Crafty Ornament Exchange

Another year, another ornament exchange on my craft message board.  I couldn't decide what to make (too many choices thanks to Pinterest), so I fell back on an old favorite.  I love the way they turned out.

I even loved the gift tag I made using card stock and my Sizzix embosser.

Crafty Christmas Ornament Exchange

I was excited to be a part of my Craft message board's ornament exchange again this year.  Using the leftover felt and instructions from the wool candle mat that I made, I was able to whip up these cute snowmen ornaments.  I love, love, love the way they turned out!

Crafty Christmas Ornament Exchange

For the second year in a row I participated in a crafty ornament exchange on a message board that I frequent.

Here's the adorable ornament that I received. His body is made of a light bulb!


This is the ornament that I sent to my secret draw:

It's a felt ornament that I embroidered and jeweled. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Next time I'll add colored crystals though instead of clear. I think that would make it pop a bit more. The tutorial is from here at BHG.

Paper Gingerbread Men

Today's December Fun activity was a Christmas craft - paper Gingerbread men!

I cut large gingerbread men from paper shopping bags (I got the pattern from Chaos's preschool teachers so I'm sorry I don't have it to share).



The kids went wild decorating with buttons, felt, yarn, sequins, foam shapes and crayons. I think this would have been even more fun if we had gingerbread cookies to snack on while crafting!

Linking up to some of these great parties

Jesse Ornaments, Days 3 and 4

Our first snowfall and Wild One's second birthday left us a little sidetracked on our Jesse Tree adventure. We caught up tonight by making 2 ornaments. Wild One colored her ornaments too, but I don't planned to include a picture of hers every day since they're all essentially the same. I'll post a picture of all of them when we're finished.

Day 3 led us to the story of Noah and a rainbow ornament.



To make these, I first cut out a rainbow shape from white cardstock. The kids then went on a hunt for different colors to cut out from old magazines. (This was a fun way to work in color recognition for Chaos as well!). The kids glued down the squares they cut out and I trimmed the rainbow when they were finished. Easy peasy! Chaos was pretty thrilled to have Lightning McQueen on his rainbow too. ;)

Day 4 was the story of Abraham's faithfulness to God. To represent Abraham's new home, we made origami tents.



We used this tutorial, but at the end, we tucked in the sides to make the tent more square.

Click here to see our other Jesse Tree ornaments

Christmas Canvases

As part of our month long celebration, I've created a list of fun things to do each day during the month of December (the full list will be at the end of this post). Today's activity was to create some Christmas decor for the house.



I've been stalking cute Christmas pictures on Pinterest for awhile. I decided to try three different pictures - thumbprint Christmas lights, handprint Christmas tree, and footprint reindeer. We used washable paint (for my sanity) on canvas panels.


This one is my favorite I think. I love the bright colors of the lights.


Pinky insisted she did not want to have a red nose (the original picture had all of the reindeer with red noses) because Rudolph was a boy. We settled on Chaos having a red nose with all the girls sporting black noses and a bow in their antlers like Clarice.


I almost couldn't convince Wild One to let me paint her hand (hers is the lone handprint at the top of the tree), but once she tried it she wanted to paint her whole body! I still want to add a star at the top of the tree, but I love it even without it.



These turned out SO much cuter than I had expected. My original idea was to display them for awhile and then toss them, but now I'm thinking of framing them instead. I think these would make great gifts for Grandparents or, scaled down, cute ornaments too (I've seen a version of the reindeer made from thumbprints floating around Pinterest).

And as promised, here's our full list of December fun activities. I tried to keep things simple with lots of crafts and ornament making because that's what the kids enjoy most!

1. Watch a Christmas movie
2. Make Christmas decor for the house
3. Put up the Christmas tree
4. Make a Christmas craft
5. Make snowflakes
6. Make Christmas cards
7. Make and ornament for the kids' trees
8. Drink hot cocoa
9. Play with snow playdough
10. Make an ornament for the kids' trees
11. Bake cookies
12. Make an ornament for the family tree
13. Do a Christmas craft
14. Make an ornament for the kids' trees
15. Play a Christmas game
16. Winter sensory bin
17. Make salt dough ornaments
18. Make an (edible) Christmas craft
19. Do a Christmas craft
20. Make a snowman
21. Make an ornament for the kids' trees
22. Do a Christmas craft
23. Go sledding (hopefully there will be snow!)
24. Drive around and look at lights (this is a tradition we do every year after church)

Linking up to some of these great parties

Jesse Ornaments, Day 2

Today's Jesse Tree Ornaments were based on the story of Adam and Eve. We read "The Sneaky Snake" in Pinky's Beginner Bible and then made an apple and snake ornament.



To make these, first I had the kids do apple prints on cardstock. Once they were dry, we cut them out and glued on a stem and leaf. Next, I made each of them a ribbon snake using this tutorial. We wrapped the snake around the apple and added a ribbon for hanging.

Wild One joined us today and colored two ornaments. I mounted them on scrapbook paper and added a ribbon for hanging.



