Twelve Days of Christmas 2016 - Day 12

The final day of this year's 12 Days of Christmas is here. I always use day 12 for something that relates to the real reason for Christmas - the birth of the Savior. And this year, it's the baby Himself. I saw a cute ornament on Pinterest, but didn't pin it, I guess, because I can't find it. Anyway, it was a little baby Jesus cradled in a candy cane, and I really liked it. So that's our finishing project this year.

I made my baby like the ones I make to put in my paper mangers, here. They are really easy to make. The easiest way is to cut the finger off a new pair of white cotton work gloves. But if you don't have any and can't find them (I had to go to Harbor Freight because other places only sell them in gardening season, I guess.), then you can take a piece of muslin and cut 2 rectangles about 2" wide and 4" long and round one end for the head. Sew the 2 pieces together, leaving the square end open for stuffing. Turn it right side out and stuff lightly. You can put a face on Him using a permanent fine-point marker, or just leave it blank.

Here are some ideas for faces, or you can just put 2 little dots, like I did. Glue a little hair on the top of the head and use a piece of flannel or cotton batting to swaddle Him in. Tie some jute around the swaddling and He's done!

As you can see, my baby Jesus will NOT fit in one candy cane without looking like He's going to drop at any moment, so I decided to use two. The only problem was the ribbon wouldn't stay in place! It wanted to slip up and off the top, and when I hot glued it, it looked kind of dumb because there was a big space between the candy canes. I thought to myself, if I could bend them, it would be better, and then a light went on in my sometimes thick head, and I thought heat gun!!!

 And it worked! Take your heat gun and hold it really close to the candy cane and turn the candy cane as you heat it. Watch it as you do, because it will start to look like it's been left in the sun too long, and all of a sudden you will be able to bend it. Bend it just a little. If it's not far enough, you can always do it again after you get them both done.

 

When I first put the baby in the hanger, He looked like He was going to fall out because I had Him turned too far to the front, so I turned Him more face upwards. You can position Him any way you like. Tie a bow around the candy canes at the bend. I tied a second bow and hot glued it on top of the first one to give it a little more oomph! Hook an ornament hanger through the ribbon at the back and hang Him on your tree. Or do what I did - my tree isn't big enough to accommodate and ornament that size, so I leaned it up against something. And there you have it!

Well, that's the end of this year's 12 Days of Christmas. I hope you enjoyed it, and will come back again. In the words of author Taylor Caldwell, "This is the message of Christmas: we are never alone." May the good Lord bless you all this Christmas season, and may the miracle of Christmas fill your hearts with joy!  Merry Christmas and love to all,