Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!

I wasn't sure if I wanted to call this one, "Santa and the bag from Oz" or "The bag crammed way too full." I got just a wee bit carried away when I was making the toys for this bag and put a whole bunch of them in there. Since the recent bag down sizing we've undergone to make shopping for mailing boxes easier, five toys poking out of the top of the bag makes for a really snug fit.

The day I was working on the bag I decided to take a break and call Maggie. During the conversation I told her how I had a lion and a bear in the current bag and she came back with, "A lion and tiger and bear..oh my,"  so I ended up with a lion and tiger and bear in the same bag. Originally I was going to have a goblin doll instead of the tiger. I think I really needed that break or we may have had the first goblin to go into the bag.

This guy was painted in much the same way as the last one. I used black gesso under the coat and boots. The color pallet I used is based on the red and green Christmas color theme but with a twist. I used terra cotta for my red and Italian Sage and rain forest green in the patchwork with Avocado green for the main part of the coat. The hat is terra cotta and the bag is russet. The coat is buttoned with large antique gold buttons.

The coat has patch pockets at either side. In the right pocket Santa keeps the candy canes that he places in the stockings. I believe the other pocket holds a hanky to wipe his hands with.

I've noticed the colors never come out quite the same in the photos. I'm not sure if it's the flash adding more light that makes everything just a bit lighter and flatter than in real life.

The doll at Santa's right shoulder is the first boy doll I've put into the bag because as everyone knows, boy dolls are more rare. This Santa puts the doll population ahead by one. You know what that means, right?

Just a reminder. Don't forget to enter the contest/giveaway that is going on right now.  One thing I failed to mention in the post about the giveaway is you can enter as many times as you wish to. Just leave me a comment with your guess as to what Santa is holding in his hands. So far no one has guessed correctly, so the entries will be placed into the second drawing. The prize for that drawing is going to be nice too, but I really need some good guesses here people.

Maybe I need to give a clue each post to help everyone. I really do want to give that Santa away so what do you think? Do you want a clue?

Okay, here's a clue:

It is not a bear or a doll or a bird. It is not cocoa and cookies but that's the closest guess yet.  Does that help?

Hope you enjoyed seeing the newest member of the Santa Squad. As always, thanks for stopping by.