Family Portrait?

This year, for Thanksgiving, I took on the role my mom usually does of coming up with the “family craft” for a Christmas decoration.  In the past, we had made ornaments to hang on my parent’s tree, but with my brother having his own family, our growing family, and my youngest brother living pretty far away, I thought to try something different.

When I was pregnant the first time, I made a few paintings of “bee family portraits” for the baby’s nursery.  I painted each person as a bee in a cartoonish style.  I thought it would be neat to make something a little different for a Christmastime decoration.

So I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a few snowmen ornament kits.  There are 11 (almost 12) people in my side of the family.   I purchased enough supplies that each person could make 6 snowmen.  Those 6 snowmen would each be identical to each other but unique from everyone else’s.  Once we finished, we’d pass out one of the snowmen that we’d made to each family unit.  Then we’d all have a set of snowmen for each person in the family!  I even convinced my mother-in-law to chip in and make one for her and my father-in-law to add into the mix.

 

From left to right: Madison, Dad, Michael, Mom, Meredith, Little Bird, Me, Doc, Little Tree (expected any day now), Janis, Clint, Trisha, Jake, Matt. 

 

The result ended up coming out pretty fantastic.  I painted a canvas with a simple “snow backdrop” and we arranged all of the snowmen on it.  I plan on putting a rustic looking frame around it and hanging it up with the year on it.  As our family grows, we may need to look at bigger canvas!