The other day I was reading through Karen’s blog, Little Acorns, and I have to say how much I ADORE it! It’s so natural and I’m starting to realize that I want to replace my favorite Monte teacher blogger that I could so stalk with Karen. (Yes…she feels very safe 🙂 )
**I just went to double check the addy link was correct and dude…you HAVE to check out her felted dragon. I call DIBS! 🙂 ** (This was written up a few days ago but my laptops broke and I’m using Ben’s so look through for the dragon and the felted leaf girl. They’re TOOOO cute!…)
Well, anyways, the other night she’d made a nativity set outta the wooden people. I have tons of the wooden people ’cause the warehouse that sells them is just a 20 minute drive away and boy do I get in trouble over there. I loved what she had did and decided that Sunshine needed a colorful set too. We have a set hand carved out of olive wood from Israel and it’s beautiful but a bit limiting as it has a few animals and Mary, Joseph and Jesus but no one else. So, I grabbed my paints and my little wooden figures and started painting.
One thing that drives me up a wall is how so many (nearly all) nativity sets portray a white Holy family….not even a ‘just got back from Cabo’ white family but the ‘get yourself to the Mystic tanning booth and get some color on those legs you’re blinding people’ white family. Folks….Jesus was Jewish….and he was probably the Jewish that is more deep Brazilian tan than a touch of color of my Jewish American friends. Bluntly…Jesus WASN’T white! Stop making him WHITE! Seriously white Jesus is a pet peeve of mine. It’s like saying Martin Luther King Jr. was white and Abraham Lincoln was black. I just find it disrespectful to ignore a persons ethnicity. Anyways, I think I’m the only white girl in Ohio that doesn’t have a nativity of white Jesus. (Although I’d do a white Jesus if there was an Asian, Latin, Indian, etc. Jesus to go along with it.).
And, I’m back from my rant.
So, Karen made her nativity to look realistic. And, she did a beautiful job. It got me to thinking…I should make my own too so Sunshine can play and we could really reenact the Christmas Story.
With paints in hand I created this;
I also added a little drummer boy. I know he’s not a part of the nativity but I think he’s a beautiful example of giving with what we have and it being perfect. I think that is something that applies to all of us no matter our beliefs giving with our hearts is much more important than a big expensive gift. And so the little drummer boy is there too. He has a wee little drum that sits in front of him but I didn’t get a pic of it.
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African King, Indian Maharajah, and Chinese Emperor |
My Indian Maharajah wears an ’embroidered’ in gold kurta of deep blue and a turban with gold and black. He also shows he is not to looked upon sexually with his bindi of deep red. He also wears a goatee. I don’t know what a goatee is called in India but I’ve seen lots of our married Indian men friends with goatees…so he has a goatee.
My African King wears a purple dashiki with gold embroidery, a purple robe with edging in orange and gold on a cream background and an orange with gold ’embroidery’ kufi hat. He has no facial hair because I’ve never seen any image of African royalty with facial hair and I know no one who is African royalty so he’s clean shaven.
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Sitting on the window sill above the nature table. |
I’m TRYING to put an album link so you can see pics of the backs/more detail. Hopefully, you’ll see it on the sides. If not…anyone have a tut?
UPDATE: I figured out how to upload to both flickr and photobucket! Click here to see the back details.
Soo cute.
Thanks Aleshea! 🙂
~Honey
So cute! I love them! Thank you for popping them onto my Festive Friday linky 🙂
Honey, this is so beautiful! My words could never express how I feel about it. I wanted to do my own Nativity this year but didn’t. I’ll make sure I check back to this post when I’m ready to do this project.
Merry Christmas my friend!
Oh my goodness, these are amazing!! Absolutely beautiful! I am so inspired 🙂
Honey, they are beautiful! I love the idea and all the details you did on them – fantastic. It just made me want to make one set as well … but ..you know…. 🙂 so, we will steal the idea for continent boxes I guess :))))
Honey, sorry i can’t reply to your comment directly as your email doesn’t show up… 🙁
I didn’t make this one a bloghop that’s why there isn’t the code to post into your own blog… You can always put the link to the linky post itself at the bottom of your post…?
http://www.greatfun4kidsblog.com/2010/12/link-up-your-christmas-posts.html
Merry Day etc!
xx
love your Nativity scene. Thanks for sharing the adorable photos.
Hope that all is well and hope to catch up one of these days.
Colleen
This is SOOOOOOOO amazing, and so puts mine to shame. I am continually inspired by everything you do, and thank you thank you, for your lovely comments! I am stalking you right back. : )
I have to bring my nativity set home over the break as I made the grave error of not sealing it. It is pretty beaten up, but now that I have your extra inspiration, I can add a few more details after I touch up the original paint and before I seal it.
Excellent!!!!!
We’re having a snow day today, but alas we have no food so I am off to the grocery. Hope I don’t slide all over the road! Wish me luck!
I’m calling you later about that other thing . . . grrrr.
: )
Hey honey, I got your comment and I will link this up for you. LOVELY!!! I agree with you on the skin colour thing! I think one of the reasons Jesus is for everyone is cos he is BROWN. A mix of all the colours, black and white… melted down and summed up in Him. LOVE your nativity. Very cool. 🙂
xxx
Thank you thank you thank you for sharing your wonderful nativity set! For a long time, nativities with skin tone even lighter than my pasty-ness have kinda bothered me, probably the main reason I never bought one haha. But now I am inspired to make my own set ^_^ I love the rich colors and costumes, and the gold and silver of the angel! Happy holidays and blessings to you and your family!
Goodness, I want to paint a set now too! Okay, so it’s a LITTLE too late for this year, but I’m thinking about making a set of people to use with our morning bible studies. I’ve been looking at Joann’s at the little people there… how much can you get them for, and how expensive are they? Are they towards the KY/OH line, or in different direction from your house? I think we’re heading up that way in Feb or Mar.