You Can't Beat Three Decades Of Joy

Shown in the picture above is a silk floral Christmas decoration that I love and which has been gracing our kitchen counter for 7 years.  Of course, there is a story associated with its' creation....  lol

Back in 2014 hubby surprised me with a different kind of natural flower arrangement.

It was a beautiful red and white roses, carnations and mums arrangement in the most adorable container - a Christmas bulb with top included. The natural flower arrangement was filled with red roses, red carnations, white mums, ribbons and greenery.

I loved the arrangement and the container so much that I decided that once the natural flowers died I would re-create it with silk floral. Surprise! Surprise! lol

I thought it would be a lovely Christmas floral decoration that we could take out year after year. That's the beauty of silk floral - it doesn't die off and can be used again, and again, and again.  And, every year when we did it would bring back a memory of the original gift given with love.

So, when Michaels had all their Christmas silk floral on sale after the holiday I decided to buy enough silk floral to re-create the arrangement.  However, the shopping trip didn't quite go as planned.  Here's what happened:

I wanted to get red roses, red carnations, and white mums along with greenery and some sparkly pieces.

You always know that when you buying silk floral for any arrangement that you're going to buy more silk floral than you actually need to create your piece. And, I, for one, always buy much more than I need as I like my silk floral arrangements to be full.  What a surprise! lol

So, I bought a few silk floral sprigs. Okay, make that several sprigs...... Okay, make that many more than I needed to re-create this piece.

And, of course, they didn't have any white mums so I had to substitute white roses, white carnations, and white poinsettias. I also bought some red poinsettia as I wasn't sure whether I would like them better than the red carnations when creating my piece.

They also didn't have the evergreen sprigs I wanted so I had to substitute a few other greenery sprigs. Okay, make that may other greenery sprigs.  Okay, make that many more than I needed to re-create this piece.

And, of course, I had to get a few Christmas sparkly pieces - just in case I wanted to add them to my arrangement. So, of course, I ended up buying way more than I needed.

In looking at the cart hubby said, "You need all that?" I, of course shook my head - yeah! lol

Remember, I said, you never know until you're creating your piece exactly what's going to look right and I like my pieces FULL. So, for sure, I needed all of this.

Hubby, of course, is on to this ruse and knows I always buy way more than I need and always have more than one arrangement in mind.

Besides, it was all on sale - or so I thought.

Well, when we went to pay the cashier said the red roses and white roses weren't Christmas floral so they weren't on sale. What?????? They look like Christmas flowers to me.....

And, they were with the rest of the Christmas floral. The whole floral department was, in fact, filled with nothing but Christmas floral - how could these not be on sale?

Half the store was dedicated to Christmas floral for heavens sake......

Needless to say, there was already a long line of impatient customers forming at the registers (or should I say foaming at the mouth) as the cashier had been ringing up all the individual sprigs I'd chosen for several minutes now.

So, after looking at hubby and giving him my sweetest "I'm sorry" look, we purchased them anyway at regular price (gritting our teeth) as I really, really wanted to use the big Christmas bulb holder and re-create the floral arrangement I absolutely loved.

And, as hubby well knew, I had another Christmas silk floral in mind that I really, really really wanted to create.  And, when I had my mind set.... well, you know how that goes... lol 

Needless to say I did re-create that floral arrangement with the silk florals I had bought sometime after the 2014 Christmas holiday season.  Every year since then it has proudly taken it's place on the counter at the far end of the kitchen. 

I love it there and I suspect it loves being there as it is one of the first silk floral arrangement you see when entering our house at Christmas.

There is no doubt that real flower arrangements always trump silk floral arrangements, due to their sheer natural beauty, but they do not last for years and, as a result, only supply joy for a short period of time.  

Some of the silk floral arrangements I have made have lasted for over 3 decades.  And, they always look good as new.  

Think about that. Three decades of joy.  

It might not beat mother nature's magnificent beauty but it does supply immeasurable joy year after year after year!  You can't beat that!

How I Made My Mixed Media Paper Cube Christmas Ornaments

If you're a crafter like I am sometimes you have good intentions and start something only to be distracted by a supply you found, which results in you starting another project, which results in lots of "UnFinished Objects."

For crafters these are known as UFO's and most of us have multitudes of these waiting to be finished.

