Holy Family

It was a beautiful Christmas and, like last year, I enjoyed making several miniature nativities to give as gifts.  The ones I made in 2010 included an angel, star, a “stable,” Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus.  This year, I kept it to just the 3 figures of the holy family––Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.  I made the change partially because it is much easier and faster to make 3 figures than 4+, but I also realized that the arrangement of 3 figures looks better too.

Joseph stands about 2 inches tall, just to give you an idea of size.

I would like to give a shout-out to Cheryl at a paper {life} (www.CardsbyCheryl.blogspot.com) who originally inspired the design with her own beautiful (and more comprehensive) nativity.

A Simple Quilled Nativity

I hope you and yours enjoyed a wonderful Christmas season!

In past years, I have included quilled snowflakes with many of my gifts; this year, I still gave some snowflakes, but also decided to attempt quilled nativities for giving.  I was very much inspired by a talented quiller/blogger named Cheryl from Cards By Cheryl.  The nativities were easier to produce than expected, it helps to keep the nativity scene simple!  Mine included the Holy Family and an angel—no animals, no shepherds, no wise men.  I also created the scene out of just 2 colors—ivory for Mary, Joseph, and the angel; white for the angel’s halo, Jesus, and the manger.  The white is meant to signify the divine nature of the 2 figures.  While I appreciate the symbolism, I think I will stick to ivory for the entire scene in future nativities.  The ivory is much gentler on the eyes and I think doing all the pieces the same shade will make it more aesthetically pleasing.  My favorite thing about the ivory pieces is that, from a distance, they kind of look like they are made of wood… very cool.  🙂

The “stable” is simply a triangle formed from card stock with the Star of Bethlehem poised at the peak.  Every piece of the nativity has been sprayed with sealant for added stability.

Happy 2011… and happy quilling!