Category: Crafts

As I put away the remnants and reminders of crafty things from this Christmas past, I can’t help reminiscing about a bunch of mini holiday creations with a whole bunch of kitty cats, a few dogs, and some random animal critters like little piggies and penguins.

These motley animal figures weren’t Christmas-oriented. No sirree!  But I was doing mini craft gifts that required tons of imagination and a slew of Santas, a range of bottle brush Christmas trees in hues ranging from customary green plus red, pink and yellow. Oh, metallic gold trees, too!

Most of the “characters” were mail-ordered via Temu and a few had precise atmospheric traits or were clad in obvious costumes, as bakers, ukulele strummer, librarians, sushi-makers, pianists and even a cat chatting on an iPhone and another at an Apple laptop. Honest!

So sheer imagination and will power were key to  creating the vibes of a specific Christmas which became the was the season of funky gifts with an operative word and a theme and  sense of whimsy.

I didn’t photograph every one of the scenes but did snap a few, shared here as I say goodbye to Christmas 2025.  If you received one, lemme know your reactions.

These tree cards are colorful and easy to make. If you have wrapping paper scraps with Christmas motifs, it’ll cost you almost nothing.

Start with card-stock paper, and cut to desirable size; one 8 ½ x 11 sheet will make two cards.

I was in a creative mood today, so decided to whip out my scraps of Christmas wrapping paper and hand-cut three sizes, of differing designs and colors, for a tree top and two lower tiers to complete the tree design.

I used two-sided tape to arrange, shape and complete the tree motif, taping the three pieces to form the tree.

I always have sticker gold stars on hand,  so applied one to the tree top.

For a bit of a shimmer, I glued thin, silvery tree trim, in-between the paper segments.

I cut corrugated card scraps, to form the tree base, but you can use any kind of paper – plain or with appropriate design — to mount as the base.

You’ll need envelopes, of course; the required size: 4 3/4″ by 5 1/2 ” envelopes.

And here’s how the final products looked. (Above).

The individual tree was my favorite (inserted within text) from  today’s make-a-tree session.

And I’ve already mailed off seven or eight cards this month.

No matter how many Christmas pins I make, it never seems to be enough.

I’ve made hundreds and hundreds and hundreds more. Most were parceled out and mailed weeks ago.

The batches shown here were the last creations. With Christmas beckoning, I hope so.

Moral: No matter how many you create, there’s always a need for more.

So: More has arrived. And already shared.

I was somewhat joyous to see a Google magazine photo (above) of Christmas ornaments the other day. Not just ordinary Christmas ornaments, but downsized toys and scenic incrementals displayed in a lavish montage of wee ornamentals, suitable as toys but precious as a landscape of holiday décor to display.

For years now, I have been producing yuletide collectibles of larger proportions, a few eight to 10 inches tall and five or six inches wide. These are suitable for table centerpieces or displays on a desk or on a shelf.

This season, quite a few of my creations have been considerably smaller.

And with reasons.

A lot of the recipients reside in senior residences, where space is precious and minimal. A large piece takes a lot of space, so reducing the dimensions make sense.

So, I’ve been on downsize mode this season. My larger small ornamentals are 2 ½ by  2 ½  inches in size. They require smaller boxes to mail. The scenics still have holiday cheer, but tinier, and cute as hell. So it’s possible to downsize, without sacrificing.

This all becomes a factor of cost;  back in the day, it used to  be that a tiny box with pins and a modest size ornament might have cost $1.99 to $2.25. Nowadays, a comparable mailing requires anywhere from $7.99 to $9.99. Won’t reveal the estimated costs of shipping stuff, but my mailing list has mushroomed to perhaps 80 to 90 recipients, nearing 100.

Shrinking the mailing list so far is not an option; appreciate the warm responses every year.