This project started with the Ghost of Christmas Present earlier this year, and then I added many of my favorite characters to the collection since then. These are all the characters I have made this year. I hope to add to it in the following year. I hope I did them justice. Happy Holidays.

Last year she said to me that she was going to make a life size reindeer for next Christmas. I didn't think much of it. She joined a woodworking club this year and learned some new skills. I think it's pretty damn cool.

This year I wanted to learn to crochet - I designed these fish and added beaded embellishments. I am obsessed. 20 total, was super fun to develop the pattern/process as I went and chose unique colors for each one. It will be hard to part with them, but I am keeping a couple for me and my husband, until next year.

I used poplar for face and hands, aspen for the whites (I go back and forth between aspen and maple for white colors. Maple is easier to work with but aspen is a bit whiter), yellowheart for the eyes and padauk for the body.

I am not a crafty person, but I am so proud of these. They’re christmas gifts for family, so I can’t share them anywhere else. I think I’ve found my new hobby.

My dad always has the tub of cheese balls around for him and his grandkids, so I saw the ornament and wanted to get it but it was almost $40. So, I decided to make my own. The cost of new materials was less than $13 and they’re not perfect but I feel like if I made them again they would be. I designed the label in Bazaart, ran through Remini to add resolution, and printed it at Walgreens in wallet size. Orange acrylic in a giant ziplock and tossed the styrofoam balls til coated then laid in a parchment paper lined box to dry. Photos I just lined up on some packing tape, took a metal chopstick and put it over the flame of a stove burner, and melted a hole in the middle then used purple acrylic on the lid and then used polycrylic over that. I shoved the crafting string stuff in after tying it off for a loop, after adding in my “cheese balls” I gorilla glued the tops on.

Nothing fancy, but a fun project with my kids. I pruned a cherry tree and made 2 quick reindeer out of the branches. My sons (5 and 7) did the assembly. Used our Christmas tree for the antlers. They are just wedged in there so we can re-use with future Christmas tree branches.

It started out as one Christmas tree out of cups and lights and then every year things have been added. Now there's the Christmas tree, several meters of garlands, two large wreaths, one small wreath, a large snowman and a baby snowman plus the two deer!