children's artwork ornaments...

Here is a super easy way to turn your kiddo's artwork into a Christmas ornament that you can treasure for years to come!

First, I picked up some balsa wood ornament shapes from Hobby Lobby. Then, I had my toddler sponge paint on some sturdy paper.

(Since I knew I wanted to use it for an ornament, I gave him paints in Christmas-y colors. However, you could easily use any random artwork your child has already done.)

Next, I painted my wood ornaments...

...and cut circles out of my little guy's painting.

Finally, I mod podged the paper circles to my ornaments. I brushed the podge on the back of the paper & the surface of the ornament, pressed the paper until it held, then podged over the entire surface to seal it all down.

Let it dry and then you are good to go!

This project is SO fast. We made one for our tree and one for each set of grandparents, but you could easily crank out a bunch of these to give to lots of family members. It makes for a great little holiday keepsake.

Merry Christmas!

baby keepsake handprint ornament...

With a little newborn in our family, I've been trying to find ways to make my son's first Christmas special and also enjoy his tiny baby-ness while it lasts.  He's already grown so much in a month!

I really wanted to make some kind of handprint ornament and this simple clay version is what I came up with...

I don't have step-by-step pictures, but the process is quite simple.

I started with a package of Sculpey Bake Shop clay.  The Bake Shop line is supposed to be geared towards kids...but it seems exactly the same as Sculpey III to me.  (At my craft store, the Bake Shop line was a dollar cheaper for the same amount of clay.)  It comes in a variety of colors.  I went for a basic white.

If you are unfamiliar with Sculpey, it's an oven-bake polymer clay popular among crafters.  It's inexpensive and an easy product to use...so don't be afraid to try it!  I used one 2 oz. package for a one-month old baby handprint.  If you are going to make a handprint for an older kid, you'll need to get additional packages.

I kneaded the clay in my hands for a couple of minutes to soften it up, rolled it into a ball, and flattened it into a round disc shape.  Then I smooshed my sleepy baby's hand into the clay--this is the trickiest part!  If your handprint doesn't turn out, just roll it back up, flatten it out, and try again. :)  After I got a good print, I poked a ribbon hole.  I used a bamboo skewer but just use whatever you have handy--a toothpick, straw, etc.  Finally, bake according to package directions and thread your ribbon through when your ornament has cooled off.

This darling ornament is now my favorite one on the tree!

I'm sure I will tear up over it as we decorate each year at Christmas time.  

Motherhood has made me extra sentimental! :)

mod podge ornaments with free printable...

It's always nice to have some cute ornaments to give as neighbor gifts or add a little something special to gift wrap.  If they are handmade--even better.  With a few simple supplies, you can make a whole bunch of these fun mod podge ornaments in no time.

I made a free printable to share with you all, so the hard part is already done!  It includes 8 different ornament designs.  Just print on regular ol' paper or cardstock and you're good to go.

Download the pdf file HERE.

Here are the supplies you will need:

the free ornament printable
wood circles larger than 2.5" (mine are just a smidge under 2.75")
scissors
craft paint & brushes
mod podge
mod podge dimensional magic (optional)
ribbon
craft glue

Start by cutting out the ornament designs.
I'll be using these 4 for this tutorial...

Next paint your wood circles the colors of your choice.  I painted around the edges, but I should've just painted the whole thing.  You can kinda see the paint line through the ones with white backgrounds.  It's not a big deal, but it would've been easy to just paint the entire surface.  Silly me.

(And you can paint the backs or leave them raw if you're lazy like I might be.  But there is no photo evidence, so you'll never know...)

Once your paint is dry, it's time to podge!  Spread your decoupage glue all over the surface of your circle, carefully position your paper ornament design, then seal the whole thing with mod podge and allow to dry.

If you want, you can call it good at this point.

I, however, decided to take my little ornaments one step further with some mod podge dimensional magic.  If you follow my blog, you know that I've used it multiple times before to make jewelry--the sparrow pendant, my color wheel necklace, and the lace overlay pendant.  It creates a lovely glossy finish that's a bit more impressive...and it turned out fabulous on these ornaments.

Start by pouring a generous pool onto the surface of your ornament.

Then use a toothpick to work out any little air bubbles and spread it out to the edges.

The package says to let it dry 3 hours, but I always leave it overnight so I know its set.

Once they are dry, glue some ribbon loops to the back to finish.
(Or you can drill holes if you'd prefer to go that route.)

Now you can use them as gift tags or add them to some treats to take to your neighbors...

Or keep them for your own tree.

You can always make more. :)

***
Want to design your own ornament printable?
I used the MyMemories Suite 3 scrapbooking software.
It's rather inexpensive for design software and so easy to use.
Get $10 off the software using coupon code:
STMMMS86047
  (Plus you'll get a $10 coupon for the kit store after purchase!)

mistletoe pomander ornament...

