Tell Me A Story: Christmas Craft

Showing posts with label Christmas Craft. Show all posts

Sunday, December 13, 2015

NAUGHTY OR NICE

Mary Marcia
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS:

NAUGHTY OR NICE?

Santa Claus came to our house on Christmas Eve when I was a little girl. I never saw him, but I know he came...because he left presents for my sister, Gloria, my younger brothers: Bret and Terry, and for me under the Christmas tree.

Presents from Santa were the only ones not wrapped.

We opened our gifts on Christmas Eve, and then, in Bush Family Tradition, our entire family dressed up in our new clothes to take communion at the midnight service at the Liberty Methodist Church in Liberty, Missouri.

My first child, Kristin, was born in April 1972, and I assumed when Christmas Eve rolled around, Santa would leave unwrapped presents for her under our Christmas tree.

My husband, Ed, assumed that Santa would leave wrapped presents under our tree, and Kristin would discover them on Christmas morning - in keeping with his Norwood Family Tradition.

We negotiated a compromise: Santa left unwrapped presents on Christmas Eve. We talked about the "Fun Christmas" and the "Real Christmas." We read the Christmas Story from the Bible in Luke, Chapter 2, and then opened most of our gifts on Christmas Eve.

Santa returned under cover of darkness to leave little gifts and candy in stockings on the mantle - so our daughter, Kristin, and our son, Benjamin (born in 1976) had something special on Christmas morning.

Our system worked until 1979, when our son, Ben, was three years old.

"I don't believe in Santa Claus," Ben announced.

"I do," said seven year old, Kristin.

What's a mother to do? And a Christian mother at that!

I prayed.

I asked other mothers and grandmothers how they handled The Santa Claus Question at their house.

I searched the scriptures, and I looked up Santa Claus in the encyclopedia. (This was back-in-the-day before Wikipedia.)

"Santa Claus was a real man. His name was Saint Nicholas," I proclaimed. I showed Kristin and Ben his likeness in the World Book Encyclopedia. "He was born in 270 AD and he died on December 6, 346 AD. He was the Bishop of Myra, in Lycia, which is now part of modern-day Turkey. He loved children and gave them secret gifts, like putting coins in their shoes that they left out. He became the model for parents who give gifts in his name at Christmas."

"Santa Claus died?!!!" Kristin gasped.

"So you and Dad do put all the stuff under the tree and in our stockings?!" asked Ben.

ME: "Yes! But it's not your job to tell any of your friends about this. It's up to parents to decide what they tell their own children."

A few days later our family met our friends, Guy and Glenna Hinton, and their four-year-old daughter, Janalyn, at Pizza Hut. The adults sat together. Kristin, Ben and Janalyn sat nearby at the kids' table.

Janalyn's voice rang out in disbelief:

"What did you say?"

Kristin tattled:

"Ben told Janalyn that Santa died."

Janalyn pulled herself together -

not wanting to appear to have missed the big news:

"That's okay, Mrs. Norwood.

I heard that Santa was sick.

I just hadn't heard that he died."

How do you handle

The Santa Claus Question

at your house?

When do you open presents?

Christmas Eve?

Christmas Morning?

Marcia's STORYTELLER Gift Project:

Homemade Slice 'n Bake Cookies

Prepare dough ahead.
Roll into log.
Wrap in Plastic Wrap or Waxed Paper

Chill (or Freeze) up to two weeks until needed.

Slice 'n Bake Refrigerator Cookies

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://tipnut.com/refrigerator-cookies/

Wrap It Up

I sewed simple bags from cute Santa fabric,

and put the slice and bake chilled logs inside.

If you don't sew, just purchase bags

made for wine bottles for your cookie logs.

Add gift tags/cards with directions for slicing and baking.

I painted Santa faces (with acrylic paint)

on wooden spoons,

and used Snow-Tex to add texture on Santa's beard.

All supplies should be available

at craft stores like: Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and JoAnns.

Snow-Tex

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cgi?Snow-Tex

I painted and glued on a wooden plug for Santa's nose.

Wood Plugs

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://www.mcfeelys.com/search.aspx?q=screw+plugs&src=M8YBSCW&ef_id=UcDt3QAAAS4@QCbq:20131208001804:s

Don't forget to add gift tags/cards

with directions for slicing and baking.

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and invite a friend!

Mary Marcia
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Thursday, December 4, 2014

CUSTOM CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT CARD

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas!

