Fun & Fabulous Wizard of Oz Coffee Mugs

Wizard of Oz fans will be tripping over their ruby red slippers to try and find some of these fantastic Wizard of Oz-themed coffee mugs! Unfortunately, most of them are retired but they are still available outside of ordinary retail locations. Read on!

THE MOVIE, THE BACK STORY

On August 18, 1939, the New York Times highly praised The Wizard of Oz calling it a movie that left 'youngsters' eyes shining' and that lent a 'quietly amused gleam' to the eyes of the older folk. They called The Wizard of Oz the best film since Snow White. Starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr and Frank Morgan, this MGM film is a musical that was based on the 1900 L. Frank Baum book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It won two Academy Awards: Best Song and Best Original Movie Score but lost Best Picture of the Year to the also enduring movie called Gone with the Wind. I am sure that no one anticipated the tremendous staying power that this film would have. The Library of Congress would eventually call it the most-watched motion picture in history.

Fans and collectors of The Wizard of Oz are fortunate in having a wide range of top-quality merchandise with which to celebrate this iconic film. Whether you are familiar with The Wizard of Oz from the movie theatre, from watching it every year when it was aired on television as I did or you are a more recent enthusiast, you will enjoy this selection of the best Wizard of Oz coffee mugs available on-line.

WICKED MUG BY LORRIE VEASEY AND OUR NAME IS MUD 

What a WICKED mug this was, LOL! This green and purple mug was by Our Name is Mud and featured the positively wicked witch of the west. It was Amazon's most popular Wizard of Oz mug having gained extra popularity, I expect, from the Broadway musical of the same name. The front features the wicked witch on her broomstick and the back warns you not to make her call the flying monkeys. Unfortunately, this mug is now out of production and you will have to turn to eBay to find it.  Click here to search for Lorrie Veasey's Wicked mug on eBay. Note that the company produced a few styles of wicked mugs.

DING DONG THE WITCH IS DEAD SCULPTED MUG BY VANDOR

This Ding Dong the Witch is Dead coffee mug by Vandor featured one of the most popular lines from the Wizard of Oz. The song that was sang by Glinda, The Munchkins and Dorothy Gale was written and composed by E.Y. Harburg and Harold Arlen. The mug was a very attractive piece, holding 14-ounces of your favorite hot beverage. Like the previous mug, it too is discontinued but you can click here to look for this Ding Dong the Witch is Dead coffee mug on eBay. If you are able to find one and you plan on using it, note that it needs to be hand washed.

RAE DUNN GLINDA THE GOOD WITCH MUG

So many nice mugs! I'm featuring just one of the Rae Dunn Wizard of Oz-themed coffee mugs and that is this pretty-in-pink Glinda the Good Witch mug. I think that it is fabulous but if this is not the one you are looking for click here to see the full collection of Rae Dunn Wizard of Oz themed mugs available on eBay.

IRMA STAR TWISTER OR TORNADO MUG

Here's an interesting hard-to-find, handcrafted mug. It depicts the twister or tornado and Dorothy's house landing on the Wicked Witch of the East. Also featured are the Tinman, Scarecrow and Cowardly Lion as well as Miss Almira Gulch on her bicycle. 

Creator Irma Starr is a potter based in Kansas City who crafts pieces in an old-fashioned style. Her work is featured in museum gift shops around the world with this piece from The Oz Collection sold at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. 

Look for your Irna Starr Wizard of Oz tornado mug here on eBay. I expect it was fairly limited in distribution and may or may not be available on eBay right now. As I write this, I note that there is a Scarecrow ornament available by Irma Starr but that there are no mugs.

CAN A COFFEE MUG BE TOO NICE TO USE?  

When I saw that first mug I could not help but wonder, can a coffee mug be too nice to use?  I was definitely thinking, "Yes."  Since then, I found a great solution to this problem and that is buying two of the coffee mugs that you love. One for display in your collection and one for everyday use and enjoyment.

