houseful of hedgehogs

PRETTY HEDGEHOG TEA TOWELS

This charming and attractive tea towel was designed by Sophie Allport in association with the National Trust of the UK. I found this in a display of her other creations at a shop in Lawrence, Kansas. I wanted to buy them all! You will see why if you look at her webpage. I like her style and the colors she chooses.

These wonderful, cheery tea towels were a Christmas gift from my son and daughter-in-law. They were stitched in Nottingham, UK, by the couple who create at Pot-10 Crafts. They have a lovely shop on Etsy. I can't wait to hang them in my kitchen this spring!

 

MORE 2022 CHRISTMAS HEDGEHOGS

My generous sister-in-law, who says she's not going to give me anymore hedgehogs, always has some when we visit her.  I guess once you start looking for hedgehogs, it's hard to stop. They are so compelling! Cute socks, a hedgehog pad and pen, a tiny hedgehog charm, and a darling felt hedgehog coin purse were in a Christmas bag with my name on it when we flew to Chicago.  Very sweet of her!

We were recently in California and had lunch with some friends.  Her young daughter presented me with these two cuddly hedgehogs. She was so proud to have found them! I know when people see a hedgehog, they think of me. Whether they buy it or not, they still remember me. It's always nice to be remembered.

 

BEAUTIFUL BUTTON HEDGEHOG AND OTHER CREATIONS

My dear, sweet hedgehog friend made this beautiful hedgehog picture, and I absolutely love it! What a clever idea! The buttons make perfect quills. There are so many textures with the felt, the wooden mushroom, and the great idea of using Scrabble letters to spell a name. I love this type of art, and this creation is very special to me!

My hedgehog friend didn't stop there. She also stitched this adorable hedgehog and mushroom ornament for my tree.  She is the best!     My niece always finds lovely handmade gifts for me. The cute, soft cloth hedgehog clutching an apple is precious. She also gave me this bright and colorful hedgehog with flowers for quills. I believe they both came from Etsy. (Unfortunately, someone was overly enthusiastic about cleaning up paper after Christmas and threw away all the information about my hedgehog gifts.) Anyway, I love them all and feel so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and relatives!

HEDGEHOG CHRISTMAS GIFTS 2022

This pretty and perky stained glass hedgehog nightlight is keeping watch over some antique pieces on the bar. He came from PS Stained Glass in Texas and was a gift from my son and daughter-in-law. I noticed that Sara has a lot of nice stained glass animals and other creations on her website.

This silvery hedgehog came all the way from Cambridge, UK, and was a gift from a dear friend who was visiting there. This photo doesn't do him justice, because he is very sparkly.  Maybe that's why he is so hard to photograph.  He can hang on pots and bowls and will be traveling around the house.

CHRISTMASY HEDGEHOGS OF 2022

As always, I received some special and unique hedgehog gifts this Christmas. The adorable tea towel, covered with gnomes, hedgehogs, and woodland creatures, was a gift from my son and daughter-in-law.  She found it at World Market in St. Louis. The colorful glass tray was from my brother and sister-in-law.  You have to look hard to see the hedgehog, which is bright yellow! She found that pretty little tray at a thrift store. Imagine getting rid of such a great little tray!  At least it's found a loving home here.

I was thrilled to find these tiny Christmas hedgehogs at the Kansas Country Store in Leavenworth, Kansas. I was shopping there with two friends and nearly missed them. They are so tiny and so sweet!

 

HEDGEHOG CHRISTMAS COOKIES

 

A talented friend of mine made some hedgehog cookies this Christmas.  They are so cute and were delicious. She is an artist and decorated some beautiful cookies this year. It was so sweet of her to think of me. That's just the way she is!

These two had a bit of a rough ride on an airplane.  I took them to the grandchildren after Christmas.

This is a hedgehog I made from the cookie mold my son gave me last year. They looked pretty good, but I wish I could say the same about the taste.  I made a shortbread dough that would be stiff enough to work in the mold, but the flavor was not good.  I should have made gingerbread, but I'm not a fan. Maybe next time.

HEDGEHOGS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

 

I just realized that I had never posted these pictures from 2021.  There is a good reason these were not posted when I took the pictures. Sometimes I create something that I want to give as a gift to one of my dear "hedgehog friends." As time goes on, I don't always remember to post them.

