Belznickle Blogspot

Saturday, November 9, 2013

Make A Paper Christmas Tree Collage

Christmas Eve

My childhood's Christmases each brought to me

The wondrous glory of a Christmas tree;

Now, every year, since I've to manhood grown,

I buy a tree for children of my own.

And so to-night my mind looks back and sees

Life a long avenue of Christmas trees.

This little tree collage could look like anything.
Here is just one example using the patterns below.

Print color and cut these little old-fashioned ornaments onto a printed Christmas tree. Younger children can paste stickers to their tree to decorate it. Don't forget to add gems or sequins to the tree for a bit of bling!

Old-Fashioned Christmas Ornament Shapes for cutting and
pasting into pictures by Kathy Grimm

Download this jpg. into a Word Doc file and stretch it out to fit
your paper's size. Then print it on a pale green paper for
the kiddos to decorate!

Similar Christmas Tree Craft Projects:

More Children's Paper Ornament Crafts:

Craft a Christmas Themed "Time For Tea Place Mat"

Parents and teachers can help little ones assemble this tea time placemat craft by tracing and cutting out the printable template below. I used some pretty Christmas patterned paper for my own sample shown on the right. I also layered the paper tea cups on top of a white doily and added two tea tags from some actual tea bags. I glued these as if they were steeping inside my tea cups.

Children can play simple math games will waiting for their lunch or tea + crumpets! Simply ad and subtract using the visual aid i.e. placemat and a few lumps of sugar thus:

Add the two together = counting all of the sugar cubes present in both tea cups.
Subtract the lower number of sugar cubes from the higher.
How many sugar cubes can you stack together within each tea cup?
How many lumps of sugar do you take in your tea? How about your companion?

More Tea Time Crafts:

Christmas Tea Gifts:

The downloadable, printable template of tea cups by Kathy Grimm

After photographing this Christmas tea placemat, I laminated it, minus the sugar cubes of course.

Polly gave a dollies' tea,

And many guests were there:

Kitty came in white fur coat

And Rover in curled hair.

Soldier Tim, with sword so bright,

And Miss Susanna Lee

Sat beside old Rover Dog

And Kitty at the tea.

Make a Marshmallow Math Placemat to Count On For Christmas!

If you don't have access to a laminating machine, you may purchase alternative kinds of
materials from many hobby stores and office supply outlets. These stores do sell individual
sheets and/or packs of transparent adhesive covers for this kind of project. Just describe
to them what you need to make with the craft project. Contact paper can also be used to
waterproof children's placemats.

How about assembling a cute little Christmas placemat for your early learner for the holidays? Parents or teachers can pre-cut the shapes from fun printed papers in advance. Then your young children can assemble and paste the large mug of Christmas cocoa onto a festive sheet of paper before laminating the entire mat. I also added a few Christmas stickers to my cocoa mugs.

Count how many marshmallows can fit inside your cocoa cup, or how high you can stack them before they fall! Try rolling dice to count out equivalent numbers of marshmallows too. Be careful, marshmallow math is not always so very reliable; the props often disappear the moment a parent's back is turned!

Above is a template, mug for hot chocolate or cocoa, that I have designed for
this counting placemat project.

Make More Christmas Placemats with The Kids:

My "Time for Tea Version" for those of you who simply prefer tea or who live in England

"Trimming the Christmas Tree" Game

Two tiny Christmas trees are placed on stands, one in front of each of the two lines the children have formed. Each child has been given some little ornament for the tree. When the signal is given, the first child in each row is led up to the tree, blindfolded, and told to hang his ornament on the tree in the most artistic place he can ''feel.'' As soon as he has done this he tales off the blindfold, runs back to his line and puts the blindfold on the next player. This player is then led to the tree and he, in turn, puts his ornament on the tree, and when he has finished, hurries back to give his blindfold to the next trimmer. This continues until they have all put their ornaments on the tree.

However, all this while the children in the other line are doing the same thing, and it becomes a race to see which line can first trim its tree.

It can hardly be said that trees so trimmed are things of beauty. Neither can it be said that one's opponents always appreciate one's blind efforts at artistic effect!

Color a Nostalgic Portrait of Santa Claus for a Christmas Calendar

Above is a photo of the Nostalgic Santa Calendar in progress. I used a black, felt tip, permanent ink marker to hand letter my calendar numbers. It is traditional to depict only the twenty-five days until December 25th on a calendar such as this. Use white glue and cotton balls to cover each day as it passes. Children will enjoy giving Santa a snowy, white beard by the time he comes to fill their stockings with treats and candy!