'WITCH' WIZARD OF OZ MUG IS YOUR FAVORITE?

Finally, I close with asking, 'witch' Wizard of Oz movie mug is your favorite? Honestly, I cannot pick one. I like them all. If you are undecided on which one, click here to see all of the Wizard of Oz themed mugs available on eBay today. As I write this, there are more than 3,100 new, used and vintage mugs available.

See you
at the movies!

MORE WIZARD OF OZ READING

The Wizard of Oz Centennial Edition Book

The Wizard of Oz Book & Movie T-Shirt

Why are Ruby Slippers so Popular?

The New York Times Original 1939 Movie Review

The New York Times original 1939 movie review that I quoted in the introduction really is a very interesting read (and not too long, either.) If you ARE a Wizard of Oz fan, I encourage you to check it out. I enjoy reading all of the original movie reviews.

Jim Shore Twelve Days of Christmas Springbok Puzzle

I was looking for a Christmas jigsaw puzzle when I found this Springbok one by Jim Shore called The Twelve Days of Christmas. Since then, I have been sneaking time out to work on it. Christmas is such a fun theme for puzzling.

This puzzle features the artwork of artist Jim Shore in an image that is called The 12 Days of Christmas. It has 1000 pieces and was produced in 2007. Now discontinued, you will now have to look to secondary markets like eBay to find it. 

Find your Jim Shore's The 12 Days of Christmas puzzle here on eBay. 

Happy Puzzling!

Brenda

Treasures By Brenda

MORE PUZZLES:

Christmas puzzles in my eBay store!

Springbok's Christmastown panoramic puzzle.

Springbok Nutcracker puzzles.

The Canadian Tulip Festival

SPRING BLOSSOMS EVERY YEAR AT THE CANADIAN TULIP FESTIVAL

The Canadian Tulip Festival, which is also know as the Ottawa Tulip Festival, has become the world's largest tulip festival and takes place in May each year with more than three million tulips in bloom. It runs for three weeks and in 2009, Ottawa expected more than 500,000 people to enjoy the flowers and the festival activities.

The tulip has become a symbol of the friendship between Holland and Canada. This friendship began more than fifty years ago when the Dutch people gave Ottawa a gift of tulips as a thank you for providing a safe haven to members of the Dutch Royal Family during the Second World War and for the part that Canadian soldiers played in helping to liberate Holland from the Nazis.

The gift of tulip bulbs has become a beloved tradition and today, the celebration is bigger and better than ever.

Click here to order this children's book

about the Ottawa Tulip Festival in from Amazon.

VIDEO

Though dated, this 2008 video will give you a general idea of what you might expect at the Canadian Tulip Festival:

THEMES

1994 A Tribute to the Origin Country of the Tulip - Turkey
1995 The Friendship That Flowered, the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of Holland
1996 Floral Tribute to Nice
1997 Floral Artistry of Japan
1998 A Celebration of Canada's Provinces and Territories
1999 Between Friends
2000 Tulips 2000: A Capital Celebration!
2001 Tulips Forever! A Salute to Britain
2002 Tulipmania! 50th Anniversary
2003 G'day Australia - Tulips Down Under
2004 Canada's Tulip Experience
2005 A Celebration of Peace and Friendship
2006 Tulips 2006 - World Flower Rendezvous!
2007 Celebridée Celebration of Ideas inaugural year
2008 Where Ideas Bloom
2009 The Tulip Route
2010 "Liberation" - The 65th anniversary of the liberation of Europe.
2011 "Kaleidoscope" - A celebration of Spring awakening through colour, culture and community

PHOTOGRAPHS

World famous photographer Malak Karsh is widely know for his photographs of the tulips and was instrumental in the establishment of the Canadian tulip festival.