Such was the case with some of the supplies I bought from Alphastamps.net a couple of years ago - 2"cube Kraft boxes.  I thought they might make cute paper ornaments for my Christmas tree.  

I imagined cheerful cubes with Christmas scrapbook paper and Christmas sticker embellishments, so I bought six.  They’ve been waiting to be created for several years now.

Back then I thought I'd create cube ornaments that I could decoupage with winter, Christmas, and woodland themed images to create adorable present ornaments.

Finally, this past year seemed to be the right time to finish this project.

I had a lot of fun making them.  They were so quick and easy to do I thought you might like to know how I made mine.

Supplies Needed:

2" Paper Cube Kraft Boxes from Alphastamps.net 

Scrapbook Papers - Winter Woodland Theme

Adhesive Stickers - Winter Woodland Theme

Chipboard Die Cut Stickers - Woodland Theme

Adhesive For Chipboard Images (Depending on the thickness of the chipboard you can use Avery paper glue roll on sticks, Alene’s Tacky Glue, hot glue sticks, double sided tapes, ModPodge, etc.)

Mod Podge - Matte

Brushes

Golden Light Molding Paste

Toothpicks

Cylinder Shaped Stretch Ribbon - Red, Green, Blue, and White (36" for Each Cube)

Scotch Tape

Acrylic Paint - White Metallic

Instructions: 

1) Assemble the cardboard cube and apply scotch tape to hold the top lid closed. 

2) Decide which scrapbook papers, stickers, and chipboard diecut stickers you want to use for each of the six sides for each of the cubes and set them aside.

3) For each cube cut six 2” by 2” squares of the scrapbook paper you have chosen for the first cube and make sure they will fit the six sides of your cube.  

4)  Brush ModPodge on the first side of your first cube and on the back side of the 2” by 2” scrapbook paper you have chosen for this side.

5) Press the back side of the scrapbook paper to the cube side and make sure it adheres.

6)  Do the same for the remaining five 2”  by 2” scrapbook squares you have chosen for this cube and adhere them to their respective side.

7) Brush ModPodge on the outside of the front side of each scrapbook square on the six sides of your cube. 

8) Apply the adhesive stickers you want to use to each side and make sure it adheres.

9)  Apply glue to the back of the chipboard diecut stickers you want to use and adhere it to the cube side you have chosen.  Make sure it adheres firmly.

10) Once you are happy with the scrapbook paper, adhesive stickers, and chipboard diecut stickers you want on each of the sides lightly brush ModPodge over everything to seal it and then let it dry.

11) You are going to use the Golden Light Molding Paste along all sides of the cube to hold the scrapbook paper edges securely.  Using a toothpick apply some of the Golden Light Molding Paste along all four sides of the top of the cube and let it dry completely (See Diagram #1).

12) Once you are sure the top has dried completely turn the cube over and apply Golden Light Molding Paste along all four sides of the bottom of the cube and let it dry completely.

13) Once you are sure the bottom has dried completely apply Golden Light Molding Paste to the four remaining sides of the middle of the cube and let dry completely.

14) Paint the white metallic paints over the dried molding paste along the edges making sure you don’t get paint on the scrapbook papers.

15) Once the metallic paint is dry apply another light layer of the ModPodge on the scrapbook papers and along the edges where you applied the molding paste.

16) Cut a 36” long piece of the ribbon and fold it in half so you have two 18” long sides.

17) Form a 4” long loop and tie a knot so each side is left with 14” See Diagram #2).

18) Position the knot in the center of the top of the cube and then tie the two sides around the cube like you would when adding ribbon to all sides of a gift box (see Diagram #3). 

19) Slide the two ends of the ribbon under the knot that is at the center of the top of the cube and then tie them tightly in another knot and then in a bow.

Congratulations! Your Christmas Ornament Cube Decorations are done.  

Hang them on your Christmas tree.

Here's a close-up of one side of three of the cubes I made...

And, here's a close-up of one side of the other six cube ornaments I made.

I have to tell you they looked great on my tree.  

I also created a free e-book for you showing how I made my Christmas Cube Ornaments.

How To Make A Christmas Cube Ornament Free E-Book

To view and download my free e-book please CLICK HERE. You'll be brought to Google Drive where you can view my free e-book. Then just download my free .pdf e-book by clicking on the down arrow in the top center.

