Friday, August 25, 2017

An assortment of blocks for coloring


Description of Coloring Page: wooden blocks for play, wooden wagon for storing blocks

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

Block Related Crafts and Activities:

 

 Can you draw a stocking? It's easy to try; just follow the simple steps below and fill it with the toys you would like for Santa to bring to you!

Left, "Now Tommy was'nt very tall; in fact he was quite short and small." Center, "But he hung up his biggest sock, in hopes that Santa Claus might stop." Right, "And fill it up with presents fine, so Tom could have a jolly time."

Color the wind in his beard...

 
Description of Coloring Page: St. Nickolas, snow, wind, holly frame

        Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
 

       Once you have colored Santa and the holly wreath for fun, why not try drawing a wreath all by yourself? 
Left, "A circle is an artist's friend, you lat it on the desk and then."
Center, "You draw another one inside, some ribbon lines that flare out wide,"
Right, "Some holly leaves with edges fine, and here's a wreath for Christmas time!"

More Links to Christmas Wreaths:

A toy rocking horse coloring page


Description of Coloring Page: pretend horse, large enough to ride, safe enough to tumble from, stuffed pony, child sized saddle

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
 

 The following illustrated Christmas toys may be duplicated larger, smaller, or the same size by the use of a grid drawing system. Read about Enlarging and Reducing Pictures Here. After learning this method you can use these pictures as patterns for ornaments, artwork or for making a picture with them. Illustrations include: a child hanging up her stocking, a pine tree, Santa climbing down the chimney, a sled and a small girl rolling a giant snowball.
 
Learn to draw using a grid system.

Color and Craft Christmas Dolls


Description of Coloring Page: St. Nickolas, armful of dolls, stuffed animals, sailor boy, bunny, monkey, china dolls too

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
 
 
       The foundation for this doll is a lollipop. The head may be traced on a piece of cardboard and painted with acrylics. Miss Lollipop's cap is white crepe paper gathered with a thread and needle. The back view shows the adjustment. The head is pasted to a piece of white around the upper edge to xx, leaving room for the top of the lollipop. Paste and use needle and thread to fasten on clothes. Follow this order in dressing: cap, underskirt, over-skirt, cape, tie. The cap edge should have a frill. All is white except the violet over-skirt and tie. For a Christmas doll replace the over-skirt and tie with red or green colors.
 
Steps for lollipop doll illustrated.


Paper cut silhouette pattern of a Belsnickle and two reindeer.

Christmas Doll Coloring, Poems and Drawing

A Christmas Doll's Plans 
I'm a Christmas dolly,
As you can see;
I was bought and hung
On a Christmas tree.

My mistress is named
Miss Janey Lou;
And I'll tell you right now
What I'm going to do.

In the mornings I'll rise 
And rush all about,
Tidying the house,
Inside and out.

I'll dust and I'll sweep,
I'll bake and I'll stew,
All for my mistress,
Miss Janey Lou.

Then after our breakfast
We'll go for a walk;
We'll sit in the park,
And together we'll talk.

Oh, we'll be just the happiest
Pair in the town,
I-Christmas Dolly,
And Janey Lou Brown.



 
Description of Coloring Page: Victorian child cradles her Christmas doll, old-fashioned costume

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
 

 Now you many try to draw a doll of your very own. All it takes is paper, a pencil and your favorite crayons for coloring the doll in.
Left, "A circle and an oval, too, will do so many things for you." Center, "This time we put in face and hair, add legs and arms on her and there." Right, "A sweet rag doll with a happy smile is ready now for some small child."

The toy piano coloring page


 
Description of Coloring Page: portrait of St. Nickolas, toy piano, doll, wicker cradle, smiling twins, holly

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
 

 Christmas Eve by Christopher Moreley

Our hearts to-night are open wide,
The grudge, the grief are laid aside;
The path and porch are swept of snow,
The doors unlatched; the hearthstones
glow-
No visitor can be denied.

All tender human homes must hide
Some wistfulness beneath their pride;
Compassionate and humble grow
Our hearts to-night.
 
 
Below is a word scramble of Santa's 5 Favorite Christmas Tunes. Can you unscramble the letters and fill in the correct words for the blanks provided?
 
Look up favorite children's Christmas songs on the web to figure out this puzzle quickly!

Brother and sister visit Santa Claus...


Description of Coloring Page: portrait of St. Nickolas, boy and girl, smiles, wishes, tassel, fur trimmed hat

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
 
Try cutting a paper Christmas Bell chain or border using the template below. Then hang it on the tree, window or anywhere about the house that needs a bit of Christmas cheer.


