Crafty Christmas Countdown: 1

Last year I posted about painting the central figures of this nativity scene. The set actually came with several other pieces that I didn't have time to complete then. I've finished the whole set now and it holds a place of honor beneath my tree.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be upon his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"  Isaiah 9:6

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 2

I picked up a blank triptych at a thrift store. It just begged to be turned into a nativity scene.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 3

I sometimes have grand, impossible ideas when it comes to puppet designs. My attempts to make them reality end in disappointment. It never seems to stop me though. This is one of my recent designs.

 In this case, the reality entirely lived up to my expectations. If anything, I actually like the puppet even better than my doodle.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 4

I decided this year that I'd like to make ornaments for most of the people at the office. Mostly I stuck with designs I'd done before but a few new shapes found their way into the mix.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 5

As I've purchased more LEGO, I've found ways to incorporate them into a Christmas scene, usually focusing on my TARDIS set. Here I've created a city center with a tree and a skating rink. Not to mention a business man too busy for his family and a rampaging snow monster.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 6

It has become one of my traditions to recreate a villain from a Doctor Who Christmas special every year. This year I picked the Tree King from The Doctor The Widow and The Wardrobe. I made him as a jumping jack type figure out of card stock and colored pencil.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 7

I have a foam crow that I decorated some time ago that I like far better than I expected. I decided I wanted to make a Christmas themed one this year. Unfortunately, I was unable to find another glitter crow. I did find these slightly odd looking white birds.

I found the perfect decorations in my scrap supply. Now I have some fun holiday shoppers to decorate with.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 8

I love these little wooden decoration kits. These I decorated with colored pencil.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 9

I've had this one wool sweater since high school. It's dark green wool and kind of nubby and about four sizes too big. It was my favorite sweater to wear lounging around the house. When it finally became more hole than sweater last year I couldn't quite bring myself to throw it away. I tucked it into my craft supplies with the idea that I might felt it and turn it into mittens or something. 
I came across the sweater again when I went digging for some scrap fabric to use for a needlepoint project. It was the perfect background for this camel.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 10

I guess this is a dinosaur Christmas for me. I made this T-rex puppet out of a stuffed toy I got at the thrift store.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 11

I found these fun peg doll blanks online that have hats built in and ordered them without any solid plan for them. It struck me recently that one was reminiscent of Kermit from Muppets Christmas Carol (my favorite holiday movie by far).

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 12

I've never really understood the appeal of the Christmas village thing. Until I rediscovered my childhood farm playset and recognized it's potential as a Christmas decoration. This is the third year I've put it out. This year I added a bonfire and a decorated tree.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 13

I found this little plush elf at the dollar store. He's pretty cute but a bit bland. I knew it wouldn't take much to jazz him up.

 Half a Christmas sock, a pompom, and some fancy ribbon did the trick, especially after I took in his waist a little bit. He looks especially cool riding on the camel puppet I altered earlier this year.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 14

Ever get an idea that won't leave you alone until you try it out? That's the source of today's craft. And unlike some of those ideas that I get, this one worked out marvelously. I got it into my head to make some dinosaur Christmas cookies. And the combination of my mother's gingerbread cookie recipe and a little bit of buttercream frosting was a winner. 

They are a joy

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 15

I have a fondness for making my own greeting cards. They feel a bit more personal when the image and saying are of my own invention. These are the cards I'll be giving to my co-workers this year.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 16

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is crafting with kids. Today's craft is one I put together to do with the kids at church. 

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 17

Some animals seem especially Christmasy to me: sheep, camels, reindeer, and donkeys. I think sometimes that donkeys are unfairly ignored. They have kind of ugly-cute faces. So for my sock puppet this season I made a Christmas donkey.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 18

I have a fondness for blind bags and the like. I got this little cat in a holiday chocolate capsule. It's a sold figure but I was never fond of it's angry expression. So it's been in my craft bin for a while now. A little paint makes it a happy little Christmas kitten.

still a little mischievous though

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 19

Amazon's Prime Day this year they sent out boxes that had shapes that you could decorate and cut out. At first I thought it was kind of a foolish idea but then I got this shape.

There was something appealing about that mountain skyline. Add a few cardboard tube houses and we have a nice little mountain village all ready for winter. 

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 20

Some crafts I have all planned out in advance, only making adjustments as I go. Others sort of create themselves. Such is the case with this one. All I knew when I started was that I wanted to make a sock creature and that I had some partial Christmas socks I could use. This narwhal basically developed herself.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 21

My first Christmas countdown, I made a paper mache hot air balloon that didn't turn out particularly well. With the time I put into it, though, I couldn't bear to throw it out. I've had it in my craft supplies ever since with plans to alter it. Which I have done, at last. I like this new version much better.

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 22

You can find a lot of ornaments at the dollar store, most of them tackier than I care to use. This reindeer, as it was sold, doesn't appeal to me. A little paint, though, makes it much more interesting.

And since it was a 2 pack, I was able to try different designs. 

 

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 23

I think my favorite Christmas image is the Christmas star. I found this simple star on Pinterest and had to give it a try. I used ribbon instead of raffia. It's a simple decoration but I like how it looks.

Crafty Christmas Countdown: 24

Friends, can you believe it's December already?! It's time for my third annual Crafty Christmas Countdown.

I decided to hit the ground running this year with a puppet. If you've been following my blog at all you know I have kind of a thing for puppets. I thought it might be fun to make a Christmas light puppet. I started with a plastic Easter egg. A little multi surface paint gave the surface a sort of translucent quality. I used a pipe cleaner for the arms/wire. My favorite part, though, is the battery operated tea light inside which allows the bulb to glow.