Layer colored pencils in order to create depth in Santa's portrait. On the left, I first chose to emphasize the wrinkles in Santa's face with a dark brown. Then I selected a bright red to draw attention to his rosy cheeks and nose. Then I colored his entire face with a flesh toned pencil. These three color selections will help your colored drawings to look three dimensional. As you improve, you will add many more color combinations to your skin tones. But, these three should suffice for young students.

Again, as you can see I have selected a lavender and then a ruby red to layer beneath the red of Santa's hat before coloring the entire hat with a fire engine red. You can try multiple color combinations to see how different the portrait will look if you'd like.

Above is an example of layering color compliments. I chose to green and red for the holly. After cutting out the holly leaves, I pasted a thin strip of foam to the backside of each leaf in order to add extra dimension to the calendar. Glue on a red pom pom or two for the berries.

Above is a free coloring page of Santa for little one to use when assembling

their December count down to Christmas calendar.

The Santa Claus Puzzle Game

If gifts are to be distributed it adds a great deal to the fun to have a bit of mystery about it. Santa Claus comes in with his pack on his back. After the usual preliminaries he announces that he has a wonderful lot of gifts in his pack, but that the only way a guest can get one of his wonderful packages is to guess what is inside each one of them; you know what this element of mystery will do for children!

Every package is identified to Santa of it's contents by a small label that only he can see clearly. But, the children are seated too far from the packages to read this small label.

All the gifts are wrapped up in tissue paper in strange shapes, so that there is no clue as to what they actually are. Santa Claus takes out one gift at a time from his bag and holds it up in front of the guests. Then he asks them to guess what it is. The first one to call out that it is a book, when it may actually look like a windmill or a giraffe or a ball, receives the gift. The gift must then be held onto the child with the first correct guess and not opened until all of the children have received a present from Santa. Then and only then are the children allowed to open their gifts and no further entertainment is necessary!

However, Santa Claus must be a very tactful and observant person. He may notice when one little child is too timid to speak up and say just what she thinks is in a package. So he picks out a gift, turns to her and says directly to her, ''Tell me, little girl, what do you think is in here?'' and then gives her easy clues to help her guess correctly, much to her delight. It may also be possible that other children may speak when it is inappropriate to do so, but Santa must act as though he has trouble hearing them if younger or shyer children are to be heard above the excitement.

Also, if there are both girls and boys guessing during the game Santa may need to specify - ''This next gift is something in which only girls are interested in. Let a boy make a guess at his own peril!" - so that the toys distributed come to those who will delight the most in them.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Sculpt a Snow Scene With Clay

A young student chooses to sculpt something unpretentious.

Children don't need much to inspire their imaginations. Give them a bit of clay and read to them a story or two about winter. Before you know it, they are creating their own little vignettes from whatever materials are made available to them.

In school, art teachers often let young students draw after they have completed their art assignments. We call this 'a free draw.' This little clay vignette on the left was made during a student's free time. He used a few simple stamping tools and bright glazes to enhance his beloved characters, a snowman and a penguin.

Children are not inhibited about embracing the simpler activities in life, activities like building snowmen or reading stories about ice skating penguins. They suffer from no need to craft "high art." Although this does not mean that children shouldn't be taught about fine art, it does mean that teachers should feel free to also let young students live out their childlike fantasies in the making of art. This kind of latitude will indeed inspire them to create more sophisticated work later in life.

Not every art project needs an elaborate agenda, alternate the way that you look at art making as much as the way you use art materials. Choose to give young people a chance to interpret ideas and/or develop alternative solutions for some of the ideas you suggest to them. And if they just want to sculpt a snowman, then by all means, let them make one without feeling guilty! After all, they are only children once.

"This is the wonderful penguin story, narrated by David Attenborough in Bringing Up Baby from BBC Natural World. The film is edited by Mark Fletcher and the music is composed by Jennie Muskett"

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Festive Popcorn Treats

How to Make a popcorn-cranberry garland for your Christmas Tree.

Every boy and girl likes popcorn, and the bigger the boy or girl, the more they like it. So, for the Christmas festival, it can be used in many ways. A writer in a household paper, a clipping from which is in my scrap books, tells us: First, wash and polish some fine red apples; oranges may be used, also, if preferred. Cut off a slice from one end, and scoop out the pulp, leaving the skins whole. Pick out the very nicest and tenderest grains of popped corn and dip in either a thin syrup or melted butter. Fit a soft white wax or parchment paper inside the apple or orange, and fill this with the corn. Replace the top, and cover with a cluster of the corn grains, stuck together with syrup; a few green leaves, natural or artificial, should be added; or, if the oranges are used, use orange leaves. Put one of these filled shells at each plate.

