Skip to main content

Christmas Countdown 18: Christmas Tree #8 - What's afoot?


Advent Blog Day 8 - What's afoot? 
A shoe tree - no, not that kind of shoe tree that makes your shoes fit better - a Christmas shoe tree. These designer shoes in appropriate Christmas colours make a spectacular display especially with the sparkly shoe on top. 




Do you think trees of thongs ( flip flops) and hiking boots  stack up as well? 
https://twitter.com/exeter_students/status/540473848572178432

http://thebwd.com/palladium-christmas-window-display-2012/

 Ballet shoes, particularly pointe shoes,  seem an obvious choice for dance companies to recycle worn shoes. Given the Nutcracker Suite is a favourite ballet of the Christmas season,  a ballet shoe  tree shouldn't really be a surprise - this video shows what an English ballet company did. 



https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/127086020708886031/?lp=true

From Tripadvisor photos 

We all don't have so many shoes which match ... Here is what a village did in Bali. This massive charity tree was created from abandoned  and second hand shoes and after Christmas, any shoes  in good shpae were donated to children and families in need. 

Link


And in this festive season, let's not forget our animal friends - you might just have a few horse shoes lying around to create this fun tree. 

I'm happy so many are counting down to Christmas with me -  I'm enjoying this and I hope you are too. What might tomorrow's Christmas trees be created from? 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Fish and Sticks : Art Dolls

This week I've been working on fish and sticks ....  The sticks are the message stick art dolls which were very popular, attracting some attention and a few orders at the Wise Women exhibition. Each of the message stick dolls are from the Wise Women series, each with her own personality and  message of wisdom, handwritten on a handmade timber tag. I gather the sticks during my walks around my neighbourhood and the tags are made from special bits of timber, some collected by me or  my husband or from off cuts gifted to us  from another doll making friend whose husband makes bagpipes. These dolls start off very simply with a wrap around a stick, in the general shape of a body. 'Naked" message stick dolls - strips of wadding wrapped around found sticks.   Then I usually wrap other layers of fabric, wool, and/or fibres, over which I do some simple embroidery. I sculpt  or mould small face masks for these dolls. I really like using "sari ribbon" as w...

"Temari Or Not Temari?" Tutorial

 Background Information:  Temari (literally translated “hand ball”) is a Japanese folk craft that is alleged to have originated in China and was introduced to Japan five or six hundred years ago. Traditionally, the balls were constructed from wrapped kimono fabric remnants and silk threads. They were made by mothers and grandmothers for children to play with. Nowadays, decorative embroidered temari represent a highly valued and cherished gift symbolizing friendship and loyalty. Recently I've wondered if your don't use traditional techniques whether you should call what you create "temari". That is an ongoing debate but today I share what I do to make a "non-traditional temari".... 1.I start  with a polystrene ball ( traditionally the balls were wound  silk scraps or other organic materials) and begin to wrap with approx 4 ply wool, turning the ball as I wrap.  2. I then wrap another layer of wool in a similar fashion , this time a 3 or 2 ...

Giveaway - Gifts for You on My Birthday

Giveaway Gifts T his week is blog giveaway time! Last week I celebrated my birthday.  I’ve had far too many to count the candles, but I had a wonderful party on the weekend with my family - with an indulgent birthday cake, favourite foods cooked by my husband and great company. ( In case you were wondering about the writing on the cake , Por Por = Chinese grandmother)     I also got great gifts from  my family and friends. There seemed to be a bit of a theme this year – with many of my gifts and cards depicting matryshoka ( babushka) dolls and tea drinking.   As it is also winter here in Australia ,   it was easy for me to  decide what I could offer as gifts  in this birthday giveaway. All the gifts are handmade by me. Gift 1 - two little fabric matryshoka dolls  Gift 2- a little bag made from colourful teapot and teacup fabric . The design is called a jester bag, but it is suitable for carrying s...