25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 25

{MERRY CHRISTMAS}

 

I did it

 

25 Ornaments in 25 Days in celebration of Christmas!

 

Here is my final creation

 

 

I had several ornament ideas swimming around in my head, but when I got a super special present from my hubby I settled on this one.

 

What did he buy me?  A Silhouette Cameo!!!!

 

Lucky, lucky me.  So I pulled out some white vinyl from my stash and whipped up this little beauty.  The M is for my last name, and the polka dot design (which I discovered on Pinterest) was just for fun.  I took one of my cream colored ornaments and colored on it with a Copic marker.  I used the brush tip to create little sweeping marks all over it, to appear as if there is a texture.  I decided to add the green silk ribbon as a hanger to keep it simple and elegant.

 

I have so many other designs I want to try that I think I might do this again - maybe for Easter.

 

If you checked in to follow my progress, thanks for stopping by! 

 

 

 

 

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 24

Here's my 24th ornament design

I took a profile picture of each of my daughters, and then in my Photoshop program I added a special effect so that it would create an easy to cut outline

 

I grabbed a piece of black vinyl and attached the trimmed photos to it using a removable tape

 

 

I trimmed around the images and set them aside to work on the frame.

 

I traced around a Spellbinders Nestabilities shape because I needed to be larger than the largest one. 

 

I cut it out and glued some patterned paper to it

 

Once it dried I cut around the outside

 

 

On the backside I had traced the die so that I could cut it out to create a frame

 

 

I pulled out some ink and distressing tools to "age" the edges a bit

 

 

I attached the picture to the back side of the frame and used some hot glue to attach a hanger.

 

One more day...



25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 23

Here's today's ornament with a great big *SIGH*

 

 

I'm not very happy with it :(

 

I'd seen some online that looked fairly easy to make.  Fortunately my girls were able to join in with me, and I certainly had plenty of blossoms and pins to play with.

 

Here were my supplies

 

 

I didn't really see the gaps between the flowers until I started taking pictures.  I think it would have worked out better had I thought it through a bit before pinning, but I just jumped right in without getting organized first.

 

Fortunately I've got more foam balls, so I think I will try again, but I am calling it quits for tonight.  It does look pretty on my tree, I just need to go back over and fill in some gaps.

 

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 22

Here's yet another idea I got off Pinterest, but as always I put my own touches on it.

 

 

The one I found on Pinterest had a popsicle stick, and I used some lollipop sticks I already had on hand (to make those brownie pops we bought a special silicone pan for and only used once!).

 

There are a couple of fussy aspects to it, but it really took only about 10 minutes to put together.

 

I cut two strips of felt about 1/2" wide.  I couldn't tell you the lengths, but it doesn't really matter except that the "outside" piece should be slightly longer (about 1") than the other piece.

 

I matched them up at one end and rolled them like this

 

I used a blade to poke a small hole through all the layers.

Then I poked the stick through each hole on both pieces (except for the one that will ultimately be the middle of the lollipop).

 

Once I made all the holes big enough, and then I put the strips on the stick like this

 

 

Then I matched up the other two ends - and although you see a gap between the pieces, they will eventually match up all the way around.

 

 

Once it was all rolled up, I passed the stick through all the holes (thus, the fussy part).  A little hot glue keeps the pieces together on the end.

I finished it off with some ribbon and a hanger that I attached using a needle and floss

 

 

 I couldn't decided whether to do white or red on the outside, since both pieces of felt had glitter in them.  So I made one of each.

 

I think a person could simplify this by gluing the stick (whether a lollipop or popsicle stick) to the back side.  I just wanted a cleaner look, and it really wasn't as tedious as it probably seems.

I don't think it matters, but I used a stiff felt material, because that's what I already had on hand, but I think any felt would be fine.  Also, I thought the sticks looked too long, so I trimmed them a bit.

 

I just love that once again I didn't need to purchase anything for this project, but even if I had it would have been quite affordable.  And you could make several in one sitting.  This is an ornament that would look sooooo cute decorating a gift, don't you think?

 

Three more ornaments to go...

 

 

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 21

I can't believe I've made 21 ornaments so far!  In some cases I made 2 or 3 for a particular design.

 

Here's today's ornament

This one is made out of a ribbon spool (which has been done many times before), but I put my own spin on it.

