Twelve Drummers Drumming

The Twelve Drummers (actually one has a triangle rather than a drum) are made from clothes pegs.

The pegs are painted to give each figure black trousers with gold stripes and either a red or blue jacket. The jackets are completed with red or blue felt sleeves.  The drums are painted cork with cotton bud drum sticks (each stick is half a bud) and the triangle is wire with a pin to strike it.  The figures are pegged onto a chocolate filled drum.

The drum has been made from a plastic chocolate box, pained with craft paint and with gold thread on the outside.

Eleven Pipers Piping

Each Piper is slightly different, although all are made to the same pattern.

The figures are weighted with pearl barley and the pipes use drinking straws.

Ten Lords a-Leaping

The Ten Lords are leaping out of a Christmas cracker!

Mounted behind the sections of the pulled cracker are the two halves of a picture of the Palace of Westminster.  The leaping Lords are on curled pipe cleaners (colours: red, blue, yellow, purple and green),  There are figures representing hereditary peers, career politicians, bishops and judges.  A pulled cracker snap lies between the cracker sections and there are gold and silver curled decorative tinsel pieces laid around.

Nine Ladies Dancing

The Nine Ladies Dancing form a mobile.

They were cut from lightweight black card using as a template a fairy Christmas decoration. Simply removing the wings turned them into dancing ladies.  Each one has a belt of small white beads.  They are suspended from two tinsel wrapped circles.

Eight Maids a-Milking

The eight maids are made of felt.

One of them has slipped and is spilling her milk!

Seven Swans a-Swimming

The seven swans are swimming on a winter lake.

The origami swans are swimming on a circular mirror.  The side of the mirror are covered with flower arrangers' moss and polyester wading. The pine trees are pine cones with white painted tips and for the other trees we cut appropriately shaped twigs.

Six Geese a-Laying

Five of the geese have laid golden eggs.  The sixth has laid a jewelled egg (beads and sequins!) and is looking rather pleased with herself - note her eyes ...