Over the years I have amassed a large collection of miniature Christmas items. I keep thinking I am going to create a Christmas shop, but so far, no.

THE CHRISTMAS HOUSE THAT ISN'T ....

Most of the furniture pieces you see in this Christmas Miscellany were intended to go in a Christmas house, which I never finished. If you wonder why, go to the Beds and Linens pages and you will find out.

During the holiday season these items are usually displayed in the curio cabinets in my living room, as well as on table tops, in bookcases, etc.

THE CROOKED CHRISTMAS CABINET

It's funnny; I hadn't noticed how crooked this little display cabinet is, until taking these pictures. Oh, well ... when using such inexpensive pieces of furniture what can I expect?

This goose with a wreath around its neck resides atop the cabinet.

Here's a closeup of the top two shelves with the reindeer just taking off in flight...

and Santa waving, "Come back! I'm not ready yet!" while the snowman looks on. Because these figures are so tiny and so light, they were always toppling over when I tried to arrange them on the shelves. I cut very thin clear plastic to shelf size, glued the figures in place, then slid the plastic onto the glass shelves.

This technique is very helpful when filling cabinets, bookshelves, hutches and the like.

This little angel is made with an upside-down clay pot, a wooden bead, bunka hair, and snips of lace for wings.

On the bottom shelves we find a fruitcake tin made from a wooden disc covered with shiny Christmas ribbon and a sticker on the lid. The Fimo sheep is one of my earliest efforts after seeing a similar, much-better one at a show.


THE CHRISTMAS DESSERT TABLE

Here are a few of the Christmas dessert items in my collection; most are gifts. Unfortunately, in the early days I didn't think to write down who gave what, and now don't recall who made certain things. I re-covered the stool. Its pointed edge skirt is decorative bias tape.

These were all gifts at one time or another from then-club members. The table runner is made with embroidered cotton Christmas ribbon.


The candy tree was made by my friend, Sally Ferguson. The gingerbread house in the center was a gift from my friend, Dorothy, who used to have a shop in her home; I made the one on the right. The white cake with marzipan has now been moved to a Christmas party table in a setting that occupies a spot on my kitchen china cabinet.

THE EGGNOG TABLE

This sideboard table is set for a holiday snack. The green braided rug is from Sadie Ludeke.

I saved up to purchase this Santa punch set in my early days when I didn't have much to spend on minis. It is filled with eggnog (Tacky glue mixed with ivory paint), with real nutmeg sprinkled in. The plates and napkins are paper. The sliced coldcuts are from early canes, purchased by the stick. I made the rolls; the gingerbread cake is a later small tree ornament.

The Santa candle, the coldcuts, rolls and gingerbread cake also now appear in the scene mentioned above. I will need to re-do the concept of this eggnog setting.

Here's the second of those Santa candlesticks in a shelf of a living room curio cabinet for Christmas 2010.

THE CROWDED HOT CHOCOLATE TABLE

I used to decorate my mother's display lamp for the holidays. (See Mother's Display Lamp)

One addition for Christmas was this little table made on a paper cup base.

I believe this table could stand to have a slighter bigger piece of glass! I wanted to include mugs with the names of my two sisters,as well, but it did make it a bit crowded. The marshmallows in the hot chocolate are made from tiny balls of styrofoam.

Here's another use of one of those gingerbread ornaments, also. The small dessert plates are paper, and the napkins are cut from the corners of single-ply Kleenex. I used a red pen to draw on the ribbon trim.

THE NUTCRACKER TABLE

I have a weakness for skirted tables. Here's another one, made on a cut-down frozen orange juice can. The red snowflake-design seats of the chairs are cut from embroidered Christmas ribbon. Another glass top allows room to display a set of table mats and napkins that were a gift from my friend, Pat Jones. The little framed sign at the back says Let It Snow.

One year I moved this table and one of the chairs to a setting in a glass box with mirrored back. One nutcracker resided in the display lamp watching over the Victorian tree, and the flower arrangement later sat on a Bespaq table in a dome scene.