For more information on all my free e-patterns, e-printables and e-books please CLICK HERE.

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Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

A Mixed Media Paper Sleigh and Happy Shopping Trip

When I first started making silk floral decorations I started with Christmas decorations and, specifically, started with metal Christmas decorated sleighs in two sizes: large and small.  

I have to blame my mother for this (lol) as we were on a shopping trip and happened to go into a Christmas Tree Shop.  She spotted the metal Xmas sleighs and told me she thought they might make cute decorations for the Christmas holiday season.  So, of course, I bought some.

In looking at the sleighs I thought they might be nice for decorations.  The big ones would be great for the floor and the smaller ones for table decorations.   I wanted to add florals, paper boxes, pinecones, etc. as decorations in the sleigh.  Of course, for some I added a Santa and toys.

Over the years I ended up dismantling the silk floral sleighs and, currently, have the empty metal sleighs in a box somewhere...lol  I would include a picture of them here as they are really cute, even when empty, but I'm not exactly sure where they are right now and what box they are in....lol 

In any event, when looking at the chipboard decorations I wanted to buy I spotted a small chipboard sleigh that I thought might be fun to put together.  So, I bought one and only one.  Now that is a little unusual for me as when I find something I like I usually buy more than one...lol  

This time I didn't.  I only bought one.

So, when I was looking at the Christmas chipboard decorations I wanted to make for this Christmas season I spotted the little sleigh and thought it might make for a cute table decoration.

I didn't want my sleigh to be traditional holiday red.  I thought perhaps an old fashioned burgundy metallic paint color would be nice and gray metallic paint color for the trim would be a nice compliment.

Instead of adding a little Santa I opted just for miniature paper/cardboard presents.  For the sides I added two red ribbon bows and to the front and back I added two chipboard Christmas decorations I had bought.

Putting the sleigh together was rather easy and really didn't take a lot of time, which pleased me to no end, as I had a lot to do this Christmas holiday season.  

In fact, it was so easy I thought that I should buy some more.  And, then I heard "Linda" in my ear and knew my beloved mother was telling me "one is enough!" ....lol

My Two New Mixed Media Christmas Houses

Given my love of houses and love of mixed media decorations you had to know that there was no way I would only create two house images for my Christmas decorations this year.

I'm not sure whether you will remember or not, but in September of 2021 I wrote a Linda's Blog post about how I had made the "Putz" chipboard beach house kits I had bought from AgedWithThyme Etsy Shop. Along with posting about the kits I also posted a little about what "Putz" houses were.  You know how I love history.... lol

In any event, I so enjoyed making the beach houses so much I decided to make more of the "Putz" house kits I had bought.  There were 10 kits left so I decided to make one a haunted house for Halloween and two houses for the Fall season.  The remaining 7 would be for the Christmas and Winter holiday season.  

Some of the kits were larger homes 3" x 2" by 4" and some were tiny 2" x 2" by 2" houses, which would be perfect as ornaments for the Christmas holiday season.

Well, when Christmas rolled around this year things got very busy and I was only able to create two Christmas house scenes.  The remaining 5 are still sitting as WIP's....lol lol They may be WIP's for a very long time.... lol

I decided that I wanted my two Christmas houses to look like chalets or little houses at the North Pole.  Maybe used by some of the elves or other thousands of workers helping Santa and Mrs. Claus with all the Christmas presents for the good boys and girls.  

I knew I would be making mixed media houses but given they were Christmas and winter snow scenes I knew I would be using lots of embellishments.  

I decided that I wanted my first Christmas house to look like a house at the North Pole with a chimney and icicles hanging off the sides of the roof and windows and with lots of snow.  I decided a combination of a red house with green chipboard windows and front door trim would be perfect as I envisioned that this is what most of the houses that the elves lived in at the North Pole would be.  

So, I picked a darker red and burgundy metallic paint for the house sections knowing I was going to paint the chipboard window trim, front door trims with a metallic Christmas green.  I decided to paint the chipboard icicles with a light gray metallic paint and paint the fencing with a medium gray metallic paint.

As I wanted to make the front door stand out a little more I opted to use a white scrapbook paper cover for the front door and misteltoe decoration instead of painting it green.

I had also decided to use a pine rectangle board as the base as it would make my house and scene a little sturdier.  As I was going to be using a lot of snow embellishments I decided to just paint the wood base on the top and bottom and all four sides dark acrylic green.   

