Things are finally beginning to settle down around here. My father is improving daily. Little Bit and I took the day to do something she wanted to do. Nothing else, just what she wanted to do.
It was wonderful! We ate Christmas baking all day while Christmas music filled the house. More than anything else, she wanted to make a Christmas village together. So, we sat shoulder to shoulder, covered in a patina of royal icing having a ball and for the first time, I can say I’m in the Christmas spirit. Better late than never.
All we had was a box of graham crackers so we made do. We didn’t have what it took to wait for ginger-bread to bake and cool. We were inspired and ready to get started. We gathered supplies from outside for the cabin. A pine bark shingle roof and pebble chimney gave it the rustic look I was looking for.
I case you find yourself with a box of graham crackers and a hankering to make a village, let me give you a word of advice. Use a sharp serrated knife to trim the roof angles. Put all but no pressure on the knife. I busted several crackers before I figured this out. That’s why the church has a tin roof….
We made each house on a small card (paper plate bottom) before gluing the houses to the base.
We also used a hot glue gun to build the houses. We used royal icing also, but I have no problem cutting corners when it make things run smoother, and hot glue makes fast work of assembling houses.
I love Little Bit’s “Mayor’s” house. He was hosting the village Christmas party.
Cold gummy bears warm themselves by the fire-pit. Little do they know a few gummies gave their lives to make the flames in the fire and the Church’s stained glass windows. After a little trial and error we discovered the perfect amount of time to microwave a gummy before it turns to molten glass, then a quick trip into the freezer makes it crack easily.
I love this shot with Little Bit in the background having her glass of milk.
I improvised and used some tin-foil covered cardboard to roof the church.
The Mayor’s house has to be my favorite!
~Caroline
Loveliest village ever! How fun!! You are two creative gals! Happy New Year!!
Saw this post yesterday(?) but did not comment at the time. Good news about your father. Season’s Greetings to you and family.
I live in Canada (other end of the country from ‘The Art of Doing Stuff’), and we can see all that traffic above coming from the North Pole. NORAD is following it too.
“Tracking Santa in 2012 has become a major undertaking for Norad, with 1,250 volunteers on duty to provide updates to the public and media.
The tradition of a telephone hotline remains (1-877-HINORAD), but a countdown clock, videos and other information are also available on Norad’s website: http://www.noradsanta.org.”
We have REAL snow here! LOL The kind you have to shovel, while trying to avoid a heart attack… Won’t be gone until mid-March, or even later. Next week, we’re supposed to start fantasizing about gardening (in 3rd week of May)…
Lovely to see you back. Delighted to hear your father is on the mend. Many many thanks for all the effort that you put into your blog. Looking forward to seeing what ideas you have for us in the New Year.
Wishing you and yours a very Merry Xmas
Michael
The Wanna Be Country Girl Reply:
December 24th, 2012 at 10:40 AM
So good to hear from you Michael! Merry Christmas to you too and a happy New Year.
~Caroline