Another way to use popped corn is to make a caramel syrup, using brown sugar; cook until the caramel point; The syrup should cook two minutes before the corn is added. Have the pre-cooked popcorn broken up, and stir into the caramel, pour out on a greased cookie sheet and cook eight more minutes in an oven. When the mixture is cool enough to handle, make into squares or balls and wrap in waxed paper. They may be packed in "gift" boxes, or otherwise disposed of and given out.

More video about popcorn:

Friday, November 1, 2013

Assembled A Disney Castle Jewelry Box

I just put together this little Christmas gift/jewelry box for my cousin. My younger daughter will fill it with Disney stickers and candy jewels for her Christmas stocking. She will be nine years old this Christmas and we will certainly enjoy watching her excitement during the gift opening. I still need to add a layer of Modge Podge to the surface of my castle candy container, but once I do, it will be more difficult to photograph.

I painted the inside of the box with several layers of darker purple paint. The key to painting a little box like this one is, to do so slowly and let it dry thoroughly after every coat of paint. This will help to prevent the box from warping. As I painted this one, I also had to add some white glue to the seams and clamp these while drying. Although it is a delicate process, the results are worth the time and patience I put into it.

I could not resist the Disney Castle sticker! Our little princess will surely delight in the unique packaging this Christmas, for she is very artistically inclined herself. You can purchase very detailed stickers like the one I used from any craft store. I bought both the sticker and box from a Hobby Lobby store.

Once my daughter packs the box, I will post another photo of the finished result just below.

I assembled this unique, one-of-a-kind jewelry box for my niece this Christmas. My younger daughter will stuff it with candy rings and candy necklaces before packing it into Emma's stocking.

More Edible Jewelry Crafts:

Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Life and Work of Robert L. May and "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

May grew up in an affluent, secular Jewish home in New Rochelle, New York. He had a brother and two sisters. One of the sisters, Evelyn May, is the grandmother of the well-known economist Steven D. Levitt, of “Freakonomics” fame. Another sister, Margaret, married (Jewish) songwriter Johnny Marks in 1947. May graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Dartmouth College in 1926. Both of his parents were hard hit by the Great Depression (1929) and lost their wealth. Sometime in the 1930s, he moved to Chicago and took a job as a low-paid in-house advertising copywriter for Montgomery Ward.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a fictional
male reindeer with a glowing red nose,
popularly known as "Santa's 9th Reindeer."
Whenever depicted, he is the lead reindeer
pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve.
The luminosity of his nose is so great
that it illuminates the team's path through
inclement winter weather.

In early 1939, May’s boss at Montgomery Ward asked him to write a “cheery” Christmas book for shoppers and suggested that an animal be the star of the book. Montgomery Ward had been buying and giving away coloring books for Christmas every year and it was decided that creating their own book would save money and be a nice good-will gesture.

Because May’s (Jewish) wife, Evelyn, had contracted cancer in 1937 and was quite ill as he started on the book in early 1939, many people believe that her fragile health inspired May to base the character of Rudolph upon her. However, we do know that May "drew on memories of his own painfully shy childhood when creating his Rudolph stories." He decided on making a deer the central character of the book because his then 4-year-old daughter, Barbara, loved the deer in the Chicago zoo. He ran verses and chapters of the Rudolph poem by Barbara to make sure they entertained children. The final version of the poem was first read to Barbara and his wife’s parents.

Evelyn May died in July, 1939. His boss offered to take him off the book assignment in light of his wife’s death. May refused and completed the poem in August, 1939. The Rudolph poem booklet was first distributed during the 1939 holiday season. Shoppers loved the poem and 2.4 million copies were distributed. War time restrictions on paper use prevented a re-issue until 1946. In that year, another 3.6 million copies were distributed to Montgomery Ward shoppers.

In 1946, May received an offer from a company that wanted to do a spoken-word record of the poem. May could not give his approval (and be compensated) because Montgomery Ward held the rights to the poem. In late 1946 or early 1947, Sewell Avery, the company’s president, gave the copyright rights to the poem to May, free and clear. The spoken-word version of the poem was a big sales success.