I found a package of very small styrofoam balls at the dollar store and thought, "How cute would some mini-pomanders be?!"  So I bought 'em.  

And came up with this...

A mini mistletoe pomander ornament!

The best part is you can use this tutorial to make one of any size.  The ornament pictured is made using a 1.5" styrofoam ball, but you could easily make a larger version to hang above your door.

(I made my own mistletoe last year, so I'm using my pomanders as ornaments.)

Okay, to make your own you will need...

styrofoam balls

green felt (this moss-colored felt came from Michaels)

ribbon

pearls or tiny white pom poms

glue of your choice

I started by cutting out  2 small circles and glued them to the top and bottom of my foam ball.

Then I cut out a bunch of teardrop shapes for my leaves.  Just cut freehand--the varying shapes and sizes will look more organic.  If they are too perfect they look kind of fish scaly.

I used maybe half a sheet of felt total.

Then I just glued them on willy-nilly.  I overlapped, but avoided perfect rows.  

(Rows = fish scales.)

I just glued until all the foam was covered.  

It kind of looks like a tiny artichoke.  

So if you like tiny artichoke Christmas ornaments, you are done! :)

If you'd like it to look more mistletoe-ish... glue on some pearls or teensy white pom poms for the berries. 

I decided I wanted to add a little somthin'-somethin' to my pomander, so I cut a scrap of fabric and used a sharpie to write a saucy little message.  (But you could leave this step out if you are opposed to sauciness.)

I glued my "smooch!" to the top of my pomander...

...then added a loop of ribbon and a bow.

Finished!

Now this cute little guy is hanging on my tree, demanding kisses from passers-by.

pom pom christmas ornaments...

Christmas season is officially here!

Time to bust out the decorations...and make some more, of course. :)

These pom pom ornaments are a cinch to put together.  

Your kids could make their own.

Start with clear plastic ornaments, pom poms in the colors/sizes of your choice (I went with small white, medium red, and larger green with tinsel), and coordinating ribbon or trim.

Pop the top of your ornaments and begin adding poms.

Fill as full as you'd like, then replace the top.

Tie on a short length of ribbon and notch the ends.

You could add a little tag or charm as well.

That's it!

Your cute pom pom ornament is done in the blink of an eye and ready to hang on the tree.

simple pearly snowflake ornaments...

i had this pile of gorgeous wood snowflake ornaments...
(literally.)

they were burned out of the wood rather than cut, so they have these beautiful browned edges.  no sanding required.  the problem was, i didn't want to paint over the edges but the snowflakes were too plain just left as bare wood.

solution? that pearlizing medium i mentioned before.

i suspected it might create a lovely translucent shimmer allowing those pretty edges to shine through...and i was right!  i just did one light coat and that was all i needed...

it created these delicious frosty edges.  the pictures don't even do it justice.

can't wait to get these pretties on the tree this weekend!  that shimmer is going to look gorgeous next to the christmas lights.

gift tag christmas ornament tutorial...

thanksgiving is next week.  that means the christmas decorations go up next week, too!

every year, i like to get crafty and make a few new ornaments.  i have several in progress, but i thought i'd share how i made these cute gift tag ornaments...

i snagged these balsa wood gift tags for about $1.25 on sale at roberts.  although, i'm sure you could find something similar at pretty much any craft store.

 start by sanding the edges a little bit to get rid of any stray splinters.   
(tip: if you don't have sandpaper, use a nail file or emory board.  it's basically the same thing!)

next, paint each tag with craft paint.  my tree is going to be red, green, blue, and white this year, so that's the color scheme i went with.   

(another tip: i put down a dollar store plastic table cloth so i don't have to worry about spills.  you could paint right on it, but i put down a little sheet of wax paper, too.)

i wanted the ornaments to have a little shimmer without using glitter, so i mixed this pearlizing medium into my paint.

 it was less than $2 at roberts and worked like a charm.  (you can't see the shimmer too well in the pictures...but trust me.  it's there.)

okay.  once your tags are dry, it's time to bust out the scrapbook paper.

you could decorate these with any kind of design, but i went with little trees.  they are simple to make...no super artistic skills required.
 i cut out 1.5 x 2.25" rectangles of the papers i wanted to use.

 then, i cut those rectangles into long skinny triangles.
like i said--WAY easy.

i arranged my triangles on the tags, then cut contrasting paper for the trunks using the scraps.  just cut small, thin triangles.  (i also added stars to the tops of a couple...you could use a hole punch to make little ornaments, too, if you wanted.)

next, use mod podge to attach your trees.  spread a thin, even coat over the tag and on the back of your paper pieces.  smooth into place, then spread a thin coat over the whole thing.

once they are dry, add a bit of ribbon and you're done!

so simple and cute.  i'm considering making more to give as little gifts....