I think about you all the time,
and LOVE you more each day.

Merry Christmas!

GOD Bless Your Dreams!

Create Custom
Christmas Ornament Cards!

I photographed this big, beautiful, red ornament
at Menards in Osage Beach, Missouri.

This photograph would make a great cover
on a Christmas card - all by itself -
but look what else you can do!

I used Microsoft Publisher, and added
family photos and text to create custom graphics.

Hint: ADD TEXT
You can do the normal
"Draw Text Box"
OR
Go to "Insert" tab and click on "Word Art"
to add multi-colored text.
To change the text, RIGHT CLICK
on the text and find the "ABC" to edit text
in the top little box. Move mouse over
other options in the little box to
change shape of text and other options as well.

Granddaughters Megan Jewell and Emily Grace. Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Hint: When resizing photos
HOLD DOWN on the "Shift" key
the entire time as you "pull" the photo
to a larger or smaller size
- so the image does not distort.

Daughter Kristin & Son-in-law Dave, Grandchildren: Emily, Joshua & Caleb. Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Hint: Picture Tools/FORMAT tab
(TO change the way text wraps around objects)
Click on "none" if you want no text wrap.

SAVE FILE

I saved each graphic two ways:
1) as a Publisher file,
and
2) did an additional "save as" in a jpg file.

Grandson Joshua (High School Civil Air Patrol). Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Grandson Caleb. Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

Granddaughter Emily Grace. Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

I imported and cropped each jpg file
into a new Microsoft Publisher page,
to create this Christmas family collage.

Again - I saved this design two ways:
as a Publisher file, and did another
"save as" in jpg format.

These are great designs
to post to facebook, and email to friends.

Have copies made for cards:
Email jpg files to
your local Office Depot,
or copy them at home
to create beautiful Christmas cards.

Optional:
Print and cut out ornaments,
to make actual ornaments
for your Christmas tree.

Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

They are just SO much fun to create!

Imagine the possibilities!

Our Puppy Pack!

Pearl Ming Zhu Norwood (Rescued Peek-A-Poo)
Daisy Duke Norwood (Rescued Chinese Crested/Chihuahua)
Tilly Hickman Norwood (Shi-Poo)
Izzy Belle Norwood (Rescued Schnoodle)

We adopted three of our puppies
through our friends at LL Dog Rescue.

https://www.facebook.com/LLDogRescue


Our newest puppy: Tilly! Copyright 2014 Marcia Norwood

M e r r y C h r i s t m a s !

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often,
and invite a friend!

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

http://tellmeastory-marcia.blogspot.com/

Saturday, December 7, 2013

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS: NAUGHTY OR NICE

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS:

NAUGHTY OR NICE?

Presents from Santa were the only ones not wrapped.

My first child, Kristin, was born in April 1972, and I assumed when Christmas Eve rolled around, Santa would leave unwrapped presents for her under our Christmas tree.

My husband, Ed, assumed that Santa would leave wrapped presents under our tree, and Kristin would discover them on Christmas morning - in keeping with his Norwood Family Tradition.

Our system worked until 1979, when our son, Ben, was three years old.

"I don't believe in Santa Claus," Ben announced.

"I do," said seven year old, Kristin.

What's a mother to do? And a Christian mother at that!

I prayed.

I asked other mothers and grandmothers how they handled The Santa Claus Question at their house.

I searched the scriptures, and I looked up Santa Claus in the encyclopedia. (This was back-in-the-day before Wikipedia.)

"Santa Claus died?!!!" Kristin gasped.

"So you and Dad do put all the stuff under the tree and in our stockings?!" asked Ben.

ME: "Yes! But it's not your job to tell any of your friends about this. It's up to parents to decide what they tell their own children."

Janalyn's voice rang out in disbelief:

"What did you say?"

Kristin tattled:

"Ben told Janalyn that Santa died."

Janalyn pulled herself together -

not wanting to appear to have missed the big news:

"That's okay, Mrs. Norwood.

I heard that Santa was sick.

I just hadn't heard that he died."

How do you handle

The Santa Claus Question

at your house?

When do you open presents?

Christmas Eve?

Christmas Morning?

Marcia's STORYTELLER Gift Project:

Homemade Slice 'n Bake Cookies

Prepare dough ahead.
Roll into log.
Wrap in Plastic Wrap or Waxed Paper

Chill (or Freeze) up to two weeks until needed.

