actually considered that I "collect" antique crockery bowls, but that doesn't mean that I don't get excited when I've found one at an estate sale or garage sale over the years.   I immediately put them in my bowl drawer where they are used for mixing up cakes and muffins or pasta salads.  And unlike the other "breakable" antiques that I collect, I never worry about a chip or crack in a crockery bowl.  These were made to use!

But that doesn't mean I just limit my bowls for food preparation.  They display cold salads beautifully at a picnic or a buffet.

 

These small crockery bowls each come in a different pattern and color.

 

You can never have enough bowls!

As with my Erzgebirge collection, the beginning of my German candy container collection was a piece I inherited from my mother -- a white Belsnickle (Santa) papier-mache candy container she received as a young child one Christmas along with 10 cents.  The candy container was most likely purchased at the local High Amana Store pictured on our Home Page.  The High Amana Store was kept well stocked with items from Germany, as that is where our roots were and where many still had relatives that they corresponded with regularly.   Times were very hard back then.  Since it was a communal society, the members of the community were given a certain amount of "credit" each month at the local store as payment for their respective jobs.  I still have my grandfather's account books showing what he purchased every day.   No doubt they reflect the purchase of the candy container for that Christmas. 

Almost life-size French Bulldog candy container with horse hide over papier-mache body molded with great detail.  Large glass eyes.  Removable head.  Interior construction often provides clues as to age of the candy containers.  I love to see remnants of newspaper with old German script -- proof of a very old piece! 

I limit my collecting of candy containers to figural pieces -- mainly animals.  All of these pieces have glass eyes, which are found on the older pieces.   Many candy containers also incorporate tin feet, which are easily bent. 

Pair of rat candy containers purchased in Germany.  Rare enough individually, but extremely rare to be found as a set.  Again, wonderful detail with whiskers, teeth, pink gums and glass eyes.   Probably my favorite pieces in the collection.

Candy container with a twist.  Perched atop the elephant candy container is a papier-mache nodder, making it a "cross-collectible" for all the nodder collectors out there!