       Download and print out the pattern below. The dotted lines indicate where the image will be folded to continue the tree silhouette seamlessly after it is unfolded. The number of images "linked" together in one continuous chain is determined by the length of the paper being cut. Use a very thin paper to make your cutting easier. Cut away the areas indicated by the design. (see image above and read text on the pattern below. This paper-cut may be used as a border around a Christmas bulletin board in a classroom or as a paper chain for the Christmas tree if you like.
 
Fancy Christmas Bell Chain Pattern

"What do you want for Christmas?" color and draw

The twins think Santa is the best! They sit on old Santa's lap and tell him just what they want for Christmas.

Description of Coloring Page: Santa, the twins, gloves, beard, fur trimmed hat, holly

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.
 

 Can you draw Santa Claus? Remember to draw his snow white beard.

Left, "By the North Pole, mid snow and ice, there lives a man who's always nice." Center, "He spends his time, as you will see, just making things for you and me." Right, "I know you'll like him, just because this jolly man is Santa Claus."   


       Below is a mask that you can wear and pretend to be Santa with. Color it as you wish, cut it out, fold on the dotted lines near the ears and string a piece of elastic through the holes to keep it attached to your face. On this mask, Santa wears a red felt cap with holly and he smokes an old corn-cob pipe. The original drawing is older than 100 years!

Click directly on the mask to download the largest available size.

"A Merry Christmas To All" fun page


Description of Coloring Page: portrait of St. Nickolas, holly berries and leaves, text "A Merry Christmas To All" big beard

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.


       Did you know that holly grows in practically every country in the world, as there are more than one hundred and fifty varieties, so that some flourish in every climate. The custom of using holly at the winter festival is of great antiquity and is believed to have come from the ancient pagan festivals. It was used at Christmas by the early Christians. According to tradition holly is the bush in which Jehovah appeared to Moses.

"There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a burning bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up." Exodus 3:2
 
 
       To see what Santa sees, take a pencil and, starting at dot one, draw a continuous line from dot to dot in consecutive order. Where two numbers appear beside one dot, use the dot twice.

Color Santa Under The Christmas Tree

 
Description of Coloring Page: toys, tree, Christmas candle lights, dolls, boats, books, toy soldier, baubles, Santa delivers toys

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

 
Merry Christmas

M is for mistletoe. If you get caught, you know!
E is for evergreen. Prettiest tree ever seen.
R is for reindeer that draw Santa's sleigh.
R is for ringing the bells Christmas Day.
Y is for Yule log that makes a bright fire.

C is for Christmas, a day we enjoy.
H is for "Hurrah!" when I get my new toy.
R is for "Rejoice." Let our songs reach the sky.
I is for incense wafted on high.
S is for Santa Claus full of good will.
T is for "toe" of the stockings he'll fill.
M is for music to gladden the heart.
A is for angels that watch from above.
S is for "star" whose beauty we love.
       

        What if your Teddy bear was Santa Claus? How would you draw him on the roof top with a big bag of toys? Well, you can draw that with just a few shapes and a sharpened pencil. Then color him in and hang the picture over your bed so you can think of a story to go along with the idea...

A step-by-step drawing of Teddy going down the chimney!

Color St. Nick as he climbs down the chimney


Description of Coloring Page: chimney, snow, rooftop, bricks, bag of toys, Santa, St. Nick, attic window, bells

Don't forget to drag the png. or jpg into a Word Document and enlarge the image as much as possible before printing it folks. If you have a question about this coloring page, just type into the comment box located directly below this post and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can.


       Did you know that the popular notion that Santa comes down the chimney personally originated in Germany. It was formerly the custom to have someone impersonate Santa Claus and distribute gifts to children in person. Gradually this custom died out, and the presents were left for them, generally at the hearthstone. As the giver was no longer seen by the children some explanation was necessary, and the youngest children were told that Santa Claus came directly down the chimney, left their presents, and then departed in the same way. Undoubtedly the poem, "Twas the Night Before Christmas," published in the United States in the early days of the nineteenth century, spread the explanation enormously throughout English speaking countries.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Christmas Bell Tags in Four Colors

       These vintage Christmas bell, gift tags come in blue, green, gold and red. I have cleaned, redrawn and restored these designs for visitors to use personal crafts only please.

