Color Your Own Santa Bookmark

       A Santa Claus bookmark is a good little Christmas gift to give to someone who reads. Children may either print or trace carefully the picture of it here, or if you are a little artist draw it all by yourself, being sure to measure the chimney to get it straight. It would be better to use rather stiff white paper for your bookmark if you have it on hand. After you have drawn the front view fold the paper on the line AB and cut the outline. Now draw on the back (the part that is wrong side up in the picture), unfold, and begin the coloring with watercolor or colored pencil. If you use watercolors, don't brush the paint on too thick or it will look muddy. If you use crayon don't press down on them too hard. It looks ever so much better if it is colored lightly. Santa's hat and coat must be red trimmed with white fur, his mittens white and his beard white. His pack would look well dark green. The chimney could be red or an adobe red in color. If you could do it neatly (it may be difficult) leave the spaces between the bricks white or color these grey. After the bookmark is dry cut along the dotted line, being sure not to cut off poor Santa's head. This is so that his beard will slip over the page and keep the bookmark in place. Now fold over the back on AB, and paste the lower courses of bricks on the chimney head neatly together. Write the name of your friend and your own on the back. Someone will be very pleased with this if you make it carefully and color it well!

Click directly on the bookmark image to download the largest available file.

More Christmas Bookmarks to Print and Color:

• "Believe In Your sElf" and "Reading Makes You One Smart Cookie" bookmarks for coloring by artsyfartsymama
  
• "it's the most Wonderful Time of the Year" bookmark from daydreamintoreality
• Printable Christmas Bookmarks, both in color and for coloring from Anna Lowell
• Christmas Printable Coloring Bookmarks from myculturedpalate
• Christmas bookmarks from Hello Kids
• Easy Peasy and Fun has Santa Bookmarks Too!
• tiny truths cut and color bookmarks here, just scroll down...
• mochabaydesign has many Christmas bookmarks to choose from for coloring fun
• Full color printable Christmas bookmarks from Noella Designs
• 2020 Christmas bookmarks from Hattie B. Stokes Elementary School!
• Free Printable Catholic Kids Bookmarks by TheCatholicKid
• Hattifant Corner Bookmarks - Christmas and Winter to Color

Make a Clay Pot Cottage Ornament

The clay pot cottage ornament crafted by my older daughter for Christmas this year.

         To assemble this small clay pot cottage inexpensively, you may need to purchase materials from your local dollar store. However, some of you will probably have most of these supplies laying about a craft work bench or inside a cabinet for of odds and ends.

       You will also need a pair of pliers to take apart a pine cone for this craft. The roof of our pot cottage has faux tiles made of scales. 

Supply List:

• tiny clay pots

  

  Above are photos taken of the clay pot 

  cottage ornament from different angles.

  Click on the image to see it enlarged.

• acrylic paints
• faux plants
• a pinecone
• scrap fabric (hanger)
• oven bake clay
• wooden round (base)
• pebble
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• lead pencil

       Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Hot glue an inverted clay pot onto a cut wooden round to make the basic structure of the clay pot cottage.
2. You will not need to sand any of the surfaces before painting because of the "rustic" nature of the design. Just lightly draw out a tiny door and two windows using a soft lead pencil.
3. Then use acrylic paints to trim out the windows in white. Fill in the window panes using black and add tiny flowers to the window boxes. (see photos above)
4. After the paint dries, hot glue on a pebble for the front door step.
5. Then remove the scales from your dried pine cone using a tough set of pliers.
6. Invert the scales on top of the roof area of your inverted pot using small amounts of hot glue between each piece as you stack these. 
7. Now hot glue the faux plant trimmings with a ribbon or fabric hanger to the top of the roof. Then trim out the rest of the faux plant decorations on the sides of the clay pot.
8. My daughter sculpted two tiny mushrooms from oven bake clay and baked these according to the directions on the package. Then she painted them and attached these over the painted front door.

More Clay Pot Christmas Crafts:

• Clay Pot Advent Calendar
• Christmas ornament ideas from Flower Pot Crafts
• 20 DIY Christmas decorations you can make using flower pots

Christmas Paper Cuts From 1914

"Hanging high upon the tree find a Christmas wish from me." These paper-cut designs were designed by Marion Thomas.