 

I started with the spool and some glittery ribbon

I glued it on in strips that I cut down around the circle when the glue dried.

I grabbed a circle punch, some kraft paper and an angel punch to create a decoration with a window for the glitter to peek through.

 

It just needed this fiber to wrap around the inside of the spool.  I wrapped it around a few times so that it could be seen on all sides.

 

I've managed to use up so many itmes from my stash - it's great!

 

Four more days and four more ornaments left to make...

 

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 20

Here's another quickie, and it also came from an idea I found on Pinterest.

It's a "melted" snowman made with hot glue.

 

Unfortunately I couldn't take a lot of pictures during the process because the glue hardens so fast (which is ironic, since it's supposed to look melted).

 

I cut a nose out of orange felt, and added black rhinestones because that's what I had on hand.  I made two, one for each of my daughters. 

 

I used waxed paper - NOT A GOOD IDEA - it sticks.  Instead, I should have used aluminum foil as recommended in the tutorial I came across.

 

I was able to get the snowman off with some waxed paper stuck to the back.  It doesn't appear to affect the overall look too much, but it was annoying to fuss with.

 

 

 

My oldest DD decided to make one and we put that on the foil.  It came off beautifully!

 

The best part about these is that they're cute and quick.  However, it absolutely requires adult supervision.

 

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 19

Whew, I had a looooong exhausting day, but I managed to decide on an ornament to make, and here it is

I got this idea off Pinterest, and it only takes a few simple items

 

I took last year's Christmas newsletter, changed the font to Old English and cut it down into long and short, narrow and wide strips.

 

Then I layered them using Mod Podge

 

I started with the longer strips, and then filled the gaps with shorter strips

 

I love this type of craft where there is no right way to do it.

 

I sprinkled some glitter over the ornament and also over the "cap". 

 

I think I would've preferred less fine glitter - silver would have been nice, but despite all the colors I have in my stash, silver isn't one of them.

 

Nonetheless, I am very pleased with the result and I think it's a lovely way to preserve an old newsletter.

 

Unfortunately I didn't type one up this year - oh well, there's always next year...

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 18

Here's one I borrowed from the Martha Stewart website

 

I added a few touches of my own, but it's pretty much a cookie cutter ornament.

 

I bought the gingerbread man at Michael's for $1 and the rest I had on hand.

 

 

I traced the cookie cutter and then cut out the shape

 

I used some extra strong craft glue around the backside of the cookie cutter.  Once I stuck it on the paper I wiped away the excess glue.  I also put a heavy mug on the ornament to keep it stuck together while the glue dried.

I went back around the edge of the ornament to add a little glitter.  It's a nice way to cover up the edges of the paper that stuck out a bit.

 

Once that dried, I brushed away the extra glitter and used some hot glue to add a hanger.

 

The striped ribbon just seemed to be a nice finishing touch.  I will add this one to the list of great ornaments to make with the kids.

 

I haven't actually decided which ornament I will make tomorrow.  I have a few ideas, but I thought I'd wait and see what kind of time I have on my hands.

 

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 17

I said this one would be quick and easy, and it sure was.

 

It's our Christmas card for this year.  Personally, I love it, but I think it looks like a giant coaster.  I wanted to keep a copy of this one, so I figured what better way to preserve it than to turn it into an ornament?

 

So a little punch here, and another punch there and I've got two holes to string some ribbon through.

 

Here's how it turned out

 

 

It's printed on cardstock (from Tiny Prints) so the "glare" in the corner is part of the finished effect.

 

It may have crossed your mind that I didn't make these myself - crazy enough I rarely do.  Isn't that weird?  I used to make my own cards every year, but with all the other crafty stuff I do, I would prefer to skip it.

Ah well, tomorrow's ornament is definitely a step up in creativity and it's a bit more challenging...

25 Days of Christmas Ornaments - DAY 16

Here's a peek at the ornament I'm making today.

 

I haven't started yet - but see if you can figure it out.

Hmmmm....I'll be back on later to share...

And here it is

 

Here are the steps I took

 

 

He looks pretty cute on the tree, but I'd like to fix his arms. 

 

I think I'll do that in the AM and see how he looks.  I did have fun playing around with this sock - I originally thought I'd create a little sock monster using some festive socks.  But when I saw these socks at the store I came up with the Santa idea.

 

I think something not quite so complicated will work for tomorrow's ornament...