Monday, August 14, 2017

DIY an Old-Fashioned, Picket Tree Stand

       Nobody will deny that a Christmas tree has plenty of backbone, but somehow it doesn't seem to have intelligence enough to use it. Or else it resents the taking away of its roots and the substitution of a shop-made standard that it considers inadequate. As a matter of fact the standards that you can buy in the shops are inadequate for a tree of any size. And so, if the boy of the family is handy with tools, it is up to him to make one.
       A very good standard for a Christmas tree - strong, durable, and ornamental as well - may be made from a strip of one-by-two-inch-dressed" lumber 12 ft. long (which costs about a cent and a half a foot), and some pieces of an old dry goods box.
       First, saw off from your one-by-two-inch strip four pieces twelve inches long and four pieces eleven inches. These are to make Figs, i, 2, and 4. Make four pieces like Fig. i and two pieces like Fig. 2 ; the notch at the end is cut with a saw across the grain, and then saw out with a chisel.
       When these are done, join two of the twelve-inch pieces and two of the eleven inch to form a square frame. The joint is shown in Fig. 3, and it should be glued or nailed, or both, which is safer.
       Next make the other two eleven-inch pieces like Fig. 4. These are just like Fig. 2 except that a groove four inches wide and one inch deep is cut in the middle of each. Then they are joined with the other twelve-inch pieces to form a frame similar to the first. The first frame is to go at the bottom of the standard, and the second frame, placed with the grooves tip, is for the top.
       Now cut from the remainder of the strip two more pieces twelve inches long. With a compass set at an inch-and-a-half radius, and the center in the exact middle of one edge, draw a half circle on each, and chip it out with a chisel like Fig. 5. The use of these will be described later.
       The remainder of the strip will make four pieces eighteen inches long, with a bit left over. These are to stand on their two-inch faces, and the upper edges of each end should be rounded off with a ''block'' plane. Then two grooves are cut in each piece, two of the pieces having the grooves on the upper side and two on the under side, like Figs. 6 and 7.
       Now cut from your packing box sixteen strips or pickets one and three-quarters inches wide and fourteen inches long, like Fig. 8. These may be "ripped out" with a saw and smoothed up with a plane and sandpaper. 
       To "assemble" the standard join first the two Fig. 6 strips and two Fig. 7. This leaves a hole two inches square in the center and two strips projecting from each of the four sides. Place the first square frame that you made on this, so that its sides will be equally distant from the center, and nail in position. Next nail the pickets in position so that the lower end of the pickets will be "flush" with the lower side of the frame. Next, hold the upper frame, with the grooves up, in position, eight inches above the lower frame and nail the pickets to that. Fig. 9 shows the complete assembly.
       Now give the frame, and the two pieces like Fig. 5 a coat of dark green paint, and the standard is ready for use. Slip the tree into the square hole in the base. If the trunk is a bit too large, whittle it to fit. Then place the two pieces like Fig. 5 around the trunk at the top of the frame for a clamp, and slip them into the grooves in the upper frame, and you will find your tree quite ready to stand up and behave. 
The finished picket tree stand.

  Build a Christmas Tree Stand Box by Gray House Studio.

Free Plans for A Tudor Doll House

Photos of Tudor architecture in England.
 
      The Tudor architectural style is the final development of Medieval architecture in England, during the Tudor period (1485–1603) and even beyond, and also the tentative introduction of Renaissance architecture to England. It is generally not used to refer to the whole period of the Tudor dynasty (1485-1603), but in prestige buildings to the period roughly between 1500 and 1560. It followed the Late Gothic Perpendicular style and was superseded by Elizabethan architecture from about 1560 in domestic building of any pretensions to fashion. In the much more slow-moving styles of vernacular architecture "Tudor" has become a designation for styles like half-timbering that characterize the few buildings surviving from before 1485 and others from the Stuart period. In this form the Tudor style long retained its hold on English taste. Nevertheless, 'Tudor style' is an awkward style-designation, with its implied suggestions of continuity through the period of the Tudor dynasty and the misleading impression that there was a style break at the accession of Stuart James I in 1603. Read more...
       Included below are three elevation drawings for building a Tudor doll's house. Also included is an amazing video of Gerry Welch's doll house below. Wow! He's quite talented.
 
Front and side elevation drawings of the doll's house with measurements.
Front and side elevations including the placement of the timber.
A elevation drawing showing the front of the doll's house swinging open.

"Building a 12th scale Tudor dolls house. A true timber framed dolls house . The plan I am using was found in a old Dolls House and Miniature Scene magazine from about 2009. The plan is by Gerry Welch of Manorcraft who builds wonderful dolls houses for adult collectors. This is my first attempt at building a dolls house." Fantastic Job!