As I was creating a little scene on a wood base I decided to add chipboard fencing around all four sides of the wood base and decided to also paint this green.

For this house I was using small window chipboard window trim frames, front door and trim frame and icicles which would be glued to the sides and front of the house and roof after I had painted it.  I opted to paper collage the roof with a dark sage green scrapbook paper and then glue the chipboard icicles to the house and roof.

As this was also meant to be a Christmas winter scene house I decided to paint the chimney the same darker red and burgundy metallic paint as the sides of the house.  

After putting the chipboard house together with the windows, roof, chimney and front door I then glued the bottom of the house to my painted wood base and proceeded to add the mixed media embellishments.

The embellishments I had in mind included paper scrapboard paper words and sayings, paper images, sticker images, Victorian Santa for the chimney, snowflake garland for hanging on the fence, silk floral reeds, silk floral leaves with burgundy berries, miniature cream colored sisal trees, ornate paper trims for the sides of the house, misteltoe decoration, metallic silver fringe and zig zag trim to decorate the sisal trees and bottom of all four sides of the fence.  There would also be a miniature Christmas wreath and minaiture reindeer. 

After all the embellishments were applied and set I added Aleene's True Snow throughout my scene and let it dry overnight.

Here's a view of the left and right sides and back of the first Christmas house:

The right hand side of the house.

The back of the house.

The left hand side of the house.

For my second Christmas House I decided that I wanted it to look like a chalet at the North Pole that Santa and Mrs. Claus might live in.  It, too would have a chimney but instead of icicles hanging off the sides of the roof and windows it would have a bright red painted chalet trim and lots of snow.  

I decided a combination of a green house with red chipboard windows and front door trim and red chalet trim would be perfect as I wanted Santa and Mrs. Claus's chalet to be a little different then the ones the elves lived in.  

So, I picked a darker green metallic paint for the chalet sections knowing I was going to paint the chipboard window trim, front door trim and chalet trims, and front door with a metallic bright Christmas red.  I decided to paint  the fencing with a the same dark green metallic paint as the chalet.

I had also decided to use a pine rectangle board as the base as it would make my chalet and scene a little sturdier.  As I was going to be using a lot of snow embellishments I decided to just paint the wood base on the top and bottom and all four sides dark acrylic green.

For this chalet I was using small window chipboard window frame trim, front door frame trim and chalet trim which would be glued to the sides and front of the house and roof after I had painted it.  I opted to paper collage the roof with a festive red and white candy cane scrapbook paper and then glue the chipboard chalet trim to the house and roof.

As this was meant to be a Christmas winter scene chalet I decided to paint the chimney the same red metallic paint as the sides of the chalet.   

After putting the chipboard chalet together with the windows, roof, chimney and front door I then glued the bottom of the chalet to my painted wood base and proceeded to add the mixed media embellishments.

The embellishments I had in mind included paper scrapboard paper sayings, paper images, sticker images, Victorian Santa for the chimney, festive red ribbon bow garland for hanging on the fence, bright red silk floral glitter reeds, miniature artificial tree roping garland for all four sides of the bottom of the fence, miniature green sisal trees, metallic wreaths for the back and front of the house, chipboard  candy cane cutout that I painted red and white, and rope trim to decorate the miniature green sisal trees.  There would also be a miniature ceramic Santa and Mrs. Claus out in the snow in the front yard. 

After all the embellishments were applied and set I added Aleene's True Snow throughout my scene.

Here's a view of the left and right sides and back of the Santa and Mrs. Claus Christmas chalet:

The right hand side of the chalet.

The back of the chalet.

The left hand side of the chalet.

I am always amazed at the amount of work involved in these little houses but the end result always pleases me and makes all the time involved worthwhile. I hope you would agree.

At this point in time I think I'm done with miniature houses for awhile.  They do take a lot of time to create and right now my focus has switched to faeries...lol  So, the miniature paper houses in progress will be put aside until I get the urge to create some more.  With me you never know when that will be...lol 

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Designed and Written By Linda Walsh

You Can't Have Too Many Christmas House Decorations - Or Can You?

After finishing my diorama I was in the mood for a few more house creations.   If you've been following my blog all these years you know I love dolls and houses.  So, I decided to finish another chipboard house image with a ledge on the bottom.  

