Tuesday 23 December 2014

Camels at Christmas

Ever since I was a child I have been fascinated by Nativity crib scenes at Christmas. Even at the Winchester Christmas Fair a few weeks ago we saw one where children could dress up and be part of the scene. Since our early married days my Hb and I had a little set of plastic nativity figures we brought out at Christmas. Some years ago we bought a "stable" to display them in. Last year I "upgraded" and found a sweet wooden one, on 2 levels, more a barn!

Again over the years we have "upgraded" our plastic figures and bought beautiful carved wooden ones from the German Christmas markets in Cologne, Frankfurt and Nuremberg.

Our Nativity crib sits on the archway between the hall and our dining room and I love to look at it from where I use the computer and also when we sit and eat at the table.

 It's a tradition every year that my Dad cuts me some holly and greenery from his garden and I add it to my nativity scene.
Here are the steps where I placed my goats and chick. The sack, hay fork and rusted bucket were also bought at the German markets.
As you know I adore pigs, so of course I have to feature them in my little scene...I have male and female wild boar with a stripey piglet who stands with the shepherds. The shepherd at the back is one of my original plastic models.

I do not yet own any wooden kings. If we get back to a German market in the next few years these are what I will buy. I make do with my originals, which look fine. However we never had a camel in that set so for years I have put my childhood "walk down an incline" camel there. This really makes us laugh each year, He must be 45 odd years old and still "walks" if you put him on an incline.
Say hello to Humphrey...
I bet he made you smile ;0) 
I think even if we eventually get a wooden camel, Humphrey will still have to stand on the arch. He is part of our Christmas and when Daisy gets bigger she can have fun "walking" him down an incline.

My card today is my last Christmas card of 2014 and features another festive creature, the dear Robin.  I have used a sweet Nicecrane image which is available here. This vintage bird set has some great images and I made up some great last minute cards with them.



The holly die cut is Cheery Lynn and the sentiment is LOTV. The papers are ancient from my stash.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges;

Deep Ocean Christmas is all around
Creative Inspirations Christmas/New Year
Loves rubberstamps Holiday blitz anything goes
That craft place anything goes
Totally Gorjuss love at Christmas
Crafty Boots winter wonderland
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas whatever is still urgently needed for Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut's patterned paper anything goes
Papertake weekly pick a fave I have chosen a nice easy, anything goes one!

Tomorrow is my final posting for my countdown to Christmas as yes we will have reached Christmas Eve. I have a really special project to share with you so if you get a chance do pop back and take a peep.

Back tomorrow,

Bye for now,

Jane x

12 comments:

  1. Actually what made me smile was the look the king was giving the camel! :)
    Love your little nativity and your beautiful card for today too, the ️Robin is such a traditional Christmas image.
    Happy Christmas Eve Eve,
    V x

    ReplyDelete
  2. I also have a Nativity that I enjoy.. but it's a Jim Shore design which is quite interesting as each figure has a unique design on them. I got 3 camels for it last year and they look awesome with it! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

    ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉
    *M*E*R*R*Y* *C*H*R*I*S*T*M*A*S*!*
    ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉ ❉

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love your Nativity Set, my favourite bit has to be the camel, he is wonderful.

    Faulous traditional image on your card with the pretty robins and your lovely backing paper. Thank you for joining in the fun at Crafty Boots Challenges.

    Dionne

    ReplyDelete
  4. What's Christmas without a little fun? Wishing you and your loved ones all the joys of the season! :o)

    ReplyDelete
  5. A lovely nativity scene, the extra things you found at the German markets make it so special. I love the walking camel......I think we must have had a similar on once as he does seem familiar! Lovely new card, the robin is such a pretty image. Happy Christmas Eve, Jane!
    Helen xox

    ReplyDelete
  6. A Happy and Peaceful Christmas Jane and thank you for your friendship and inspiration in 2014.

    B x

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your Nativity crib and new card are beautiful Jane x
    Merry Christmas to you and your lovely family and best wishes for a wonderful 2015!
    Susan x

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is a lovely creation! Thanks for playing at Creative Inspirations and we wish you a Merry Christmas! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Dear Jane,

    What a beautiful Nativity Scene - and of course you need to have some pigs in there too! All so beautiful and set for the Big Day...

    Yours,
    Mia

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank You for sharing that precious anecdote with us. Your Nativity scene is extraordinary!!
    Beautiful card!! Merry Christmas Jane!

    ReplyDelete
  11. So beautiful and your Nativity Scene is fabulous. Thanks for playing with us over at Loves Rubberstamps!!!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Love your nativity scene. Great card with a wonderful nostalgic feel. Love the die cut that frames the corner. Thanks for joining in at Crafty Boots Challenges this time.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for leaving a comment; I really enjoy reading every single one of them.

To comply with the new Data Protection legislation (GDPR) May 2018 I wish to state that any comments left here are with your consent that your name & comment are visible to anyone who visits my blog and that you accept that your personal information is being used for that specific purpose.

Jane x