Christmas Candyland

Welcome! My name is Sir Byron Braysalot and I will be your Master of Ceremonies on this fine Winters day. I have a poem I would take great pleasure in reciting for you... ahhemm (clears throat)

Over the river and through the woods,

to Candyland we go.

The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,

through the white and drifted snow.

Over the river and through the woods,

and straight through the Gingerbread gate,

we seem to go extremely slow,

it is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the woods,

to have a Sugar Plum Party!

Hey!!! How'd HE get in there?! Hear the bells ring, ting-a-ling-ding,

Christmas day is on its way!

Over the river

and through the woods,

trot fast my dapple gray,

spring over the ground

round the frozen pond.

We can't be late for our holiday date!

Over the river and through the woods,

oh, how the wind does blow!

It stings the toes

and bites the nose,

as over the ground we go!

Over the river and through the woods,

to meet a lovely lass.

We'll stroll a bit and walk

and then talk,

and yes, we'll marry real soon!

Over the river and through the woods,

to greet my handsome beau under the mistletoe.

I'll hold his hand and steal a kiss,

and no one else will know!

Over the river and through the woods,

past Candy Cane Forest,

and gingerbread houses

and lollypop trees,

we're traveling as fast as we can!

Over the river

and through the woods,

to see friends and family.

We'll drink some egg nog

and light a yule log,

then merry we will be!

Pardon me, but Sir Braysalot had a tad too much sparkling cider at the Sugar Plum Party and the honorable General Gumdrop and Lady Peppermint have graciously offered to drive him home. So concludes our little rhyme, I am Lord Squarechin and I do so hope you have enjoyed our little production! Isn't it amazing what a bit of smoke and mirrors can create?! Wishing you and yours a Wonderfully Happy Holiday Season!

AND don't forget to join Jo Packham over at the Where Women Create blog to get in on the ~EXTENDED 16 Days of Christmas Giveaway~! She's throwing quite an Extravaganza over there with lots of gifts and plenty of cheer! Pop in and leave a comment for your chance to win my "Creative Woman" print, plus there are only a few days left so hurry on over and enter for a chance to win one of the other Spectacular Giveaway gifts!

Like this! On the 15th day of Christmas WWC gave to me... A bundle of Patty Young's new fabric collection, Flora & Fauna and patterns too!

And on the 16th day of Christmas...

Where Women Create gave to you... a signed copy of The Farm Chicks fabulous cookbook ~ In the Kitchen ~

along with an assortment of gift tags and recipe cards, courtesy of Serena Thompson The Farm Chick herself and contributing Editor for Country Living Magazine! So hurry on over and enter to win, ALL of the giveaway gifts are open until the 16th at the stroke of midnight!

Lets Make Faces and the 12 Days of Christmas!

Lets make Faces...

cute little funny faces out of polymer clay. There are commercial molds available or you can easily make your own molds from antique dolls. Using the doll of your choice firmly press it into a flattened ball of polymer clay to create an impression.

Bake according to instructions on the package to cure your new clay mold. Let the new mold cool down entirely before using. Lightly dust the mold with a little bit of talc to help prevent the clay from sticking. Then roll an egg shaped ball using more polymer clay.

Press it into the mold, be sure to put the narrow end of the "egg" shape in first, this will help to make sure the clay goes

all the way down into the lowest parts of the mold like the nose and lips areas.

Gently pull the clay out and put the doll faces onto a baking sheet

and pop them into the oven, again following the directions on the package. Hey, they are looking a bit like cookies aren't they or maybe even some delicious Christmas candy?!

Anyway be sure to let them cool completely and then use acrylic paints to give them a nice healthy complexion. Sometimes its necessary to blend paint colors to get it just right!

Then go in and start to work on the details,

pretty blue, brown and green eyes,

lovely pouty lips,

eyebrows and eyelashes and some rosy pink cheeks, apply the cheek color with a Qtip so that you have a nicely blended edge.

You can use pastel chalks for cheek color or even try your own make up (blush) that works great too!

Spray them with a light coat of matte sealer. I like to create big batches of these funny little faces

and paint them with lots of different expressions and in different styles,

some with sweet expressions, some looking to the left and some to the right.

I generally prefer to paint them in an antique sort of style but of course you can paint yours anyway you like. Now, go crazy with them and have some fun, how many different uses can you find for them?! Tuck them into a fresh pine wreath or create angelic tree toppers, maybe they can become of few of Santa's little helpers!

I found these great antique clown die cuts a while back and wanted to copy the theatrical make up they are sporting.

I think they used to have a different idea of what a clown should look like back then! They always have a more mischievous

sort of look, but I like that so I duplicated it on one of my new little faces

and decided to make my own Christmas clown ornament complete with a lace umbrella to balance himself with! You can use your new faces for lots of fun things, I'm going to buy a bunch of silk flowers and glue these into the centers to create really unique ornaments to hang on the tree! Can't you just picture it, dozens of smiling faces staring out at you! They would look great in the middle of a pretty red silk bow too! And Hmmm, well you get the picture!

Meanwhile over at the Where Women Create blog... Jo is having a very special ~Twelve Days of Christmas~ giveaway and doing it in style! She is featuring a different prize EVERYDAY until the 12th of December at midnight! This wonderful Partridge in a Pear Tree ornament is by the amazing Patience Brewster
click here to check out her site!

Another wonderful giveaway prize is a mini trio of perfumes ( Pink Lotus, Cacao, and Blonde Tabac) by the divine Mandy Aftel!
Click here to visit Mandy's web site

And yet another spectacular giveaway prize, pottery by Jill Wiener of Earth Girl Pottery! Now that's a face!

Jill has graciously donated a second beautiful piece, this ripe for the picking Pear vessel!

A very pretty huge ribbon assortment from The May Arts, these will come in handy for wrapping presents!

A Gypsy Fabric Club packet from Pamela Armas, check out the sweet butterfly wings in there!

Bluebird Buddies, one of a kind art dolls by artist Christi Silacci, courtesy of Jen O'Connor and Earth Angels Toys!

Ooo, pretty!

Your choice of beautiful ribbon necklaces by the talented Beth Quinn!

A Vintage Trinket Necklace, handcrafted by Andrea Singarella!

Your choice of a quilter's Jelly Roll... or a quilter's Layer Cake...

Plus an assortment of sewing and quilting patterns from Fig Tree Quilts designer, Joanna Figueroa!

And on the 12th Day of Christmas... a twenty dollar store credit to Gussy's Etsy store, compliments of Maggie Whitley!

Guess what?! The 12 Days of Christmas giveaway over at the Where Women Create blog is SO FABULOUSLY popular Jo is extending it by a few more days! Today on the 13th day of Christmas Dara Dimagno has created THREE wonderful pieces, an ornament and two custom necklaces!

There are also pieces by KC Willis of the Lipstick Ranch and Trish Preston of Two Peas in a Pod, with lots more to come so be sure to check out the fabulous Twelve Days of Christmas Giveaway on Jo Packham's Where Women Create blog! Click here to join in the festivities!
Be sure to check back here and on the Where Women Create blog ~ Twelve (16) Days of Christmas Giveaway! I will be adding updates as the 16 day giveaway progresses!


And one last thing while we're at it, I will be adding new things to my Etsy shop (like these delightful bisque tea cups) every week so check back often!