Craft a red-nosed reindeer with little ones...

Rudolf, the red-nosed walnut head.

       Rudolf is a very popular character around here so I guess we were eventually going to make him from a walnut shell. See how he is made from just about everything else by following the links.

• Make Rudolf using craft sticks here
• Make Rudolf using construction paper here
• Leaping reindeer clip art
• Shape and bake a reindeer cake
• Cut, color and fold a reindeer paper toy
• Color in a friendly reindeer picture

Supply List:

• walnut half
• decorative paper for backing
• scrap cardboard
• acrylic paints
• red pom-pom
• puff paint
• tacky white glue

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. An adult must cut a walnut in half for this craft in advance of a child making it, unless you just happen to find a half of a walnut. The cutting of these nuts can be slippery, so do this part of the craft cautiously. Go to the post to see how I sliced the walnuts in half.
2. Place the walnut shell on top of a scrap piece of cardboard and draw both around the sell and include the reindeer's antlers on that same cardboard. Cut out this shape and glue it to the back, flat slide of the walnut using tacky white glue.
3. Paint the walnut shell and antler's with acrylics. I used several shades of brown.
4. Glue on the red pom-pom for Rudolf's nose.
5. Using puff paints squeeze on the white's of the reindeer's eyes, let dry and then squeeze on the center pupils using black puff paint.
6. Sandwich a wire hook between decorative paper and the cardboard backing and glue.

Crafting Ornaments with Cinnamon Salt Dough

Left, the finished result after painting on white faux icing. Right, some of the cinnamon dough
was reserved for shaping into pretend chocolates. These were then glued inside of tin foil sleeves.
Cinnamon salt dough looks just like gingerbread once it is painted! 

       To make cinnamon salt dough you will need to kneed together 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of ordinary salt, 1/4 cup of cinnamon or more and 1 cup of cool water. Sift together the dry ingredients first and then slowly add the water. Add flour to a wooden cutting board and kneed the dough on top of it. Put it into a refrigerator to rest for a couple of hours. Then roll out the dough approximately 1/2 inch and cut with cookie cutters. Put these cut-outs on a cookie sheet and let them dry out in a low temperature oven for about 3 hours. You can prick the surface as these salt dough ornaments dry to prevent air bubbles if you like and you can make a hole through the top of each ornament to have a place for a hook or ribbon to hang them on a tree. I also used cookie molds to craft some of my own cinnamon salt dough ornaments shown here.

Left, the gingerbread salt dough cooling down on a cookie rack. Some of them puffed up
too much so these were tossed. Right, some wooden cookie molds were also used in 
this project.

Left, a mouse then a little man next, a Christmas chocolate and candy cane hang on our tree.

Above are three gingerbread children holding hands.

More Delightful Gingerbread:

• Make a gingerbread castle for your dolls to decorate with inside of the dollhouse
• Color my gingerbread angel from Color The Bible for kids

Sew a "Tear Drop" Santa with Button Limbs

A very 80s/90s homespun button Santa

        This tear-drop shaped Santa once hung on my mother's tree. I made it based upon a similar one I once saw in the home of a friend. It is very vintage 1980s/90s looking. Around that time folk-like and primitive items for tree decorations were very popular. If you have an ample supply of buttons without matching pairs or sets, this is one way you can use these up. He is a little strange looking for my tastes now but to each his own when decorating a tree, right? 

       Supplies you will need to make an ornament like this one: scraps of plaid fabric, lots of buttons, tiny bit of faux fur, small two inch square of flesh colored felt, strand of white yarn for beard, cotton batting,  bit of red paint for his cheeks and needle with thread.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Cut two identical shaped tear-drops from the scrap plaid fabric. 
• With right sides together sew a straight seam around the two shapes together leaving a one inch gap to turn the right sides out and stuff with cotton.
• Sew the opening shut after stuffing using an invisible stitch. 
• Sew on fur trim a little lower than the top of the tear shaped, stuffed form to imply a fur-trimmed hat. 
• Use the same fur to top off the tip of the Santa hat with a ball.
• Cut face out from felt and sew it just below the fur trimmed hat. 
• Add the button eyes, nose and paint the cheeks.
• Loop the yarn directly onto the face for a beard and sew this in place. Trim it as you like.
• Now gather all of those odd buttons and string them together for Santa's arms and legs. Attach these firmly with needle and thread.