This time I decided to create a little wintery outdoor scene with two chipboard deer, Victorian girl and bird images, a chipboard tree, chipboard fence, Christmas wreath with red bow, cream colored miniature sisal trees, paper curtains, Christmas present, scrapbook paper door and snow embellishments.

I started by putting my house and ledge together and then painting the front, back, bottom, and sides with a bronze antiquing stain. When that was dry I painted the window, top and sides of the house and top of the bottom ledge with black acrylic paint.  

When that was dry I cut out a scrapbook paper with wood panel imagery to fit the front of the house, leaving a cut out section for the window.  Then I applied mod podge to the back of the wood panel imagery scrapbook paper with a brush and pressed it to the front of the house to make sure it adhered.  When I was sure it was secure I applied mod podge to the front of the wood panel imagery paper with a brush and also applied the mod pod to the back and sides of the house to seal the scrapbook paper, black acrylic paint and bronze stain on the back of the house.

I wanted my house to have a curved front door with curved molding so I cut a piece of green scrapbook paper to fit the front of the house with a curved top allowing for a smaller section of red scrapbook to serve as a door with a curved top.  By gluing the smaller red curved piece to the front of the larger green curved piece the red would create the image of a door surrounded by green molding.

I applied mod podge to the back of the red paper door piece and centered it on the top of the green paper piece.  When that was dry I applied mod podge to the back of the green paper door piece and centered it on the front of the house where I wanted the front door to be.

I cut out a small Victorian girl image that I wanted to place outside the front door and tested her to see if her size would work for the front door.  It did so I added mod podge to the back of her image and centered her on the front door.

After everything was dry and I was happy with the placement I applied another layer of mod podge to the front of the house, front door, and little Victorian girl image.

Before proceeding with the other pieces of the front scene I cut out a double sided piece of scrapbook paper to serve as the curtains for my window.  After making sure it fit within the window frame in the back of the house I applied mod podge to the front of it to secure it to the window frame and then applied mod podge to the back of it to seal the paper and secure it even more to the window frame.

I had a chipboard tree and chipboard fence piece that I had sized to fit my little house scene.  I painted the front, back, sides and bottom of the two pieces with green acrylic paint and then sponge painted the front and back of the tree with white and metallic light gray paint.  After the pieces were dry I applied matte medium to the front, sides and bottom of the tree and fence pieces to seal them.  I did not apply it to the back of the tree or fence pieces as I was going to apply low temperature glue to the back to glue them to the areas I wanted them in my scene.

When I was happy with the sponge painting on the tree I used low temperature hot glue to glue it to the right side of the house near the window.  I set the fence piece aside.

I wanted to use two small deer chipboard pieces (one small and one larger) in my scene so I painted the front, back, sides and bottom of the two pieces with copper metallic paint and let them dry.  After drying I applied matte medium to the front, sides and bottom of the deer pieces to seal them.  I did not apply it to the back of the deer pieces as I was going to use low temperature hot glue to the back to glue them to the areas I wanted them in my scene.  

After my deer pieces were dry I used low temperature hot glue to glue it to the front of the green tree that I had glued near the window.  I set the small deer piece aside.

Next up were the small present and two cream colored miniature sisal trees I wanted to glue within the scene on the ledge.  I applied the low temperature hot glue to the bottom of each piece and then glued them where I wanted them on the ledge.

I had decided I wanted to put the Christmas wreath with red bow above the window and door but centered on the house.  After making sure the wreath would fit I applied low temperature hot glue to the back of it and secured it where I wanted it to be. 

Next I cut out two small paper images of birds that I wanted to use on the green tree and on the top of the wreath.  I applied mod podge to the back of the birds and placed them where I wanted them.  When I was happy with the placement I brushed mod podge on the front of them to seal them to the house and tree.

I glued the fence to the front of the ledge in front of the door with the low temperature hot glue and them glued the small deer to the front of the fence.

When I was sure everything was dry and the low temperature hot glue was set I applied Alene's TruSnow along the edges of the roof, top of the door and window, on the birds, wreath, tree, window ledge, sisal trees, Victorian girl, Christmas present, fence, and front bottom and sides of the house ledge.

I looked at my little house scene and decided it was so cute there was no way you could have too many Christmas decorations - or can you?  Nah!!!