In 1947, Harry Elbaum, the head of a small New York publishing company, took a chance and put out an updated print edition of the Rudolph (poem) book. Other publishers had passed on the book, believing that the distribution of millions of free copies had ruined the market. The book was a best seller.

In 1948, May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, wrote (words and music) an adaptation of Rudolph. Though the song was turned down by such popular vocalists as Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore, it was recorded by the singing cowboy Gene Autry. "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" was released in 1949 and became a phenomenal success, selling more records than any other Christmas song, with the exception of "White Christmas".

In 1941, May married another Ward employee, Virginia, and had five children with her. She was a devout Catholic, and Robert May was converted to Catholicism during the marriage. He is buried in Saint Joseph Cemetery in River Grove, Illinois.

May wrote two sequels to Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The first is mostly in prose (except that Rudolph speaks in anapaestic tetrameter), written in 1947 but only published posthumously as Rudolph's Second Christmas (1992), and subsequently with the title Rudolph to the Rescue (2006). The second sequel is entirely in anapaestic tetrameter like the original: Rudolph Shines Again (1954). May also published four other children's books: Benny the Bunny Liked Beans (1940), Winking Willie (1948), The Fighting Tenderfoot (1954), and Sam the Scared-est Scarecrow (1972).

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Three Classic Christmas Books Every Child Should Own

Here are three of my family's favorite Christmas books. Every single one of them is a classic and beautifully illustrated too! These titles have withstood the test of time; they were read over and over until both of my girls had every page and picture memorized.

These are not listed in any specific order, my girls would never make the mistake of favoring one over the other. Indeed, they would have had us read all three every December night if they could have persuaded their father or myself to do so.

"Mr Willouby's Christmas Tree"

1. "Mr Willouby's Christmas Tree" by Robert Barry, 1963, McGraw-Hill Book Company. As you can plainly see, our copy is worn and has faded over the years. This book was ardently loved by six children from two separate families and it was also my favorite Christmas story as a child. I rescued it from one of my Mother's garage sales years ago.

One day she emptied our childhood closets and sold our books for 25 cents a piece! I grabbed as many of the books as I could carry while her back was turned and hid them under my bed upstairs.

Many years later, I read this book often to my own children during the fall and winter months of their childhood. It was a popular story book among those with small hands. The lower half of the book is literally worn with handling and the binding on the old favorite is bent and broken. The condition of a book, as everybody knows, is ultimately the sign of true love among children.

"The Steadfast Tin Soldier"

2. "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" by Hans Christian Andersen, 1991, Michael Di Capua Books. This is a very old Christmas tale and has been published by dozens of companies over the years but the very finest version of it is illustrated by Fred Marcellino. It has also been retold by Seidler so that it's length and poignancy is age appropriate for children under ten years old. Although Hans Christian Andersen's tales are moralistic, his messages can be lost on modern day children. This Christmas tale, however, has been rewritten and illustrated in such a way as to convey it's original depth and brevity and I wouldn't bother with the purchase of any alternative myself.

"One Wintry Night"

3. "One Wintry Night" by Ruth Bell Graham. The book is published by Baker Books and lavishly illustrated by Richard Jesse Watson. It is the retelling of Jesus' birth within the prophetic context illustrated in scripture. Their are eleven chapters in the book and I recommend that it be read aloud over eleven days. The book is very thorough and age appropriate for children younger than twelve. It is not written in a condescending manner or illustrated as a trendy juvenile picture book. There was great thought given to it's production and it should be considered an American Christmas Classic. The illustrations are magnificent and the story-telling style of Ruth Bell Graham is straight forward and easy to understand. After reading this story aloud, your children will, without a doubt, understand the true meaning given to Christmas by all of Christendom.

Now that my children have grown, their books have been divided between them, but the Christmas selection has still remained in tact at my home until it can be duplicated. They did not have the heart to divide the collection up, to choose one book over the other. So it is up to me to find the spare cash to acquire more copies of each selection for future grandchildren.

Collage a candle to remember "The Light of The World"

These collaged paper candles were crafted by kindergaten, 1rst and 2nd graders.

So many candles and such variety! Print out my nostalgic version of a candle below and have your little ones paste all kinds of things to it to create their own version of this popular Christmas craft. Below I have compiled a list of things that teachers or parents may collect for the project: pasta, plain or dyed, rice, plain or dyed, ribbons, buttons, pom-poms, sequins, chenille stems, silk flowers, seeds, beans, beads, stickers, foam shapes, clippings of fabric or felt, feathers, tiny bells, shredded paper, wrapping paper, sea shells, tissue paper, wooden shapes, pressed leaves and flowers, air dry clay, tin foil.

