Packing up Christmas 2014

If you remember from my first house tour post I had an empty stable.  Around the end of November I had mentioned to my husband that I might paint a nativity for the front yard.  I had the wood cut a number of years ago.  Before I knew it he build me a stable.  I had finished painting it a few days before Christmas.  Here is a picture of the whole yard with the nativity and also a close up.

This is a Juliet Martin design.  In the original design the largest character was about 7 inches tall.  I enlarged the design using the poster setting on my printer.  You just have to decide how large you want the new design to be and calculate the percentage.  I think an office supply store would also be able to enlarge it for you.

It is fun to take a design you love and enlarge it to make a nice entry or yard piece.  This is a Lynne Andrews Santa that I enlarged and painted for my cousin.   I have actually painted this big guy 5 times because so many people loved him.  He is about four feet tall.

This is a Trudy Beard design that was larger to start, but I increased it a little.  I painted this for one of my friends that also loves pink.

This is a Santa that I painted many years ago, I think it is a Maxine Thomas design.  The original design was this size.

Even though these characters are getting put away until next year, I hope these photos will encourage you to think about painting something big for your home next year.

I think when you are an artist, that love of art spills into everything you do.  This year I took a photo of one of my paintings and made it into my Christmas card. Just one more thing to tuck in the back of your head for next year.

May you and your family have a very Blessed, Healthy and Happy New Year.