The bowl is not even a slightly good imitation of Ohio's Whirling Star. The stand however is the real thing. As for what is crystal and what is not....."crystal" sometimes describes lead glass.....which can be either molded or blown. Both pieces of this punch set are molded...pressed glass....and because I know what type of glass was used, not lead crystal. How about a picture of the cups? Are they the "real deal" or something newer? Linda C Here is a link that might be useful: Whirling star

If the breaks are clean, you may be able to find someone to fix it. We have a fellow here in Alexandria who is a wizard at repairing old glass pieces. Ask around at antique stores that carry a lot of glass and china pieces. Of course, it won't be usable, but at least it is still your grandmother's bowl. I probably wouldn't replace it with another because it is the sentiment that made it special-unless, of course, she used it frequently. Your mother is a wise woman and your son is lucky to have her as his grandmother!

Marti, my house has different molding in nearly every room. The kitchen and dining area have a thick, rustic black trim throughout. My daughter suggested painting the door red, the same color as the backsplash and eating area-but I think that'd be too much-my kitchen is miniscual. So i think the wall color-it's a bit different than the upper cabs, but still light. I am just a bit worried that with the black, thick trim it might be heavy-I've become accustomed to the door sort of fading away since there's been no trim on it since we installed it. Maybe I'll mock up some normal molding, that would be painted to match the wall/door.

There are at least two kinds of punch thingy's LOL One of them is called a Power Punch, and is supposed to be a great addition for punches, and helps to punch problem punches. I can't remember what the name of the other one is right now, LOL As for what to do with your punches, I like punched mats and they are VERY easy to do. Take a piece of cardstock and make it larger than the photo by at least an inch on all sides. Then if you have a border punch, use it in the middle of each side of the mat (unless it's going to look ugly upside down), if so then just use it on the bottom middle of the mat. Next use a punch on each corner of the mat with a punch that matches the photo, (for example if the photo is of a dog, then you could use the paw print punch on each corner, and the house border on the bottom middle) then use a corner rounder on each corner. This makes very pretty mats, and only takes seconds. Also do a search on punchart, on ebay or with a search engine, and you will see LOTS of samples of how to use your punches. Love Penny