Sunday, March 30, 2008

Cow Creamers

Blogathon topic #3 is to discuss Decorating With Tea Items. So, this is the week that I get to talk about my mother's cow creamer collection! She has collected them since I was a kid. Mom bought her first ones at a gift shop on Pelee Island in Canada in the 60's where we had a summer cottage. Since then, I have grown up constantly searching for cow creamers; gift shops, antique stores, garage sales, etc.

It has been a fun family hobby. We were always on "The Hunt". We always had something to look for when we wanted to give Mom a gift. Her collection eventually grew to over 250 creamers. It got to the point, that Mom sometimes even ended up with duplicates. She had so many that we forgot what she already had.

I don't have a final count or pictures of the collection. Mom entered into a giving away stage and divided it among the family members. I live in a different state so was not present when she did and no final photos were taken of it. I do know that she had 8 cases of them and each case held about 30 cows. She had them in her china cabinet too.
I now own about 40 of them. I have not yet figured out how to display them in my home. Here a few pictures of how Mom had them in her house. The pictures don't really do them justice. The cows were always present, so I never thought to take pictures of just her display cases.

18 comments:

La Tea Dah said...

What an interesting thing to collect! And how special that your mother shared her collection with her children. Cow creamers have a certain charm about them --- I am not sure what it is. I only have two (one is blue and white, the other plain white). I love to display them on my kitchen counter. They appear so cheerful and homey!

Thanks for sharing! Enjoy a lovely week!

LaTeaDah

Rosemary said...

What a fun collection! Thanks for sharing. Nancy

Denise said...

Now this is an interesting twist to the blog-a-thon! You are very clever! What a fun item to collect ~ my husband has had me on the lookout for a cow creamer "just like Grandma had on top of her fridge". I never realized there were so many different varieties and to make matters worse, I'm going on a verbal description as I never saw the creamer myself!

Thank you for sharing such an interesting post and all the pics ~ maybe he'll see one just like Grandma's and I'll know what I'm looking for!

Have a lovely week!

Leanna said...

The cows are adorable! What a great collection - thanks for sharing!

Sweet Necessi-Teas said...

Wow--that's a lot of cows! I loved the story behind them. What a great memory for you and your family. Thanks for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Wow! Thanks for sharing about your mom's collection. I love how you have photos of her living life around them in her home. I never realized that there are so many different ones. We have one from my husband's mother...

Anonymous said...

What a great way to display things. You have a lovely collection.

Unknown said...

Oh I love cow team creamers. When we were little, my mother had one and my sisters and I would giggle at the table at the thought of the cream pouring from the cow's mouth. Today I have one and it is cherished as it reminds me of the days living with our mom. Your collection is wonderful and how special it connects the memories of your mother. Blessings, Karen

Vee said...

What fun! Thank you for sharing your mother's vast collection of cow creamers with us. I've enjoyed looking at the pictures. Hope that you find a way to display them in your own home.

Joyce said...

WOW~! What an amazing AMOUNT of creamers....and "Cows" to boot. That is something. I don't know if I have ever even seen a Cow creamer so I need to be on the look out now so I can see one. I guess I just never noticed because they MUST be out there.
Oh I love your Corgies!! They are SO cute and you know the Queen of England loves them as well. HA!
Your site is very pretty.
I'll come see you again, thanks for the visit.
Joyce

BumbleVee said...

I have never seen any cow creamers.... now I just know I will be on the "lookout" for some in my travels just to see what they look like. Great idea...

Anonymous said...

Wow! what an amazing collection but I'm sure the best part of your Mother's wonderful collection is all the memories. Priceless!

Kathi :)

Grace said...

really great collection

Carrie said...

What a fascinating collection! I wish there were closeup photos to see the various designs.
Perhaps one of your relatives might also have some photos of your mother's collection.

Alisa Noble said...

That is so fun! Thank you for sharing.

Sandy said...

What a fun collection! I have a couple of cow creamers myself, one is a purple cow and the other a white cow with brown spots, she had baby cow salt and pepper shakers to match! They were both given to me as gifts. What a perfect way to serve cream with your tea, straight from the cow!!

Pam said...

What a really fun collection! My mom used to have a cow creamer - I'm going to ask her about it next time we talk!

Anonymous said...

What a cute thing to collect and your mother had so many of them. I hope you find a way to display yours.