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

Gotta Love Mixed Media Christmas Diorama's and How I Made Mine

For years I have been wanting to try a small diorama and finally had a chance to create one.

If you don't know what a diorama is the definition is as follows: a model representing a scene with three-dimensional figures, either in miniature or as a large-scale museum exhibit.

It's basically a miniature 3d shadowbox. 

That, of course, is right up my alley as I've been writing about the various cross-stitch shadowboxes I've either made or used over the years to finish my cross-stitch, needlepoint, and needle felted creations.  This time, however, I wanted to create a mixed media 3d collage type of shadowbox - i.e. diorama for the Christmas holiday season.

So, I started with putting together a chipboard box that measured 5 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 3 3/4". 

I had found some adorable Victorian children images that I wanted to use and a Victorian Santa image that I thought would work well with what I had in mind.

I had also found a chipboard fireplace cutout, chipboard sleigh cutout, and sisal tree that would be perfect for my scene.

After assembling the chipboard box I painted the outside and inside walls with black acrylic paint.  

After the black acrylic paint was dried I sponge painted the outsides with various green, red, and white acrylic paints, some metallic, some just acrylic.  

When the outside and inside walls were painted and dried I selected the scrapbook papers I wanted to use for the back wall, ceiling, floor and two side walls and proceeded to cut the pieces to size.  

I had selected a white paper for the ceiling, green polka dot paper for the side walls, solid green paper for the floor, and red and white striped paper for the back wall.   When the papers were sized properly I mod podged them to their respective sides.

I wanted the fireplace to be in the center of the back wall so I added a piece of the green polka dot paper to cover the back opening of the fireplace.  When it was securely in place I glued the fireplace to the center of the back wall with hot glue.

After the fireplace was done I cut a piece of 1/8" red/white striped ribbon to fit around the outside edge of the box and hot glued it in place.

For the fireplace I had a strip of pine wood paper that I wanted to use for the mantle as well as as pine garland border that I thought would look nice on top of the pine wood mantle.  After sizing both I brushed  mod podge on the backs of each and pressed them onto the mantle. 

I had also found a border strip of decorative bell, garland, and mistletoe that I thought would look good as a border along the top of the back wall.  After applying mod podge to the back of the strip I pressed it firmly in place.

I had two stocking images, three images of Victorian children, and decorative presents that I thought would look good on the mantle and in front of the fireplace so I cut them out and applied mod podge to their respective backs and then pressed them all in place.  

When I was happy with the way the outside walls and inside walls were I applied matte medium to seal everything.

After the matte medium was dry I sized one of the white sisal trees I had to see if it would be a good fit for my diorama.  It was so I glued it in place on the left side of the diorama with hot glue.  

Two decorative presents seemed a perfect decoration in front of the sisal tree so I glued them in place with hot glue.

There were only a few things left to do.  The first was to paint the front and back of the chipboard sleigh with two coats of burgundy metallic paint and, when dry,  glue it to the outside left side of the diorama with hot glue.

The second thing left to do was to cut out the Victorian children and Victorian Santa that I wanted to use on the outer edge of the diorama.  I was going to place the two children in front of the sleigh and the Santa on the border of the front right corner.  When I was happy with their placement I glued them along the border with hot glue.

I had two decorative ornaments that I also wanted to glue to the front of the sleigh.  One was a decorative chipboard sticker and the other was a decorative wreath.  Both pieces had glue on their backs but I didn't think it would be strong enought to adhere them over time so I opted to hot glue them to the front of the sleigh.

There were only three things left to do.  One was to cut two strips of metallic ribbon and fasten them into two small bows.  When I was happy with their size I glued them to the upper right and upper left hand corner of the front border with hot glue.

I had found  a saying that I liked which was "May you never be too old to search the skies on Christmas Eve" that I wanted to use on the top of the diorama so I applied mod podge to the back of the saying, pressed it onto the top of the diorama and then applied mod podge to the front of the saying to seal it.

Last but not least I applied Alene's True Snow along the top front edge of the diorama, along the bottom edge of the diorama, on the sleigh and wreath, on the bottom of the left and right outsides, and on the bottom right front corner of the box edge near the Santa.

After the snow was dried I took a look at my diorama to make sure I was happy with everything.  I was so I signed the back and pondered where I would put my new decoration this holiday season.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.