CONCERTS

The festival helped create some of the artists who have appeared. Concerts have included Liberace who performed an opening concert in 1972, Alanis Morissette who made her first appearance when she was just 12 year sold in 1987, The Trews who opened for Big Sugar in 2003 and General Rudie who performed early in their musical careers in 2000. These 'free' concerts were both entertaining and career building for budding new artists. They proved to be great exposure. However, the concerts have been difficult because of the unpredictability of springtime weather in Ottawa.

WOODEN TULIPS

The Canadian Tulip Festival presented a very unique gift in the form of a 5 foot tall wooden tulip to President Obama on the occasion of his historic first visit to Canada on February 19, 2009. Large wooden tulips are a beautiful tradition of the festival. This one will represent President's Obama's messages of Hope, Change, and Yes We Can. It will also have his face in profile and other national U.S. symbols on it. This particular tulip is the work of Canadian artist Jill Alexander.

Have you ever seen the tulips at the Canadian Tulip Festival? 

See you

in the Tulips!

Brenda

Treasures By Brenda

OFFICIAL INFORMATION

Canadian Tulip Festival

The largest tulip festival in the world. Millions of tulips will bloom in Canada's scenic Capital Region (Ottawa) creating an exotic mosaic of colour and beauty.

Wikipedia
The Canadian Tulip Festival claims to be the world's largest tulip festival, with attendance of over 500,000 visitors annually. This major cultural event is held annually in Ottawa and Gatineau, Canada, over the course of 18 days in May...

360 Degrees of Tulips
Explore high resolution panoramic photography of the 'Canadian Tulip Festival' on 360 Cities. This will put you in a bed of tulips, literally. I have never seen anything quite like this...and the tulips are magnificent! 

MORE OTTAWA READING

A Bloom Of Friendship Book Review
This beautiful children's book does a great job of sharing information about the tulip festival.

The Great Glebe Garage Sale

Ottawa's famous neighborhood yard sale. 

The Historic Metropolitan Life Insurance Company Building
Discover this amazing historical building.

New York New York Wrebbit 3D Jigsaw Puzzle

Here's a super-challenging, three-dimensional Wrebbit jigsaw puzzle that has a whopping 3,141 pieces. It is a popular puzzle that is retired and somewhat hard to find. Marked item number P3D-SP2, it depicts New York city as we remember it before 911 and is considered one of the most challenging 3D puzzles ever made. This customer review sums it up nicely:

"I got this puzzle for my boyfriend last Christmas and when we got back from college we started it. It took us one month in total to finish the puzzle. It is VERY CHALLENGING. We worked every night from 6pm-1am most nights. After hours of looking at teeny tiny windows and searching for that ONE PIECE amongst 3,000+, one might lost one's mind and get frustrated very quickly, BUT DO NOT GIVE UP. This puzzle is a amazing because when it's done, it's gorgeous and it paying a fitting tribute to the twin towers and NYC!" - K. Barone

Find this New York, New York three dimensional puzzle for yourself here on eBay.

Happy Puzzling!

Brenda

Treasures By Brenda

Quick Links:

Lots of puzzles in my eBay store! One or two 3D ones but lots of new, used and vintage ones.

Vintage Walt Disney Movie Posters. They're by Golden and feature a number of Disney's animated movies.

The Titanic Sinks Jigsaw Puzzle. For Titanic fans (like myself), there is nothing like working a Titanic-themed puzzle.

Wentworth Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles. I have one that features Earnscliffe, the iconic Ottawa, Ontario home of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Learn more about these quality puzzles here.

Vanquish Wrap Rage with the OpenX Dual Blade Universal Package Opener

Never heard of the OpenX Dual Blade Universal Package Opener?  Struggled with opening nasty and obnoxious clam shell packages?  Think the inventor of the clamshell should have to spend 18 hours opening clamshells without an OpenX? (Susan52's idea of an appropriate punishment!)

Struggle no more. This handy dandy tool, available at Amazon for under $10, will save you from wrap rage. It is kind of humorous that this nifty tool is sold in a clamshell. Find your OpenX Dual Blade Universal package opener here, on Amazon.

See you

next time!

Brenda

Treasures By Brenda