       These little silhouettes suggest an idea for homemade Christmas cards. How much more friendly and personal a greeting written or printed on a card, made by the sender seems than a message picked up in a shop. If you like, cut out each of these illustrations and mount them on paper of bright red or even delicately tinted papers, measuring one and one-half inch longer and one inch wider than the paper cut. If you like, two pieces of mounting board may be tied together with a bow of Christmas ribbon to form a folder. Mount the paper cuts on the outside and write the verses for the inside of the folder.

       If you are an expert in the use of scissors, you might make cards exactly like the originals of these, the designs for which were cut from white paper and mounted on red card stock. Of course this work must be very carefully done, but it will well repay the effort, for you can make cards which will have real individuality and will carry your message of love and greeting in a more personal way than any card bought at a shop. These designs might be used as patterns for cutting out the silhouettes, or you might use the actual illustrations given here, cutting away the dark background. The white figures will be in one piece, which can be carefully pasted to green or black cardboard, mounted, finished with ruled boarders. When cutting leave wide margins of paper, simply cutting away black areas, so that the paper left outside the design will hold the entire paper cut together until it has been mounted. 

• For more paper silhouettes check out our big index at Thrifty Scissors!
• There are also more silhouettes on this blog

When cold winds blow
And there's ice and snow
Sing hey, sing ho, for the wintry weather!
Why long for Spring
And the joys 'twill bring?
'Tis Christmas time brings friends together;
And friendship shines with its warmest glow
In the days of ice and cold and snow.

Eons have passed since first it led
The wise men from afar,
Yet still there shines for each of us,
The visions of His star.

If I were old Santa Claus
Do you know what I'd do?
I'd find your stocking first of all
And fill it full for you -

Not alone with toys and games,
But things more precious still -
With Joy and Peace and Happiness
And Love and all Goodwill.

The children three upon this card
have been unus'lly good.
They know they'll find their stockings full -
As, of course, they should.

But if they'd cross and naughty been
Empty would be each stocking.
They'd have to wait another year -
Now isn't that quite shocking?

Six Green Singers

SIX GREEN SINGERS

The frost of the moon fell over my floor
And six green singers stood at my door.
 

"What do ye here that music make?" 

"Let us come in for Christ's sweet Sake."
 

"Long have ye journeyed in coming here?"
"Our Pilgrimage was the length of the year."
 

"Where do ye make for?" I asked of them.
"Our Shrine is a Stable in Bethlehem."
 

"What will ye do as ye go along?"
"Sing to the world an ever-green song."
 

"What will ye sing for the listening earth?"
"One will sing of a brave-souled Mirth,
 

"One of the Holiest Mystery,
The Glory of glories shall one song be,
 

"One of the Memory of things,
One of the Child's imaginings,
 

"One of our songs is the fadeless Faith,
And all are the Life more mighty than death."
 

"Ere ye be gone that music make,
Give me an alms for Christ's sweet Sake."
 

"Six green branches we leave with you;
See they be scattered your house-place through.
 

"The staunch blithe Holly your board shall grace,
Mistletoe bless your chimney place,
 

"Laurel to crown your lighted hall,
Over your bed let the Yew-bough fall,
 

"Close by the cradle the Christmas Fir,
For elfin dreams in its branches stir,
 

"Last and loveliest, high and low,
From ceil to floor let the Ivy go."

From each glad guest I received my gift
And then the latch of my door did lift--
 

"Green singers, God prosper the song ye make
As ye sing to the world for Christ's sweet Sake."

by Eleanor Farjeon

Yule-Tide Fires

YULE-TIDE FIRES
 

Cleanse with the burning log of oak
The canker of thy care,
Deck with the scarlet-berried bough
The temple of the fair;
Spread pure-white linen for a feast,
Perchance some guest may share.

Give forth thy gold and silver coins,
For they were lent to thee;
Put out to usury thy dross,
One talent gaineth three.
Perchance the hungered and the poor
May pray to God for thee.

Once a pale star rose in the East
For watching herds to see,
And weakness came to Bethlehem,
And strength to Galilee.
Perchance! if thou dost keep thy tryst
A star may rise for thee.

Anonymous