This is a postcard I received from one of my hedgehog friends.  I thought it was so cute that it needed to be put on a Christmas ornament. I used Shutterfly to create the ornaments, and gave one to each of my special "hedgehog friends." Since it is a two-sided ornament, I chose a Christmas picture of Alfie and Eliza, my precious Senger Tierpuppen hedgehog dolls.

HAPPY HEDGEHOG HALLOWEEN

I know very little about these adorable hedgehog figurines, except that they are old and came from Germany. My thoughtful hedgehog friend gave them to me this year when we met her and her husband for dinner. They look fun and festive as a part of a fall display.

These cute paper plates were sitting in the checkout line at Home Goods. They certainly look like fall to me!

HEDGEHOG TRIO and TINY BOWL

We traveled in some beautiful southern cities this past spring. While in Savannah, we walked into a local fine-art shop and saw this great little print. The oil painting, titled "The Hoggens Brothers," is by Savannah artist Olivia Beaumont. She paints wonderfully whimsical animals, so lovely and colorful.

For Mothers' Day, my son and daughter-in-law gave me this sweet, sage-colored condiments dish and spoon. Created by Kayo Benson, they found it in her Etsy shop. She has some unique animal ceramics among other items in her shop. So fun!

BONJOUR MON AMI

A few months ago, I treated myself to this cheerful plate from Anthropologie. I love the design around the hedgehog, and I especially love "Hello, my friend" in French. I have used it as a serving dish, and here it seemed the perfect spring display for Easter-time bunnies, chicks, and ducks!

 

SWEET HEDGEHOG CHRISTMAS GIFTS

I have a few more Christmas gifts to post before it's way too late. A friend's daughter has started a small business molding soaps and other things. She asked her daughter to make some hedgehogs for me as a Christmas gift. I was so surprised when I opened the box and found all sorts of cute things inside! Among her creations were these two shiny hedgehogs.  That was such a thoughtful thing to do.

The pretty peach hedgehog mug is from my son and his wife. Inside the mug were some stationery items and a pen that are in the picture below. If I could just bring myself to write on them . . .

Another dear friend found this little terra cotta hedgehog planter. I really needed this, because the one I have is starting to crumble and should be retired. This time, I'm going to spray it with clear paint to protect it.

My wonderful hedgehog friend gave me the Ganz pewter hedgehog charm with the sweet note in the picture below.  We are both crazy about hedgehogs and truly enjoy being "hedgehog friends." She also gave me the Wrendale shopping list pad. I love the paintings by Hannah Dale!

VERY SPECIAL HEDGEHOG GIFTS

My wonderful hedgehog friend surprised me with this precious handmade pillow for my birthday. I had given her some of my hedgehog fabrics, and she cleverly designed this beautiful cross-stitched pillow. She is so good at blending colors and fabrics and is so neat with her construction. I absolutely love the tiny silver beads that spell out "hedgehogs." Could anything be cuter?!  When I'm adding hedgehogs to my collection and trying to put a value on them, a gift like this goes in the "priceless" category!

This lovely plate with such an elegant European design is a Christmas gift from my brother and his wife. It is an iittala Taika saucer designed in Finland by Klaus Happaniemi. I have nothing like it, and I do adore it!

WONDERFUL HEDGEHOG CHRISTMAS GIFTS

My son and his wife have again been searching the world to be sure they don't give me a hedgehog I already have. I really do appreciate that! This intricate wood cut came from Rachel at DecoRachDesign in Marple, UK. It's so delicate. Now I need to find the perfect place to display it.

These two unique hedgehog magnets found the perfect place on my refrigerator. The wood-turned hedgehog is adorable. The artist used wood-burning to make the quills, and the ears are leather. This little guy was created by Tina at ShadowBoxesDesigns in Cheltenham, UK. The beautifully-dressed Mrs. Hedgehog in the portrait is the work of Carol at Old World Pet Portraits in Pittsfield, MA.

I love my Christmas gifts and am so happy that they find special hedgehogs for me.

HOLIDAY HEDGEHOG HAPPINESS

These beautiful hedgehog ornaments have been waiting patiently for months to be a part of this year's hedgehog Christmas tree. These were a gift from my sweet sister-in-law who happened to make a trip to Bronners in Frankenmuth, MI. They look so pretty taking their place among all the other hedgehog ornaments.