How I Made My Christmas Nativity Scene Mixed Media Art Picture

I know it's a little late to be posting about Christmas crafts but I just did  not have enough time to post these before - it was a busy Christmas season.

As you all know, Christmas is my favorite time of the year for decorating but I try really hard not to forget the real reason for the holiday.  As I was growing up the religious aspects of the Christmas holiday were always important for my mother and father.

I have to admit I love all the festivity of the season and always have but try very, very hard to remember what transpired that allows us to celebrate this holiday.  So, I try to incorporate some of the more religious aspects of Christmas into my home decorations and the nativity scene my husband and I have has always been one my favorites.  

It's a large wood stable nativity scene filled with china figurines and was the vocal point of a lot of our Christmas decorations for years.  Unfortunately, over the years it has been difficult for us to bring the heavy boxes up from the basement but that doesn't mean I don't think about it during the Christmas holiday season.  In fact, I think by not bringing it up I think about it more.

I've wanted to create a mixed media nativity scene art picture for awhile but never found scrapbook images I liked for this until this year.  I was lucky enought to purchase the "Echo Park - Silent Night Collection - 6 x 6 Paper Pad" from Scrapbook.com before the 6" by 6" pad was discountinued.  

I love the simplicity of the images above and thought they would be perfect for what I had in mind.

I wanted the nativity scene to be the focal point of this picture and wanted to sponge paint the background to represent a night time sky as I thought it would highligh the beauty of the holy night.  So, I sponge painted it with black, several shades of blue, and gold metallic paints. 

I decided to split the sponge painted background into two sections: the sky and the ground.  What I had for the sky was perfect. I just needed to add more browns and gold to the bottom of the art board to create the effect of the ground.  So, I added two different brown metallic paints to the bottom with my sponges.  When my backgound paint was dry I brushed matte medium on it.

To match the night time sponge painted background I decided to use a night time scrapbook paper as the background just for the nativity scene itself that would be the focal point of the picture.  The scrapbook paper had a wonderful north star image in it, which would be perfect for my scene.  

I put it in the middle of the art board, added the nativity figures and an angel I had cut out and when I was happy with their placement I added Mod Podge to the backs of the paper images and placed them where I wanted them. 

I had found paper with the words, "Let heaven and nature sing",which was perfect for the nativity focal point, so I brushed Mod Podge on the back of it and placed it where I wanted it in the sky within the center focal point. 

Then I sculpted a clay frame around it with Apoxie A & B sculpting clay.  I used stencils to create the impressions in the clay frame.  When my paper images and clay frame were dry I brushed matte medium on the focal point scene and hardened clay frame.  

Then I glued fiber reeds within the nativity scene to give the impression of straw around the manger. 

After the nativity scene was completed I added the paper images I had in mind for the sky and ground.  I wanted to use angel images in the sky and other nativity scene images like the Magi, the shepherd, the barn animals, the dove, and a small image of Joseph and Mary travelling that was in the 6" by 6" scrapbook pad. 

When I was happy with the placement of the various images I added Christmas holiday sayings that represented the religious aspects of the holiday in the sky and on the ground.

I couldn't help but put some of the lyrics from my all time favorite Christmas noel - O' Holy Night in the picture.

O Holy Night! 

The stars are 

brightly shining

It is the night 

of our dear

 Saviour's birth.

After I was satisfied with the placement of the paper images and sayings I brushed Mod Podge on the back of the paper and placed them onto the art board.  When they were set I brushed matte medium on all of them. 

Once all the images were set and the matte medium had been applied I placed the paper flowers, paper reeds, and wired silk ribbon florals and beaded reeds where I wanted them.  When I was happy with their placement I glued them to the art board with low temperature hot glue.

Finally, I added stabilo pencil shadowing around all the images.

My nativity scene picture embellishments included paper images, paper flowers, fiber embellishments, paper reeds, wired silk ribbon florals and beaded reeds, metallic paints, and stabilo pencil shadowing. 

When my picture was done I stood back and looked at it. I was very happy with the way my nativity scene mixed media art picture turned out and knew my mother and father would be pleased with it too.  I was pleased and hope you like it as well.

Copyright © 2004 - 2023 - All Rights Reserved - Written By Linda Walsh of Linda Walsh Originals and Linda's Blog. Linda is a doll maker and doll pattern designer.