Santa's Winter Wonderland

This was inspired from the BH&G Holiday Craft Ideas 2013 magazine.  They offered so many wonderful craft projects this year, I find myself making one after another.  I put my own twist on this one, but it's based on the one in the magazine.  The directions are lengthy, so I will only offer the basics.  It's fairly easy to make. If you do crafts on a regular basis, I would rate this as Intermediate level.  The most difficult is making Santa.  He is created from styrofoam covered with Creative Air Dry Clay.

Supply List:

6" styrofoam cone for Santa's body
2"  styrofoam ball for Santa's head
Creative Paperclay or other brand of air dry clay (Note: Creative is non-toxic)
Wool roving for Santa's hair, mustache & beard
Silver chenille stem
2-3 bottle brush trees in different sizes
Small reindeer
Sparkle Mod Podge
Sno-Tex or Glistening Snow-Tex
Acrylic Paints in Sea Foam Green, Dark Blue, Black, Red, Fleshtone, & White)
Small ornaments
Piece of silver garland
Ephemera for tree toppers
Hot glue gun & glue sticks
Cake stand or other suitable base to glue your wonderland to

You want to start with Santa.  Cover the cone and the ball with a thin layer of clay.  Roll out 2 small pieces and shape into arms with mittens and attach to the body.  Pinch off 3 tiny pieces to be attached to the head as cheeks and nose.  Sculpt them best you can.  Form a cone for the hat.  With a needle make a hole in the tip of the hat about 1/2" deep. Let all dry for at least 24 hours or until entirely dry.

Paint the body with Sea Foam Green, paint the mittens dark blue.  Dapple white down the front and above the mittens for fur.  Dip end of brush in white and apply dots to the cap.  Paint the entire head in a fleshtone. Loosen some red paint and lightly apply to the cheeks.  Dip end of brush in black and make 2 dots for the eyes.  When dry, dip a stylus in white and apply a smaller dot to the right side of each eye. You can add eyebrows and highlight each cheek and down the nose with white paint.

Attached head to body with half a toothpick or a piece of wooden skewer and some hot glue.  Tear off some wool roving and make beard & mustache and hair.  Glue all in place.  Now add the hat.  Cut a piece of the chenille stem and curl one end.  Glue the other end into the hole in the tip of the hat.

Paint the entire Santa and the reindeer with Sparkle Mod Podge to give the pieces some sparkle.

With SnowTex, add a little snow to the top and the ends of the branches on the trees.  Add ephemera to the top of each tree as a topper.

Glue Santa, trees and reindeer to the stand. Tuck in some garland and glue in spots to keep in place.  Glue ornaments on top of garland wherever it suits you.

I applied SnowTex around the trees to give the effect of drifting snow.  I thought this was a nice touch.  I also added a little glass owl to the tallest tree.  You can decorate your wonderland any way you please.

A beautiful site; we're happy tonight ...

Wintry Scene (In and Out of Frame)

I took a frame I had, removed the glass, added some Christmas scrapbook paper, bottle brush trees and ephemera.  This once empty frame is now bursting with a beautiful wintry scene using supplies I had on hand.

Supplies I used:

Frame w/glass removed.  Any size will do.  I used a 5' X 5".
Christmas scrapbooking paper cut to size of glass
Assorted ephemera (stickers, metal embellishments)
Small bottle brush trees
Aleene's Glittering Snow
Paper glue
Glistening Mod Podge
Crystal Micro Beads
Ribbon for hanging, optional

Assemble according to photos or your own taste.  I glued one of the trees below the inside of the frame and carried the drifting snow beyond the frame as well.  If you have any questions about this project, please feel free to email me.

Believe!

Snowy Pine Branch, Bird & Berries Swag

Simple to make and looks like you brought the outside in after a snow storm.  I saw a similar swag in a retail store for $30.00.  With my coupon, I went to Michaels and was able to get all the supplies I needed for under $20.00.  The snow was purchased from Wal-Mart.

Supplies:

2-4 pine branches, depending on how full you want the swag

Christmas picks with pine cones, icy branches and berries.

A bird of choice.  I used a Cardinal to coordinate with the berries.

Wire

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

1 can of snow

Cut the ends of the branches, if necessary, to eliminate the bulk.

Gather together and secure it with wire.  

Trim and wire all picks, if necessary.  Use the glue gun for smaller pieces.  Make a look with the wire and attach to the back for hanging.

When you have the swag assembled to please you, spray with snow, following directions on the can.  Spray heavier on the ends.  Let dry in between layers.

Hang over a doorway or a window and enjoy!

Don't forget to use your coupons for further savings!

Happy Holidays!