Slice 'n Bake Refrigerator Cookies

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://tipnut.com/refrigerator-cookies/

Wrap It Up

I sewed simple bags from cute Santa fabric,

and put the slice and bake chilled logs inside.

If you don't sew, just purchase bags

made for wine bottles for your cookie logs.

Add gift tags/cards with directions for slicing and baking.

I painted Santa faces (with acrylic paint)

on wooden spoons,

and used Snow-Tex to add texture on Santa's beard.

All supplies should be available

at craft stores like: Hobby Lobby, Michaels, and JoAnns.

Snow-Tex

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://www.decoart.com/cgi-bin/Products.cgi?Snow-Tex

I painted and glued on a wooden plug for Santa's nose.

Wood Plugs

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://www.mcfeelys.com/search.aspx?q=screw+plugs&src=M8YBSCW&ef_id=UcDt3QAAAS4@QCbq:20131208001804:s

Don't forget to add gift tags/cards

with directions for slicing and baking.

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and invite a friend!

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Monday, December 2, 2013

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS: CLIPBOARD CRAFT PROJECT

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS

CLIPBOARD CRAFT PROJECT

Are you looking for a creative way

to package cookies/treats?

Try a CLIPBOARD as a base!

I found this idea in Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Publications: Food Gifts.

CLICK each photo to ENLARGE.

GATHER SUPPLIES

Clipboards (I found normal size clipboards at one of the Dollar Stores, and smaller ones at Office Depot)
Acrylic Paints (Hobby Lobby)
Paint Brushes (Art brushes for details)
Stencil Brushes (Flat bristles on the bottom of the brush)
Stencils (You can paint freehand or use stencils as a base and then add details.)
Water
Paper Towels
Scrapbook Paper (To put under treat bags)
Ribbon/Decorations (To Tie on Clipboard)

My granddaughter, Megan Jewell, asked me to paint a raccoon on her clipboard. I added a monogram "M" (made from pipecleaners) and jingle bells for decorations.

You can use clear plastic bags to add treats to the clipboard (as in the magazine example above).

I purchased colorful Sleeves/Envelopes (normally used for CDs and DVDs) with clear windows to put the cookies/treats in.

Mini Clipboard

Pipecleaner Monogram
Mini-Evergreen Floral with Braided Cording
Sleeve/Envelope for Cookies/Treats

I added a brownie treat to Ben's clipboard.

We will make homemade SUGAR COOKIES, and add them to some of the clipboards. I will add my mother's and grandmother's SUGAR COOKIE recipe in an upcoming blog, along with photos of our Christmas cookies.

STENCIL Names or Phrases

Use Paper Plate as Paint Palette.
Add a drop or two (very small amount) of Acrylic Paint, and blend on palette.
Dip STENCIL BRUSH into paint.
Dab STENCIL BRUSH with paint on to paper towel to remove some of the paint.
You almost want to have a dry brush to stencil.
Too much paint on the brush will push the paint outside or under the lines of the stencil.

Place the stencil on the clipboard.
Hold or tape the stencil in place.
Dab/Stipple the paint up and down (almost a dry brush technique).

HOW TO STENCIL

CLICK on the link or COPY & PASTE the link in your browser:

http://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?p=how+to+stencil


I use Acrylic Paint and an Artist Brush to add Details. Copyright Marcia Norwood

Start with a STENCIL, and then add details.

Have fun!

Take care of your brushes after painting.

Wash under COLD water. (Hot water will loosen glue inside the brush.)
Add a little bit of dishwashing liquid soap to the palm of your hand and gently clean the brush with soap and water.
Never leave a good brush in the water tub.

This is my favorite new project for Christmas 2013.

I'm always looking for new ways to

package my homemade goodies.

Imagine the possibilities!

Thanks for stopping by!

Come back often, and invite a friend!

Marcia Norwood
America's STORYTELLER
Telling Untold Stories in Photographs, Prose and Public Speaking

Tell Me A Story

TELL ME A STORY

Sunday, December 13, 2015

NAUGHTY OR NICE

Thursday, December 4, 2014

CUSTOM CHRISTMAS ORNAMENT CARD

Saturday, December 7, 2013

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS: NAUGHTY OR NICE

Monday, December 2, 2013

2013 JOURNEY TO CHRISTMAS: CLIPBOARD CRAFT PROJECT

AMERICA'S STORYTELLER, Marcia Norwood