Download and print this free Christmas candle graphic for your little ones to decorate.

Jesus is The Light of The World:

Make a Paper Plate Wreath With A Candle Inside

I took a traditional children's craft, a paper plate wreath with candle, and made it a bit more interesting by crafting it three dimensionally. With these additional steps, this craft has become challenging enough to inspire a third or fourth grader. (students 9 to 10 years of age)

Above is a series of step-by-step photos for this Christmas wreath project. You will need the following items to complete the craft:

scissors
white glue
2 sturdy white paper plates
a toilet paper roll
masking tape
tin foil
child's tempera or acrylic paints in: green, yellow, blue, pink, orange, black and purple
narrow tinsel garland
a permanent ink, black felt tipped pen, thin nip
green and pale blue construction paper
tissue paper in orange, yellow and red

Directions for this Paper Plate Wreath With a Candle Inside:

Cut a toilet paper roll in half, and paste it down to the lower end of one paper plate. Tape it also to the paper plate so that the glued surfaces will be given time to dry in place. This tube shape will later become your 3D candle.
Then take the second paper plate and cut the center out; following the indented circular edge of the plate. There is usually a raised embossed center circle on inexpensive, white paper plates. Your edge need not be perfectly cut. It will be eventually covered by added details.
Then glue the two paper plate together with their top sides facing each other. See the picture above.
Crush 3Dimensional balls with flat back from the foil. Mask the flat sides with the tape so that these will adhere to the paper plate well.
Glue the foil balls to the front side of your wreath and allow the entire form to dry thoroughly over night before painting it.
Layer masking tape over the foil balls so that paint will adhere to these easily. Paint them bright colors: orange, purple, yellow, and pink.
Paint the interior of the wreath black and the surrounding leafy green parts of the wreath with green paint.
Let the paints dry.
Now draw some pine twigs similar to the one shown just below with the black marker onto the green construction paper.
Cut out the pine twigs and glue these to the surface of your pine wreath randomly. Also draw pine twigs where ever there is not a random layer of construction paper twigs added.
Glue torn pieces of pale blue construction paper onto your candle shape and add the warm colored tissues for a flame. (see detailed photos below)
Twist a gold metallic garland in and out of the wreath for added bling! I had to punch a few holes to the backside of my paper plate wreath in order to weave the garland through.
Add a little hook or loop of twine onto the back of your wreath and hang it onto a door or wall after this Christmas art project has dried.

A drawn example of a pine twig.

Close up of the Christmas baubles attached to the wreath and made from foil, masking tape and paint.


A close-up photo of the paper candle made from a toilet paper tube and tissue paper.

Did you know that lighted candles were a feature of the ancient Jewish Feast of the Dedication or Feast of Lights. This was held about Christmas-time, and it is likely that lights were twinkling in every Jewish home in Bethlehem and Nazareth at the very time of the birth of Jesus. This custom was probably merged into the Christian celebration of Christmas. Other authorities claim that the candles are a survival of the huge Yule candle used as a sign of the Light that came into the world as prophesied by John the Baptist.

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

More Popular Christmas Links:

Animated wreath
and candle.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Ultimate 100 Christmas Cupcakes!

A cupcake (also British English: fairy cake; Australian English: patty cake or cup cake) is a small cake designed to serve one person, which may be baked in a small thin paper or aluminum cup. As with larger cakes, icing and other cake decorations, such as sprinkles, may be applied.

The first mention of the cupcake can be traced as far back as 1796, when a recipe notation of "a cake to be baked in small cups" was written in American Cookery by Amelia Simmons. The earliest documentation of the term cupcake was in "Seventy-five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats" in 1828 in Eliza Leslie's Receipts cookbook.

In the early 19th century, there were two different uses for the name cup cake or cupcake. In previous centuries, before muffin tins were widely available, the cakes were often baked in individual pottery cups, ramekins, or molds and took their name from the cups they were baked in. This is the use of the name that has remained, and the name of "cupcake" is now given to any small cake that is about the size of a teacup. The name "fairy cake" is a fanciful description of its size, which would be appropriate for a party of diminutive fairies to share. While English fairy cakes vary in size more than American cupcakes, they are traditionally smaller and are rarely topped with elaborate icing.

Far left, chocolate cupcakes decorated with fresh raspberries. Center left, cupcake topped with a gumdrop turtle. Center right, cupcakes iced to look like miniature cherry pies. Far right, cupcakes decorated with the aid of frosting tips.