Similar Ornament Crafts from The 1980s and 90s: 

• Retro Craft Dreams shares her vintage 80s craftmas projects
• DIY sewn primitive Santa ornament by Painting Crafty - this kind of ornament was very popular in the 1990s
• Cut and sew vintage Christmas prints here - more vintage prints from our family collection

How to make mini accordion braid wreaths . . .

Three versions of construction paper accordion folded wreaths with ribbon trim are pictured here.

       This particular ornament is very light weight therefore a perfect handmade craft for a tabletop feather tree. It is possible to make it using all textile materials instead of paper but the samples shown above are made with construction paper and trimmed with real ribbons.
       Once you learn the simple folding method, there are several classic, accordion shapes one can make for decorative holiday ornaments. Also, these ornaments make excellent crafts to teach in school environments or student craft fairs because it takes very little money to manufacture simple kits for each person to work with. 

 Supply List:

• contrasting scrap papers: red and green, green and white or red and white in lengths measuring at least twelve inches (Once you begin to weave the wreath, you will be able to determine the size you will need.)
• A ruler for measuring consistent sizes and lengths
• scissors to cut the lengths of cut paper
• tacky craft glue to adhere the ends of paper together
• a hot glue gun for sticking the ribbon trim onto the paper wreath
• ribbon for trim (More ribbon if you should decide to make the entire wreath body out of it.)
• wire for hanging and a needle for making a tiny hole wear the wire is strung through

Step-by-Step Folding Process Pictured Below

Illustrated accordion braid process.
Click to enlarge.

• Paper Chain Wreath Craft - for elementary kids made using construction paper and cotton balls
• Kids can make an easy pom-pom wreath for their dollhouse

Were the gifts of the Magi Symbolic?

       The gifts of the Magi were symbolical of their three-fold faith; the gold that He was King; the incense that He was God; and myrrh, that He was man and doomed to death. The Virgin bestowed on the Magi gifts of the linen bands in which she had wrapped the Savior, for which they thanked her in great humility, and laid them among their treasures.

       According to the old legends, Caspar is king of Tarsus, the land of merchants; he makes the offering of gold. Melchior, the king of Arabia and Nubia, offers frankincense, and Balthasar, king of Saba, "the land of spices," offers myrrh. The gifts are described in scripture, the names of the kings are made up. The "kings" are called "wise men" from the East in scripture.

Before The Paling of The Stars

 Before The Paling of The Stars

Before the paling of the stars,

 Before the winter morn,

 Before the earliest cock-crow,

 Jesus Christ was born;

 Born in a stable,

 Cradled in a manger.

In the world His hands had made, 

Born a stranger.

 Priest and king lay fast asleep

 In Jerusalem.

 Young and old lay fast asleep

 In crowded Bethlehem.

 Saint and angel, ox and ass,

 Kept a watch together

 Before the Christmas daybreak

 In the wintry weather.

Jesus on His Mother's breast

 In the stable cold,

 Spotless Lamb of God was He,

Shepherd of the fold;

 Let us kneel with Mary Maid,

 With Joseph bent and hoary

 With saint and angel, ox and ass,

To hail the King of Glory.

 - Christina E. Rossetti.

Recycling old buttons for a trim on a stocking...

To make a stocking similar to my own, sew a felt or quilted stocking 
and then attach a collection of beads. This stocking is made of white
and pink felt, then trimmed with felt pine trees and random antique
buttons from my grandmother's old sewing box.

A collection of beads inside of an old canning jar. These may be found in many flee markets.

Santa stocking that I made in the 1990s; his beard trimmed with pearly white buttons in many
sizes. See a similar stocking for dolls here.

 

Folk stars trimmed with buttons too!

More Crafting With Buttons:

• Snip, stitch and tuck snowmen from notions
• DIY odds and ends tree stocking