Two dear friends also thought I could use more ornaments for my hedgehog tree. Now that I have a larger tree, there will be room for more hedgehogs for years to come.  In fact, if it gets too crowded, I can always get a bigger tree! The first one is beautifully hand painted on a slice of wood. The second one is silvery and sparkly atop its wooden base and has jingle bells for a festive Christmas touch.  I love them both!

Here is a shot of the 2021 hedgehog Christmas tree. Merry Christmas!

SWEET BIRTHDAY HEDGEHOGS

My son looks far and wide to find unique hedgehog gifts for me. This year he found a beautiful ceramic hedgehog ornament with a pink jewel dangling from its ribbon. This was made by Yvette Lee at KerenOr Handmade ceramics. The other lovely gift came all the way from St. Petersburg, Russia. It is a texturra hedgehog mold for making pryanik cookies. It came with instructions for making a Russian gingerbread-type dough. It's going to be fun to bake these at Christmas time.

Speaking of baking, below is the hedgehog birthday cake my daughter-in-law surprised me with this year. She's very talented in cake decorating.  This cake took a little slide in the car on the way to town and had to be reassembled, but it's still cute and tasted very good. It had lemon curd and assorted berries inside a lemon cake.  Yummmm!

GREAT HEDGEHOG BIRTHDAY CARDS

I normally don't post my birthday cards, but there were so many great hedgehog cards this year, I just had to post them! I see that hedgehogs are as popular as ever in the greetings world!

LOVELY HEDGEHOG BIRTHDAY GIFTS

My dear hedgehog friend never fails to create a beautiful gift for me. This time she made a darling scarf/runner of vibrant blue materials. She is such an artistic and talented seamstress! She also included the tiny hedgehog in the corner. It is from the Ganz company and has an uplifting message to ponder, especially for hedgehog lovers!

The bright and flowery hedgehog mug by Natural Life is a gift from a wonderfully precious friend of mine. She is every bit as cheerful as this adorable mug!

LIVE LIFE LIKE A HEDGEHOG

 

OCTOBER HEDGEHOGS

My little granddaughter is getting into the hedgehog spirit. The last time I saw her, she was very excited to give me a gift. It was this cuddly little hedgehog in a box with instructions on how to hug him. The book that came with him has illustrations and facts about hedgehogs. She chose the name Hamlet for the little guy. The How to Hug a Hedgehog kit came from Peter Pauper Press, and was designed and illustrated by David Cole Wheeler with text by Talia Levy.

My sister-in-law found these cute hedgehog socks while we were visiting with them and some friends in St. Charles, MO. It's such a beautiful city, especially in the fall. It's very near St. Louis and is full of history, shopping, and fun!

October is my birthday month, therefore more hedgehogs sneak into my collection. Sometimes they come in a bag like the one above. Other times they come through the mail, like this bright and cheery fall hanging ornament from my special hedgehog friend. I have some more delightful gifts I will post in a few days.

NEEDLE FELTED HEDGEHOGS

I started thinking of these little hedgehogs as the three amigos.  I needle felted the faces and placed them in large bur oak acorns. Two are for my hedgehog friends, one in the U. S. and one in Vienna, Austria. Of course, I made one for myself. They are sitting here on the penny mat that my dear friend made for me. Alas, now there is only one left since the others have gone to their new homes. Below is an enlarged picture of one of the little guys.

My niece gave me a kit to make a needle felted hedgehog several years ago. I finally was brave enough to try it when I had a visit from my dear hedgehog friend. We had different kits to create hedgehogs, and after several finger sticks and several hours spent, we had our creations. Mine looked more like a mouse, so I worked on him by adding more wool, and he finally looks more like a hedgehog. He could use a bit more wool, but for now, he is what he is. I liked the needle felting, and I plan to learn more.

HEDGEHOGS SAY, "HAPPY FALL"

My dear hedgehog friend alerted me to all the fall décor this year at Hobby Lobby.  There were so many hedgehogs, I had to limit myself to just these. I'm always sad to leave a hedgehog on the shelf, but I also must be practical. The ceramic pieces are by a company called Robert Stanley. From what I can find, the company is based in the U. K. I'm not sure who made the resin hedgehog pumpkin, but he is unique and adorable! Thank you, my friend!