Click here to see our other Jesse Tree ornaments

Our Jesse Tree

Have you heard of a Jesse Tree? It was new to me when I stumbled upon it at 1+1+1=1. I followed her links to the (free) e-book at Feels Like Home. I was in love! I try to create a handmade ornament with the kids every day during December. What a better way to combine our tradition with the true meaning of the season?

If Jesse Trees are new to you too, there is a great description in the e-book. Simply, it's a way of celebrating advent by highlighting a bible story each day starting at creation and leading up to the birth of Christ. Each day's story is then represented by an ornament.

Pinky, Chaos and Wild One each have their own mini Christmas tree in their rooms (like these from Walmart). We decided these would be our Jesse trees. We are using the free e-book and Pinky's Beginner Bible for our Jesse Tree adventure.

Today we read Genesis and made our first ornament - the Earth and stars. (I decided to do different ornaments for Wild One, I'll get to those in a minute).



To make these ornaments, we first cut out a square of black foam and glued an Earth on it (don't those continents look exact? ;)). We added stars using glitter glue and silver sequins. To finish we punched a hole in the top and added a ribbon. I think they turned out really cute!

I wanted Wild One to be included in this activity, but I wanted to do something that she could be more hands on with (instead of me making the ornament FOR her). I found the idea of printing out coloring sheets (I'm using cardstock) and mounting on scrapbook paper from Christmas Your Way. I'm going to combine the printables on that site with the ones I found here at Catholic Icing. Wild One took an extra long nap today (I'm not complaining!) so she'll start her ornaments tomorrow.

Our plan is to do an ornament (or 2) each day. I'll do a post for each of them. I also have some other winter/Christmas fun crafts for this month. I can't wait to share them with you!

Fingerprint Flower Coasters

Every year I have the kids make a gift for their grandparents. This year we decided to make coasters. These were very quick and inexpensive to make.

First I bought a pack of tumbled stone tiles from Menards ($5 for 9 tiles). Using acrylic paint, I used their thumb to make the center of each flower and a different fingertip for each of the flowers' petals. I painted on the stems and leaves by hand. I hand stamped the 4th coaster with my "Family" stamp, then used a spray sealant to seal the tiles. After letting them dry for a day or two, I glued cork to the back to prevent them from scratching any surfaces.

Here is one of our completed sets (I gifted the other before I had a chance to take a picture). I blurred out their initials in the upper right corner of each tile:



I tied them all up with a big ribbon and added a gift tag!

The cost for 8 coasters (2 sets, with one leftover tile) if you had to buy all of the supplies is under $20!

Linking to:

A Gift for Daddy

Now that the gifts have been given, I can post about a few of the handmade things I gifted this Christmas.

My wonderful husband, who loves to cook, asked for an apron for Christmas. Since I am physically incapable of giving something as plain and boring as a white apron, I decided it would be the perfect gift for the kids to give to their daddy.

I started with a plain white apron from Target ($5.99). Using acrylic paint (I let the kids choose the colors) I painted their hands for prints at the bottom of the apron. Wild One's prints turned out a bit wonky. Apparently finger painting is NOT one of her favorite activities.

Next I custom ordered an iron on transfer that read "World's Best Cook Hands Down" from etsy. Heather, from All You Need Designs, was AWESOME to work with and does great work!!

Here's the finished product, ready to be wrapped for Daddy (I wrote their names under their hand prints with fabric marker, but photoshopped them out in this picture):


Linking to:

Pompom Garlands and Christmas trees

As a final touch to the kids' Christmas trees this season we made pompom garlands. I gave them each a blunt tip needle with a double strand of embroidery floss. We had a large assortment of pompoms to use, and we found that some were easier to thread than others. Pinky had no issues doing this project on her own while Chaos needed help with the harder poms (they had a more solid middle than the others). I had him tell me the color of his poms as he handed them to me and we sorted them by size as we worked. This was a fun activity to do while watching a Christmas movie together.

And now that the last of the ornaments have been made and hung on the trees, the only thing left is for Santa to visit. Here's a view of our trees, with the garlands we made, one last time before the big night.


Pinky's mini tree


Chaos's mini tree

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Handmade Christmas Cards (by kids) and Teacher Gifts

Today our focus was on gifts for Pinky's teachers. About a year ago, I ran across a post with the cutest handmade cards. I saved the idea, and this year we finally got around to making them! The original tutorial is here on Goody Goody Gumdrops.

Pinky made 6 cards for her teachers, and I think they turned out adorable! It was fun watching her choose each individual paper and which star sticker to use. She colored the trunk on each tree with crayon. I will have her sign her own name inside the cards.





In addition to the handmade cards, her Sunday School teachers and Spanish teachers will each get a hand written note and a gift card for a local store. Her preschool teachers asked for a donation to the classroom's free art center in lieu of individual gifts. So, in addition to their cards, they will receive a tub of foam stickers (Pinky picked them out) and a gift card to Hobby Lobby.

What is your favorite gift to give a teacher?

