Day 10 of the 25 Days of Christmas Crafting Showcase!

"Oh, you better watch out . . . you better not pout . . . you better not cry . . . I'm telling you why . . . Santa Claus is coming to town."  Can  you believe that there are only 15 more days until Christmas!?!?!?!  Today at CookingWithCricut.com we are paying homage to the jolly old elf himself. 

Santa Claus is one of those figures that people either love or dismiss.  I, for one, am a big fan of the man in the red suit.  Not because of the materialistic gifts he brings, but because of the life lesson he teaches.   What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.

Throughout life, we each need this capacity to believe.  Believe in ourselves, in our friends, in our talents and in our family. We’ll also need to believe in things we can’t measure or even hold in our hands. I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.

Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness.  

Sounds a lot like Jesus to me.  After all Santa has roots based in Christianity.  Saint Nicholas of Myra is the primary inspiration for the Christian figure of Sinterklaas. He was a 4th century Greek Christian bishop of Myra (now Demre) in Lycia (now in Turkey).  Nicholas was famous for his generous gifts to the poor. He was very religious from an early age and devoted his life entirely to Christianity. 

It seems fitting, to me, that the very things we are called to do as Christians -- love, believe, hope -- are embodied in a "person" that is so beloved by so many people of different faiths and beliefs.

For today's Day 10 project for the 25 Days of Christmas Crafting Showcase I have created a little candy container. 

Because I knew this little box would be seen from all sides I created clothes for the back too!

Here's the recipe:

• Cricut Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge -- Santa Claus cut at 6 3/4" tall.
• Cricut Tags, Bags, Boxes and More cartridge -- favor box cut at 11 1/4" wide.
• Cricut Plantin SchoolBook cartridge -- rectangles cut at 1" wide by 1/2" tall.

For Santa:

• I used a ruby red ColorBox Pigment ink pad to shade the edges of his suit and hat.
• The "fur" on his suit was coated with Plaid's Soft Flock fibers.
• Gold Stickles were used on his belt buckle and the toy sack bag.
• Pink chalk gives his cheeks a rosy glow.
• And Zig markers were used to draw the facial features and other details.

For the "chimney" box:

• I made the square favor box as large as I could on my 12" x 12" cutting mat using white card stock.
• Then I cut approximately 45 "bricks" and glued them on the unassembled box.  Once all the glue was dry I scored and assembled the box.
• Another piece of white card stock was used to create the lip for the top of the chimney.  I simply scored a 2 1/8" wide piece every 1/2 inch and then folded and glued it in place.
• The box flaps on the top of the box were folded in and glued to give the box added strength.

I love the way this little project turned out!

Now head over to CookingWithCricut.com and see what all of the other Design Team elves have created!  And make sure you download the awesome free files that Melin has made -- they are only available for 24 hours and then a new set is available.  So make sure you check back each and every day through Christmas to see what the generous and talented Melin has created for you!  And don't forget to check out our fantastic sponsors and the great giveaways, too!

~ Jen