These Cupcakes Recipes Are Perfect for Christmas Holiday Celebrations:

Christmas Cupcake Recipes and Decorating Ideas Pinboard: Christmas Eye Candy!

Decorating Christmas Cupcakes:

Monday, August 12, 2013

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Cover of "Little Women"by Merrill.

Little Women is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888). The book was written and set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House, in Concord, Massachusetts. It was published in two volumes in 1868 and 1869. The novel follows the lives of four sisters – Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy March – and is loosely based on the author's childhood experiences with her three sisters. The first volume, Little Women, was an immediate commercial and critical success, prompting the composition of the book's second volume, entitled Good Wives, which was also successful. Both books were first published as a single volume entitled Little Women in 1880. Alcott followed Little Women with two sequels, also featuring the March sisters: Little Men (1871) and Jo's Boys (1886). Little Women was a fiction novel for girls that veered from the normal writings for children, especially girls, at the time. Little Women has three major themes:” domesticity, work, and true love. All of them are interdependent and each is necessary to the achievement of a heroine’s individual identity.”

Little Women itself “has been read as a romance or as a quest, or both. It has been read as a family drama that validates virtue over wealth.” Little Women has been read “as a means of escaping that life by women who knew its gender constraints only too well.” Alcott “combines many conventions of the sentimental novel with crucial ingredients of Romantic children’s fiction, creating a new form of which Little Women is a unique model.” Elbert argued that within Little Women can be found the first vision of the “American Girl” and that her multiple aspects are embodied in the differing March sisters.

Little Women at Project Gutenberg
Lesson plans for Little Women at Web English Teacher
"Top 100 Children’s Novels #25". School Library Journal Blog. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
1945 radio adaptation of novel at Theatre Guild on the Air at Internet Archive
Illustrations of Little Women by Frank T. (Thayer) Merrill
Louisa May Alcott's Orchard House
Little Women on Broadway

"Little Women" is a 1994 is also a drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong. The screenplay by Robin Swicord is based on the Louisa May Alcott novel of the same name. It is the fifth feature film adaptation of the Alcott classic, following silent versions released in 1917 and 1918, a 1933 George Cukor-directed release, a 1949 adaptation by Mervyn LeRoy, and a 1978 adaptation by Gordon Hessler. It was released exclusively on December 21, 1994, and was released wide on December 25, 1994, by Columbia Pictures. It is one of my family's favorite movies to watch at Christmas time. Read more . . .

Craft a Communion Cup for The Chrismon Tree

This little Chrismon ornament is made with cut-up egg carton parts, a bit of air-dry clay, gold spray paint and gold beads. You will also need to acquire a paper pulp egg carton, masking tape, white glue, transparent glitter and a pair of scissors to begin the craft with. This chalice has a fluted edge at it's base. The base was made by pressing tin foil into a tiny tart tin. Then the foil was covered entirely with masking tape so that CelluClay would adhere to it.

Cut out the small segments of your egg carton until you have stacked a similar looking shape to the one on the left above. Mask each shape separately and glue these together with tacky white glue. Some egg cartons have cross shapes inside the cups. You can see one of these in the photo on the right. I pressed two small pieces of air dry clay into this cup and pulled them out. The imprint made my cross shape that I then glued onto both sides of a circular piece of cardboard to fit into the cup. This is the communion wafer. I dripped glue into this cup and firmly pressed the wafer shape into it to dry over night.

Above is a photo of my CelluClay, papier mâché pulp, both before and after I have mixed it with water. The mixture should have a sticky thick consistency after stirring the water in. It is important to mix these two ingredients well in order to dampen thoroughly the glue that is added to the pulp at the factory. Mixing the correct proportions will take some getting used to. This is a process that you do by experimentation. Don't throw out the mixture if it is too loose, just ad more pulp. If it is too dry add more water. Then layer a thin amount over the communion cup minus the wafer. Let the cup dry for a couple of days and then spray paint it in a well ventilated area, outside is best.

Next you will need to add a touch of white paint to the wafer and a touch of transparent glitter to the sides of the cup. I then bored a tiny whole through the wafer and strung a gold beaded hanger for the Chrismon to finish my ornament for the Christmas display.

^{One Bread, One Body}

Scriptural Reference for the Chrismon is Luke 22:14-20

¹⁴When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. ¹⁵And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. ¹⁶For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
¹⁷After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you. ¹⁸For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
¹⁹And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
²⁰In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

More About Communion Symbolism:

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