All year long it’s fun to come into the Midtown Mercantile Merchants Mall at 4443 E. Speedway and search for fun, funny, cute, sweet, vintage Easter toys, candy containers, etc. They make a very happy permanent collection in your home. Then when Easter week rolls around you’ve got all these adorable things to make a joyful Easter display!  

Of all the areas of collecting I think Easter toys and related items might be the most fun. I mean really? How can you not smile at these things?

Many of them are made of delicate materials, like cardboard or early celluloid plastic.  These should be handled with care to preserve them for future generations.

Fisher-Price also made a nice variety of Easter baskets and toys.

Happy Easter and happy hunting!
Carol Fenn 4-2017

 If you’ve been an antique or vintage dealer, or a collector of old things, you’ve probably had at least a couple old Victorian Easter cards or postcards pass through your hands. I know I have. And some of them have been puzzlingly weird!  

These are so much fun to collect though, because there is so much variety and, well, they can be pretty, charming, crazy, funny, sometimes mean, and very odd. 

Seems like one of the storylines is Mr. Father Easter Bunny and Mrs. Mother Hen. Now we finally know where Easter eggs come from!

Bunnies, chickens, kissin’, smokin’ … lamenting.

Then we have the military themed cards. Puzzling.  

Then this, that, and the other …

So, come on in to the Midtown Mercantile Mall at 4443 E. Speedway. We just might have some Easter cards on hand so you can add to your collection or start one!

Carol Fenn 4-2017

Oh boy, it’s time to make Easter cakes! Come on in to the Midtown Mercantile Merchants Mall at 4443 E. Speedway and you just might find a nice old lambie cake mold. But before you bake your Easter lamb cake there are a few things you need to know. These tips are really helpful and will keep you from having a cute little lamb who’s head falls off (oh no!) …

First, coat the interior with shortening. Be sure you get in EVERY little nook and cranny. If you don’t you could have a disastrous crumbling lambie on your hands. Then dust with flour. Same thing. Every nook. Every cranny.

Use your favorite cake batter recipe. Place the side of the cake pan with the lamb’s face – face side down on a cookie sheet. This is the part you will pour the batter into. Pour the batter a little bit short of the rim. Be sure to spread batter gently into the ear cavities to ensure that your lamb actually ends up with ears. Lambs without ears just don’t look right now do they?

Now comes the part to keep the lambs head from rolling off, which is never a pretty site. Place one toothpick in each ear and a thick bamboo skewer in the neck. The skewer should be placed about 1 inch in from the top of the head and extend into the body. Poke these down slightly into the cake batter and make sure they are covered with batter.

Now place the other half of the mold in place and then tie it shut securely with bakers twine. This allows the cake to rise securely into the second half. 

 Cook your cake the maximum amount of time that the recipe calls for. Let it cool appropriately and then get on with the frosting and decorating …

… and if you’re a little nervous about the task of frosting your delicate little lamb you could use a simple glaze or dust with powdered sugar. Happy Springtime!

Carol Fenn 4-2017