Our Christmas Tree

Our tree is full of handmade ornaments, family ornaments and ornaments given to us by dear friends. Each ornament is significant and beautiful in its own way.

I thought I would showcase some of the handmade ornaments on our tree to give you some crafty ornament ideas.

I have several of the ornaments my mother made back in the 1970's. These are made with straight pins, sequins, beads, trim and a Styrofoam ball.



Lu's first Christmas. I suppose this is where our love of Model Magic began :-)
MM is so light, unlike plaster, it makes for a great ornament material.

Both of these were made by my niece. The glass globe ornaments was filled with paint then swished around. The bead string ornament (on left) is just that.



Made by my BFF's sons when they were little. So simple but I think very elegant!
Glitter glue, Popsicle sticks & some gold string.



Air dry clay, cookie cutter & paint



My hubby made this one. Seriously! I signed him up for a glass blowing class and this is what he made. I was impressed.



Lu just came home from school with this one. So cute! Real marshmallows glued together, glitter, felt scarf, buttons, stick arms & a photo of Lu wearing a snowman hat. So cute! Unfortunately, I don't think this one will last more than this Christmas.



Modeling clay. One of my students made this for me when I was teaching. She also played the flute at my wedding. Love her! She's a Surface Pattern Designer now! Shows you how old I am!



Another of Lu's school projects. She made this last Christmas. Popsicle sticks, felt, foam, googly eyes and ribbon.



Lu made this for her Daddy. He always used to lament that his mom threw out his pine cone bird that he made when he was a child. It was on the Christmas tree every year until his parents moved to a retirement community. He would describe it in great detail and mourn its loss. It was a long running joke between hubby and his mom. So last year Lu and I made one for him and one for his mom's tree. Grammy just about bowled over from laughter when she opened it! Well, we did a pretty good job. It got Papa King's seal of approval and is a happy man.
I tell you mamas out there don't underestimate the significance of the traditions you start now with your wee ones!

Body: pine cone, feathers, glitter glue painted onto the pine cone
Head: Styrofoam ball & feathers
Eyes: 2 straight pin, 2 sequins, 2 beads
Mouth: snipped the end off a yellow straw using a V cut. Stuck tip of straw into head leaving the V shape exposed.

Lu made this today. I love it. If Marc Chagall were to paint a Santa I think this is what it would look like.

Have fun crafting with your kids! It is time well spent!