Animals had to make an appearance in my personal version of the nativity story I’m telling with this tree. I am an animal lover after all, and I love recognizing those animals that were a part of the story, bringing…
Wood Veneer Creche Ornament
This was one of the last ornaments I made, and I did it because with all the ornaments I had been making, I hadn’t gotten around to a creche. I also wanted some more wood on the tree. It’s such…
Papercut Nativity Tree
Working on this nativity tree has given me ideas that have extended beyond ornaments to other nativity displays, as yesterday’s beaded tapestry nativity demonstrated. It’s also been a chance for me to complete projects I’ve been meaning to get to…
Beaded Tapestry Nativity
This nativity came out of this fine art project I’ve been toying around with for a while now. I just seem drawn to all types of pointillist images – my love of crosstitch is well documented, but mosaics and even…
Frosted Mother and Child Ornament
I love the silhouette trend that has been all over the internet the last few years, so I thought I’d include a version of that on my tree, highlighting the special relationship between a mother and child, and also use…
Holy Family Plaque
I first got the idea for this tree last year as I was combing all the after Christmas sales. I found a pack of these cards at the dollar store, except the fact that they came with a huge, ugly,…
Clay Wise Men Ornament
The only craft teacher I’ve ever had was Carol Duvall, in the glory days of HGTV when it showed something besides room makeovers. She introduced me to stamping techniques, paper crafting, and most foreign to me, polymer clay. Following her…
Paper Mache Nativity
A couple of years ago I made this little ghost family for Halloween, and when I displayed them I immediately thought, “That looks almost like a spooky nativity.” This year seemed like the time to revisit that idea, but take…
Wooden Block Ornaments
Remember how I said I raided the unfinished wood aisle? Here I go again. There was just something about the material that spoke to me, maybe the rustic quality of it, maybe the fact that I was thinking about a…
Starburst Ornament
I totally raided the unfinished wood section of my craft store for this tree. Wood just seemed like such an appropriate medium this time around. What I found was perfect for changing up the shapes and textures of the ornaments,…