Linking to:

Salt Dough Ornaments

During our most recent blizzard (yikes!), we made salt dough Christmas ornaments to relieve our cabin fever. There are tons of tutorials and recipes out there, but the one we used was 2 cups of flour, 1 cup of salt and 1 cup of water.

Chaos and Pinky had a great time cutting out shapes (there's even a "snow plow" in there - how appropriate!). We painted them with acrylic paint and sealed them with two coats of Mod Podge. Even Daddy had a good time getting involved in this project.


Pinky's favorites. She made Rudolph, Clarice and Coach for her tree.


Chaos really wanted to use our truck cookie cutter so we call this one the snowplow.


Daddy's Michigan State ornament


Mommy's favorite - my snowman!


A look at all of the ornaments!

Glitter Yarn Ornaments

I tried a quick, but messy, ornament craft with the kids today. I found the tutorial here on scrumdilly-do. These really turned out cute, but were just impossible to photograph.

We had 3 different types/color of yarn cut to varying lengths. Chaos chose only blue yarn for his ornaments while Pinky preferred to to use all colors.

Here are the best pictures I could manage:

Felt Christmas Banner

Pinky brought home this adorable felt Christmas banner from Sunday School last week. I think it would be simple to recreate at home. The shapes are cut from felt and decorated with glitter glue, then glued on to the white felt background (I cut off her name at the bottom of the banner in this picture). We have this hanging on our front door

Felt and Fabric Christmas Ornaments

I found this tutorial at A Spoonful of Sugar. I used fabric scraps leftover from the busy bags I made this summer. I know the fabric isn't traditionally Christmas, but I love the bright fun colors. I couldn't resist using it!

I made one for each of the older kids to hang on the trees in their bedrooms. I may make one for Wild One too if time allows.


Pinky's heart


Chaos's star (he's using it as his tree topper)

Snowmen Ornaments for Kids

The kids wanted to make an ornament for their Christmas trees today. In honor of all the snow we've gotten this weekend, I decided that snowmen were a great idea! I found the idea here at Little Family Fun. We decided to make our snowmen just a bit smaller since they would be adorning small trees. I think they turned out cute!

Our snowmen (Pinky's is on the left and Chaos's on the right):

Our first Advent Ornament!

Tonight we made our first ornament of the season for the kids' Christmas trees. I picked up some jingle bells when Hobby Lobby had them 50% off. Let me say, the kids were IMPRESSED with the bells. They were so excited that they got to make something with them! We simply strung bells onto silver chenille stems and twisted them into a circle. It's a simple, no mess activity that really works on hand-eye coordination.

Pinky's finished jingle bell wreath (Chaos ran off with his before I could take a picture):

I think it would be super cute with a little red bow glued on the top too.

Ornamant Exchange

A message board that I post on semi-frequently had a handmade Christmas ornament exchange that I just had to be a part of. The rules were simple - you could buy $5 in supplies and had to send a handmade ornament or ornament set.

I had SO many ideas of what I wanted to send, but finally decided on a version of these adorable ornaments. I couldn't wait to post a picture, but had to wait until I knew they were received!

I found the canisters 50% off at Hobby Lobby (the last package too!). I added some scrapbook paper and embellishments and a ribbon for hanging. I love how they turned out. They're simple, but cute (I apologize for the poor picture, I was in a hurry to get them mailed):


Since my wonderful husband commented how much he liked them, I plan to make a few for our tree too!

Too soon?

I know it's only October, but would you stone me if I started showing some Christmas projects I've been working on? I was going to wait until December to "respect the Turkey" and all that, but that would probably mean blog silence for the month of November!

Last night I began to work on some Christmas ornaments. I had a sheet of music note scrapbook paper that I have wanted to use in a project forever. Since this year I want my projects to be quick and easy and made with materials I have on hand, I thought this would be a perfect time to put it to use!

First, using a template from Better Homes and Garden, I made this adorable star ornament. This project was so fast I finished it in the time it took my kids to get their pajamas on - no joke! Later I applied a coat of ModPodge to it to make it a bit sturdier.


Still using the same sheet of paper and this tutorial from Living the Swell Life, I made this too cute for words bird ornament. I love this ornament so much I may make more to give out as gifts. The tutorial calls for chipboard, but I used some thinner cardboard from the recycling bin. It worked perfectly! To keep the glitter from flaking off I sealed it with a thin layer of Diamond Glaze. I still need to attach the ribbon for hanging it, so please excuse the haphazard ribbon placement on this one.


Finally, I found a tutorial from Under The Table and Dreaming and made this cute paper accordion ornament. I used a small piece of scrapbooking metal to make the heart in the center. I really like how it turned out! It was a bit tricky to glue the two accordion pieces together, but I found that a little weight (from my glue bottle) helped hold it in place until it was dry.


There you have it - three ornaments made from ONE sheet of scrapbook paper. I can't wait to hang them on my tree. Do you have any ornaments you plan to make this year? I'd love to see some more handmade holiday decorations!