{Crafting Christmas} Easiest ornament craft ever

Each Christmas season, I find one craft for my girl {and now my boy} to do in hopes of producing a few homemade gifts. This year's craft came courtesy the principal at Cate's school, where I was volunteering the day extra hands were needed as the students made these ornaments as a fund-raiser.

Y'all. Seriously easy. All you need is some glass ornaments and acrylic paint. That's it.

Be sure the glass ornaments have the top hanger thing that can come out. Any shape or size will work. And you'll want a variety of paint colors because experimenting the combinations is fun.

So, here's the step-by-step process ...

1. Take all the hangers out and set them aside. 
2. Choose two or three colors of paint. Squirt some inside the ornament. 
3. Twist and turn ornament so the paint coats the inside all over. The paint wants to settle in the bottom, so you'll need to twist the ornament like you're turning it upside down but stop just short of doing so. {It takes a couple times to figure out exactly how much paint you'll need. You can always add more if the initial squirts aren't enough.}
4. Once the inside is painted, turn ornament slanted so its nearly upside down to dry. We just used the box the ornaments came in because there will be some excess paint spill out. They'll need a few days to dry. 
5. Use a wet paper towel or Clorox wipe to wipe any excess paint from the top and then replace metal hanger thing. 
6. If you're giving them as gifts, tying some ribbon or a tag on the ornaments makes for cute presentation. 

My kids are 6 and 4. My first-grader girl could do this by herself. My preschool boy needed some help because, surprisingly enough, he was worried about dumping out the paint as he twisted and turned it. He's also not the natural crafter my girl is.

Do you make homemade Christmas gifts? If so, I'd love to hear about them. 
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Here are some past Christmas crafts: Coasters. Wreath. Christmas card wreath. Candy manger. Ornament wreath. 

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{Behind the Scenes} From yes to no more

"Hey, Mom, where are those paint sticks?"

Clearly we don't paint much.

But I decided to say "yes" last week when Cate asked if they could paint. I gave them each a Styrofoam plate with five paint choices, three paint brushes and a cup of water. See those colors on the top of each of the pages? Those are watercolors that neither wanted to use. Ben was just following Cate's lead with that choice.

See that black patch Ben is intently painting? Not too many moments later, his entire page was his self-mixed black. The whole page. So I got him a new page, which this time didn't have a picture because clearly that wasn't important to him.

And before he filled his second page with his red-and-yellow-and-blue-and white-and-green-make-black paint, he used his brush to slap a huge glob of his creation on Cate's more meticulous-painted picture. Cate is a creative girl who carries a notebook and colors with her most everywhere, so this was an offensive violation of her personal, artistic space.

"Ben, you're done painting because you couldn't respect Cate's space."

Trust me, I know little brothers are bound to overstep boundaries and sometimes big sisters just need to get over it, but the black paint bomb was rude and we're in that continual your-actions-have-consequences training mode.

Cate got a new paper and Ben went to his room, clearly mad at me. I decided it was just as well he regroup. But then I didn't hear from him for 20 minutes, so I went to check on him. I found him asleep in his bed. And he stayed that way through lunch, without wetting his bed even though he wasn't wearing a Pull-Up, for a couple hours.

Yes, it started with a picture of my kids sitting on their own half of the kitchen table, painting with those sticks, but it ended for Ben when he painted way too far outside the lines and onto Cate's page. I was the "yes" mom and then had to be the "no more" mom. But I managed to come out with some lovely paintings on the refrigerator and the pleasant aftermath that follows a much-needed nap.
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Today I'm participating in "Behind the Scenes," linking up with Crystal Stine. I love the encouragement to share real life happening beyond what a photo shared on Facebook captures. Yet another way for this momma to embrace imperfection. 

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The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head

My girl was oh-so excited about this craft. Turns out, it was harder than it looks. Ah, such is life.

But she was determined. And meticulous. Just like she is in most all things.

We did it. A little lopsided. Sheep falling. Mary and Joseph not exactly admiring their baby marshmallow in the manger. But the shepherd has his staff. And the horse is sturdy. "The hay was the easiest part," my girl proclaims. {Of course, my friend had already colored the coconut, so, yes, scattering it in and on the manger was certainly something we could handle!}

"You guy want to eat it?"

Silly question, momma. 

And then it seemed a tornado came through Bethlehem. Right on our kitchen table.

Despite the chaos we sometime experience in life that goes far beyond a wrecked candy shelter, this is the season of Jesus' birth. One little baby attracted shepherds, wise men, and nations of people. He had to come and later rise from his grave so he could give us real life. Everlasting life. Life that won't be knocked down for good when the icing doesn't hold.

Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask Thee to stay. 
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Crafting Christmas, again ...

I've had the same wreath hanging on our front door since February, so when Greg mentioned he wanted a wreath for the front door at his office, I checked out the ones in the holiday section at Walmart. None of them worked, not even for me, who only changes her home decor for December, especially for $19.98.

So I did what any slightly crafty, deal-lovin' mom would do: I turned to my 5-year-old daughter who believes anything can be handmade and said, "Don't you think we could make Daddy a better wreath?" She was immediately on board and suggested we use blue ornaments. "Because Daddy likes blue things."

After a few days of seeing the Walmart bag of supplies sitting around, I decided to tackle it tonight. With Cate's help, of course. I'm not sure it's better than the gaudy, gold $19.98 wreaths, but it's more us.

And Daddy approves.
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This is actually our second craft of the season, and this one wasn't even on my short list of things I wanted to do. Want more? Subscribe to get "Insights" in your inbox. Or follow me on Twitter or Instagram.

Crafting Christmas

Mod Podge has long been my friend. So you can imagine how excited I was to introduce my 5 1/2-year-old daughter to Mod Podge. {Really, this day was quite monumental: Cate met Crossword Puzzles and Scrabble Junior the very same day.} So Mod Podge helped Cate and I make some coasters we're including in people's Christmas presents.

{Oh, and, hey, if you're one of my girl's grandmas or aunts, just pretend you're surprised when you open yours ...}

I took pictures throughout the process, which happened in two naptimes. You know, when my curious, messy 3-year-old boy was sleeping ...

If you want to make some easy {and cheap!} coasters, here's what you'll need :

• Tiles {We made eight seats of four coasters. The tiles cost 30 cents each at Lowe's. $9.60}
• Mod Podge {I've had my bottle for awhile, but I think it's about $5 at Walmart.}
• Scrapbook paper {We used a $5 pad of spring colors I'd gotten at Big Lots some time ago.}
• Felt {We picked three colors for 23 cents a sheet at Walmart. 69 cents.}
• Acrylic sealer {We used the Mod Podge brand because it was the best deal and was about $6.}
• Scrissors/X-acto knife
• Glue
• Paint brush
• Ribbon to tie around finished sets of coasters

 

I cut all the paper into 3.5-inch squares. Cate painted the tiles with Mod Podge before adding the paper and then applying more Mod Podge over the top of the paper. We let those dry for several hours before applying the spray-on acrylic sealer.

I cut the felt into small squares for each corner of each coaster. If you're keeping up, that means I cut 128 squares of felt. We used a few different glues before we figured out using my scrapbooking Xyron sticker maker was the best adhesive. Second best was regular Elmer's glue {like Cate has in the picture above}, if you don't have scrapbooking tools sitting around.

We raided my scrapbooking ribbon supply and used some pinks and blues to tie up the finished sets of coasters. You can see she's proud of our creations, and, truthfully, she did a ton of the work. She even knows which seats she wants to go to each grandma and aunt.

Crafty friends, what Christmas projects do you have going on?
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Giving thanks

You probably know I'm not much on Pinterest. In fact, I deleted my account the second time I logged on. But, hey, that doesn't mean I'm not a sucker for an arts and crafts project every now and then. I saw this Thanksgiving wreath idea on another blog. Foam wreath immediately went on my shopping list.

But, well, you know, I live in a small town where my shopping options are limited. Walmart and Big Lots didn't have a foam wreath, but I found the wicker {Is that even the right word?} wreath shown above at The Dollar Tree. Yes, that means it was just $1. I got two bags of leaves there too. Really, I could have probably made do with one bag, but I wanted the variety of colors. Sucker, I tell you. So, if you're keeping track, that's $3 plus the 18 cents for tax for my wreath supplies.

I have a jar with the leaves and some narrow ribbon I already had from an impulsive dollar-bin purchase at Target some time ago. You know, a time when I was in a town with a Target. Anyway, the leaves and ribbon sit on my counter and for the next couple weeks we're going to talk about what we are thankful for. We meaning the kids too. Yes, even my boy, who isn't quite 3, has contributed. So what if he's thankful for movies and that Daddy comes home for dinner? Hey, some days I'm thankful for movies and Daddy coming home too.

Usually as I'm in the kitchen making dinner or cleaning up after dinner, we talk about our days and write down something for which we're thankful. Honestly, I do most of the writing for various: My son can't be trusted with a marker, much less a permanent one. My husband's handwriting would be illegible with the way the marker ink spreads on the leaves. My 5 1/2-year-old daughter is second in line for the Sharpie, but even some days her thing of thanks is too wordy to fit on a leave so she asks me write it, which I then abbreviate.