THE DEER COLLECTION

During the holidays, this grouping of deer occupies a glass shelf in the top of one of the curio cabinets which hang in my living room (see Miscellany pages).

These moose like to join the grouping. The smaller fellow at the front was made from clay. I think he was originally a pencil topper.

The larger twig deer was purchased. I made the small one in a round table workshop with Pete Steele.

This little wood block deer was a gift from one of my grandsons. Its antlers are made of wire.

Here's another one of those moose that snuck in. This happy fellow is about half an inch high.

Here are some inexpensive plastic deer; before and after painting. I used deer like this for my grandson Joseph's first Long-Distance project in Grandchildren's Projects.

Well, I have to admit it. I made several of these goofy little deer as favor gifts for one of our club Christmas parties. He's made with wooden beads, paper, a red bead nose and a bell on a red ribbon at the neck. He's a little over half an inch tall.

My disrespectful husband calls him my doggy-deer.

THE RIDING TOYS COLLECTION

These are a few of the toy horses in my collection. The spotted pony is a wooden tab-and-slot piece that I think came with the Greenleaf set used for the Christmas furniture. I always intended to go back and give him eyes, a mane and a tail and some reins, but somehow never did.

These old-fashioned riding toys are made of heavy painted metal. They are tree ornaments; I just haven't gotten around to cutting off their hooks yet. Isn't it terrible how one puts things aside to do later, and then never does?

NOTE: December 2012:

Maybe I won't cut off those hooks after all ...

Dottie in Tucson wrote in to CAMP online minis group about her daughter taking her old special tree ornaments and putting them on a wreath. I have already placed my collection of wooden rocking horses (that i used to hang on the tree) on a wreath, and when I read Dottie's email I thought, Aha! Maybe I will make a box to go inside that wreath and put all these riding toys in it, or something ...

ODDS AND ENDS

The Christmas doll and the Christmas fairy are made with painted paper clip bodies and wooden bead heads. The doll's dress is satin ribbon; her sleeves and hair bow are silk ribbon, and her hair is embroidery thread. The Christmas fairy's dress is a flower petal, her hair is bunka, and her wings are cellophane.

Christmas 2010 she apparently flew into a shelf in one of the living room curio cabinets and landed atop a zebra table by Alice Zinn.

I made little brooms as my little club gift gifts one year. I was just learning to make silk ribbon bows.

The stocking on the left was a gift from Page Deerman; the one on the right was made by Josefina Allen, who also made the Christmas ornaments further down in this section. She actually stitched my full name! Both of these stockings are about two inches tall.

This little tabletop tree was a gift from my friend Sandi many years ago.

I can't recall where I got these little figures; they may be hand-sculpted. Bunka was used to make Mrs. Santa's hair and added to the fur trim on their clothing. They are a little over an inch high.

This little wooden reindeer planter was from my friend Patsy McNally who moved from El Paso several years ago. I added his bell and made the poinsetttias from hand-cut paper. Their centers are model railroading floral foam.

He travels from one place to another. Here he is in the bottom of one of the living room curio cabinets for Christmas, 2010.

I purchased these little wooden pieces at a Christmas bazaar. They are about two inches tall.

And that's not even remotely half of my Christmas collection! I really do need to make myself a shop, or a Christmas house.

CHRISTMAS PACKAGES

For years after Christmas as I put away leftover gift bags, wrapping paper and Christmas cards, I debated about what to keep and what to throw away. Usually I wound up saving little bits and pieces that were "too good" to throw away, but never seemed to use them again for full-size packages. Finally, I got a bit smarter and used these bits and pieces to wrap mini packages while I watched TV.

Here is the latest crop of packages; the largest is probably about 2 inches; the smallest less than an inch.

The cards are details cut from full-size Christmas cards or holiday catalog pictures, etc.

The silver box and the snowman box on top of the larger box were a dollar store ornament; I cut away the hanging ribbon. The cube gift box on top was from a funky thrift shop necklace that yielded a multitude of square and round beads of different sizes. Several packages in this grouping utilized these beads.

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