Nativity and Ornaments

It's been busy around here with all the great projects I've been excited about. Having said that, most of them are gifts so they will not be posted until after Christmas. I decided that to fill the void I would post projects from Christmas' past. Some of these may have been posted in previous months, but I thought they'd be fun to see again since it is Christmas time.

Sculpy Nativity

I made this in December of 2005 with great plans of selling it and more like it to set aside money to buy my hubby a bike. Ryan did not get a bike and I never parted with this miniature (less than 1" tall) Nativity.

Sculpy Gingerbread Ornaments

2005 Was the year of sculpy I suppose. I made these as gifts for family members and kept one for our tree. I had prepared to teach how to make them for an activity at Relief Society but the snow in good old Pennsylvania prevented that from ever happening.

REAL Gingerbread Ornaments

The first year that our little family had a real tree was in 2007. We had only had a miniature tree previous to that and did not have enough ornaments to fill up the massive tree we had hauled home. Ryan and I sat down and made these ornaments using the Scoville bakery recipe from Nauvoo. They smell delightful and are still being used this year.

My favorites every year are the Kangaroo and Pig. We have all the traditional shapes as well, but these are just more fun.

Christmas Trees and Advent Box Calendar

Tis The Season!

Yes, I know we've all seen this before but it is just so cute on my wall that I had to repost it. I made this last January. We've waited all year to get it out and use it. Each day there is a chocolate and little ornament for the tree. The boys love it and I sure don't mind when it's my day to open a box and have a little sweet treat.

I hope in the future to fill the boxes with other items besides just treats. How fun would it be to have a different story to read each day, or Christmas song to sing. As is... we are just lucky to get the boxes opened every few days. We can dream big right?

Ribbon Tree

My Mom and youngest sister get the credit for this project. They found the idea, bought the supplies and all I had to do was sit there and follow directions. What a fun little project. My sister would have got an A+ on hers. If you look closely you will see that I'm at about a B / B+ level. Man, I can be sloppy!

Wooden Tree with Button Ornaments

My mom found something like this at the Cranberry Festival in Wisconsin and we got to thinking those four dangerous words "we could make that". I drew it out and my dad cut it out for me. He did let me put the grooves in all by myself. The painting was the fun part. Did you know you can buy paint snow in a jar! How fun, especially after adding the sparkles.

The Legend of the Sand Dollar

The Legend of the Sand Dollar Ornament

The Legend of the Sand Dollar

There's a lovely little legend
that I would like to tell,
of the birth and death of Jesus,
found in this lowly shell.

If you examine closely,
you'll see that you find here,
four nail holes and a fifth one,
made by a Roman's spear.

On one side the Easter lily,
its center is the star,
that appeared unto the shepherds
and led them from afar.

The Christmas Poinsettia
etched on the other side,
reminds us of His birthday,
our happy Christmastide.

Now break the center open,
and here you will release,
the five white doves awaiting,
to spread Good Will and Peace.

This simple little symbol,
Christ left for you and me,
to help us spread His Gospel,
through all Eternity.

Author Unknow

I remember reading this poem at my Grandparents house as a little girl. That was the first place I ever saw a sand dollar. In 2008 Our family headed back to WA state to visit my husbands family. We were able to spend a few days at a quiet beach. There I found myself a great collection of sand dollars. I knew exactly what I was going to do with them when I got them back to Wisconsin.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, packaging design and had a blast coming up with this boxes design.

I made these for my family and a few friends. It is still one of my favorite ornaments on our tree. It reminds me of a great family vacation, my grandparents, and the great reason for this season.

Count Down to Christmas Album

In 2006 I tried my hand at scrap-booking for the first time. This was my first completed project. It was a lot of fun (and work!) I know why I am not a scrap-booker and more of an all around crafter. (Is that a word!?!)

There is a page for each day in December leading up to Christmas. Each page contains a tag with a song, poem, or scripture to read or an activity to do. Honestly, we don't do the activities in this book each year, but I do get it out and look at its pages. By the way, I did not come up with the activities myself. I believe I found them in a "Friend" magazine from December a few years past.

At the time I had maybe 5 stamps... and they were all Halloween themed... so I decided to illustrate the album myself. It does make the book a bit more meaningful though it took more work. (Who has time for this stuff?? Apparently I thought I did...)

Merry Christmas! You made it to the end of the album!

Christmas Advent Quilt

Christmas Advent Quilt

Yes, I know, once again I am posting an "old" project. However, I made this earlier this year and it is up in my home for its first official Christmas. What can I say, I love this project. I got to spend time with my dear friend Jenni making it, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out.

Let's just say I got pretty good at sewing on buttons! (and cutting and appliqueing!)

I know a star isn't gold, frankincense or myrrh, but they just didn't have all of those at JoAnn's or any of the other stores I tried. (Look! I made my first button hole!)

The fun is in the details.