But it's the spirit of the activity, folks. And I'm looking forward to hanging it up. Yes, I may have leaves hanging in my house during December. But, again, it's about cultivating a spirit of thanksgiving and not so much about winning a crafty, home decor contest.
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Sheepy Scotland

When you think of Scotland, what do you think of first?

I think of sheep.

I've been to New Zealand, where there are almost 10 times as many sheep as people. {Source.} I know sheep aren't limited to Scotland. But, still, I think about rolling pastures with some rocky cliffs. And sheep.

Then I think about plaid and castles and the fact my grandpa is half Scottish.

So when Cate's school needed volunteers to create booths for its annual Reformation Day celebration, I decided to have a pasture scene in a photo booth where the kids, who were decked out in cute Scottish costumes, could have their pictures taken. And then I decided to dress my boy up like a sheep too. You know, for continuity sake.

Funny thing is, Cate wore the same costume, which is borrowed from a neighbor, when she was 2. We had been to New Zealand a couple months before and I supposed she still had sheep on her mind.

Back to Reformation Day. A quick explanation, which I needed myself a couple months ago: In late October, some protestant churches and groups celebrate Reformation Day. At New Covenant Christian Academy, specifically, each year the school has celebrated a different Reformation leader. This year was John Knox, who was a reformer in Scotland in the 1500s.

Hence the sheep.

The event was full of creative ways to help teach the kids about church history while they had a fun break from the classroom. I'm thankful for this school and its hands-on learning that is built on a biblical foundation. 

Now on the photo booth. I used fabric I found at Wal-mart as my grassy backdrop, which was attached to a wooden frame a friend built me. I converted a ride-on toy zebra into a sheep, borrowed some stuffed sheep from my girl's stuffed animal collection, borrowed some rocks from a friend's fire pit and bought a hay bale.It worked out well ...

Now a few more snapshots of the event ...

A bagpiper set the mood at the beginning of the day.

There were different shops the kids visited. This is the leather shop.

What sheep wields a sword? My boy, of course!

Baaa ...

So in honor of my kids, who have been telling some really terrible jokes ...

What did one sheep say to the other sheep?

"After ewe ..."

Baaahaha!

What is a sheep's favorite newspaper?

The Wool Street Journal.

Oh. I can't help it. Baaahaha! 
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Happy December!

I saw this wreath on Pinterest the only time I've browsed the site to which many friends are addicted.

And I decided to make it.

That's my finished product.

I actually made a rough draft version with my daughter. She likes that one {which is red, green and silver} so I'll finish it and hang it on her door. But I wanted a blue one, thinking I'd leave it hanging on the front door into the winter once Christmas is over.

So ...

It's easy.

You can do it too.

I took a wire clothing hanger and reshaped it into a circle. I untwisted the hanger partto slide ornaments on the wire.

Then I slid ornaments onto the hanger. Using a variety of sizes seemed to make them bunch together better. I didn't hot-glue the ornaments into the hangers on them, but a few fell off while I was arranging them, so I ended up hot-gluing a few of them back on so they'd hang better. I also found the ornaments from Wal-mart worked better than the ones from Dollar Tree.

To finish, I needed something at the top. So I took wire tinsel and wrapped it around the hanger that was still showing and then tied on some snowflake ornaments {$1 for four snowflakes at Target}. I loved the snowflakes {yes, probably more than I actually love snow ...}, so I hot-glued a few more on the ornaments.

And then I hung it on my front door. Happy December to you!

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Sweetness

Cate likes making things, especially things involving sprinkles. For treats for her Halloween party at preschool later this week, I went with an idea a friend shared the other day when we were talking about the humongous marshmallows she brought to a bonfire. We dipped the marshmallows into melted baker's chocolate and then sprinkled sprinkles ...

It's serious business, you know. And, in case you aren't around 4-year-old girls much, the decision of which sprinkles to use is a big one.

She was proud of her finished products. We then put a toothpick in the bottoms and sat them chocolate side down in cupcake wrappers. Two were put in a sandwich bag for each kid in her class.

And, there, we have a cute, easy treat for friends.
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hung with care

I love Christmas cards. The ones from us to many of you are ready to be mailed. And now the ones we receive will have a home that isn't whatever counter or mantel space I can find.

It's an embroidery hoop with wooden clothespins [spray painted red and green] glued to it. The pins are alternating directions so the cards will hang to the outside and inside the wreath.

The idea for this wreath came from a blurb in Martha Stewart Living, a magazine that for some unknown reasons appears in my mailbox. I'll take free and crafty though.