Nutcrackers!

 Thank you Chrissey for a fabulous workshop yesterday making these delightful Nutcracker decorations.

Such a lot of work went in to preparing bags of goodies with precut shapes and embellishments including heads and hands made of air-dried clay. We had a great time with these little nutcrackers; each one has turned out slightly differently with their own character. 

A quick history of Nutcrackers which are quite a common Christmas decoration now and became popular around the world after World War II.                        Nutcracker dolls have traditionally been made in Bohemia and Saxony since the late 1600s, probably as good luck symbols.                                                            

One story says that a rich farmer wanted a good way of cracking walnuts and offered a reward to anyone who did. A wood carver from the village of Seiffen (in Saxony) made a doll with an opening and closing mouth which could crack nuts. By 1800 they were popular decorations in the areas of Saxony. Nutcracker dolls became popular around other parts of Germany and Europe from the early to mid 1800s.

Chrissey brought us some lovely examples:

We then started construction:

And here are the finished ones so far: