Calico Snow Globe Baubles - Julie Ann

I'm feeling privileged to be here at Calico Craft Parts with Christmas on its way! If you hop over to the shop you won't be disappointed at all the magical, yuletide craft parts to help you create original decorations or add a unique look to a special gift. Even though I'm rather disorganised when it comes to Festive preparations, I can't resist the enchantment of frost and snow! The other day I was in a well-known eclectic Danish store when I spotted some DIY clear baubles. I instantly thought of the snow-globes of my childhood - miniature worlds I always longed to step into - and lo - the baubles found their way into my basket!

I aimed to create miniature scenes using moss, paper clay, iridescent flakes, a few twigs and some distress glitter with - of course - Calico Craft Parts. The Running Buck is a particular favourite of mine. I used him minus his head for a Frida Kahlo homage, but here I wanted to evoke one of my best loved carols: The Holly and the Ivy. My favourite line is 'The rising of the sun and the running of the deer...'

 I painted the buck on both sides with with white craft acrylic and then sprinkled him with a little of the distress glitter. His decorated collar is a piece of broken jewellery, touched with gesso.

 For the forest floor, I simply worked some Paper Clay in my hands until it was malleable and then shaped it into a mound and pressed it firmly into the bauble, so that it would stick, before leaving it to air dry. When the clay had dried out, using heavy gel medium, which dries clear, I adhered the moss, blobbing gesso here and there and sprinkling on flakes and glitter until my fingerss started to resemble those of a mossy glittery monster! When I was satisfied with the result I glued my buck and a twig to the mound, using a non-toxic super glue. Finally, I added white acrylic and glitter to the outside and dotted some white paint onto the surface of the bauble with a cocktail stick.

I was intrigued to see how one of my own little house shapes would look inside a bauble. This is just a basic house cut from a sheet of mdf and collaged with my art work. To add interesting detail, I've used a Calico snowflake and 2 of the mini doors.

Here's the reverse side. and below you can see the bauble where I used the same principle as with my running buck.

I like to imagine the cosy world inside this Christmas cottage!

I really enjoyed experimenting with these other Calico parts too: this hare running through the snow -

and the resting stag, which made me think of medieval Christmas music.

Here they all are, ready to be displayed on some curly hazel branches and - apart from waiting about 24 hours for the clay to dry - they didn't take long to make at all.

The days are growing busy as the Festive Season approaches, so thank you for stopping by today and taking the time to read this post. I hope the weeks to come will be not be too stressful for you, but full of friendship, creativity and fun!



List of Calico Craft Parts used in this project
Running Buck (small)
Running Hare (small) style 6
Resting Stag (small) style 14
Sheet of mini mdf wood door shapes
Sheet of mini mdf wood Christmas shapes - Snowflakes 1