Making little things...

The clothesline we gave to the neighbor...I thought the goat was hilarious.  

Nativity scenes, or Presepi in Italian, are very popular here in Italia.  Before our arrival we did not know the joys of the presepio.  Here you can buy very elaborate pieces for your presepio, or the supplies to make your own.  We started simple several years ago with a barn, some animals, and all the essential figurines. A few years ago we found a beautiful ceramic river, and a haystack with a bowler hat in honor of Rene Magritte, while in Barcelona.  Last year we went big and added a waterfall.  I've wanted make some pieces to add to our scene for a while now, never found the time, until today.
Friday I bought supplies... some super green lichen, large pieces of bark from a cork tree, and a small amount of cork board.  This morning the kids and I gathered some sticks in the woods behind our house. After the sticks were gathered, I fired up the hot glue gun and we went right to work!  We made some trees, a fence and a clothesline. We had so much fun, we even made our neighbor a clothes line for her presepio. Now, I think we might need a model train track...making little things is fun stuff!

Our clothesline....the children would not let me add a goat...party poopers. 

Look at that great fence!  My daughter wove the little pieces in between the sticks. 

A view of the trees....

Another view of the trees.