Winter Crafternoons

           With so much plastic showing up at this time of the year our family has made a conscience effort to take a more natural and holistic approach to holiday decorating. As in keeping with our family mandate to live a more simple life we are very selective when it comes to decking out our apartment. Each year I try to find a suitable craft to make with my wee makers that will stand the test of time and hopefully one day show up on their own family trees.

           One of our favourite projects is painting peg dolls- we love to imbibe these blank folk with little personalities that match our own- our alter egos already exist in the form of gnomes gathering around the tree. This year we were so pleased to find a few new characters to add to the family at Collage Collage- a snow man and an angel. Such fun yet simple forms- the perfect canvas for our imaginations!

            We used Holbein Gouache to paint our winter folk- gouache is an opaque- matte paint- in this case an acrylic- very popular with designers. I love the way it lays down on the wood ornaments- giving each wee folk the perfect amount of colour with out overwhelming- the Holbein colours are fantastic.

 
             This is the extent to our new decorations for the year- two wee wooden ornaments that will not only hang on our tree but more than likely be played with well into the new year. They feel good in the hand- to be held and imagined with- and they come from a great place- the wonderful world of make believe. These wee folk are made to last- not just in materials but also in style- to be brought out year after year- the story of our afternoon crafting remembered and retold-  the energy- a family treasure.