Christmas Ornament Memories

I love Christmas! It's my favorite holiday. There's just something special about celebrating the birth of our Savior and spending special times with family and friends.

Decorating has always been a joy for me, and I often get teased by my husband that I overdo on it. But it's only once a year and I like to make it really special. My decorations are simple and not fussy, so I think I do keep it a lot more simple that he does.

For many years now I have made a unique ornament for my family and special friends. It's become a big tradition and every year someone or two or three, ask me what I am making each Christmas. I love to keep it a secret, and although my husband and kids get to see the whole process from start to finish, others who do not live in this house, don't! I love keeping it a surprise.

Over the years I have made things from cloth, wood, paper and plastic. You just never know what my mind is going to come up with or I might find inspiration from as I am out and about.

These are just a few of the ones I have made, and each one is signed by me and dated so I can remember that year easily.

So what is this year's? Well, here it is.....

And this is the happy bowl holding the few I have left to hand out to some local friends and loved ones. Many, many more have been mailed off to their new homes.

I hope you find a way to make each Christmas special and full of memories you can cherish for years to come.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Organizing Made Simple and Quick

This reviewer received the product free or at a discounted price in order to bring you an honest review. No other form of compensation was given. All opinions are those of the reviewer.

I may have mentioned this once or twice (or more) before, but I really do like to be organized and have things all neat and tidy. I feel better when things are where they belong and there isn't a lot of clutter. Do I always achieve that.....NO! I wish I could say yes, but life happens and sometimes it can cause a mess, and stacks of paper, and crafts supplies that need to be put away, and laundry not folded, dishes to be washed, and.......

I think you get my point. My guys try to help, but I will admit, I can be a bit of an OCD person. Okay, yes, I am a bit of a control freak, but I am working on it.

Being a bit of a control freak, I love products that make life easier and neater. Storage containers of all sizes really make me smile. I love going down the isles in stores where all those nice plastic storage bins reside. They make me happy, like the small organizer I got just a few days ago.

The Lasten Plastic Jewelry Organizer is a really nice little container that is helping me with storing craft items.

The container is small, which makes it easy to move around and take with you wherever you may want to craft. It comes with small, removable dividers. You can have up to 36 spots to keep things in. I love how you can rearrange things to fit just what you need it to hold. It's clear plastic, making it really easy to see what is inside. The little inserts that make each little compartment come out and go back in with ease, so it can be used for all kinds of things, crafts, makeup, toys, collections, and more!

The lid closes tightly and has two locking snaps to hold it shut. When I first opened it, it was a little difficult. After using it for a while now, it is easier, yet still holds the lid securely. This is a great little container to help me coral my washi tape. I tried several other things in it, but love how it holds all my rolls of tape and I can see them easily.

I am one small step closer to be as organized as I would like to be. My husband says it is unrealistic for me to think I will ever be "As Organized" as I would like to be. A girl can dream though!

You can find the Lasten Plastic Jewelry Organizer HERE!

Quick and Simple Craft With Funny Craft Washi Tape

Wahsi!!! Please tell me you know what it is.

No, well let me tell you.

Washi is a fun kind of tape that you use to decorate, well pretty much everything. You use it like you would ribbon, but instead of gluing it down or sewing it on, you simply tape it down. Because it's tape! But here is the cool thing....it's re-positionable. If you don't get it in the right place the first time, you can take it off and do it again. Not many craft items are that forgiving. You can also write on it with a marker or Sharpie.

Washi Tape sticks to pretty much everything and since you can move it around, you can really be creative by moving the tape to get just the right look or angle. It's really super thin too, so you can see the pattern of another Wahsi Tape behind the one in the front. You can create your own kind of pattern doing that. It's so easy to place and edge frames, book pages, decorate lockers, lamp shades and more. You are really only limited by your imagination, oh and the ideas of all of those thousands of other people on the internet who have played with it. LOL!

Funny Craft has some wonderful and fun Washi Tape available. I absolutely love all the vibrant colors and designs on their Washi Tape. The set of Washi Tape comes with 12 rolls, each with a different pattern. I had a lot of fun playing with them and thought I would show you one really quick project I did for a friend.

I used an old envelope that a bill came in and cut off the corner. I measured up on each side 1½" and then cut the whole corner off.

After cutting the corner off, it's just a mater of placing on different strips of Washi to decorate it on both sides. After putting on the tape, trim of the excess on each side. Repeat with the same pattern or a different one on the back.

So what is this simple little craft.....a bookmark! That's it. A simple little gift that can be made in a matter of minutes that is cute and marks your page in your book.

I even made several that I cut a little larger, measuring up 2" on each side of the envelope.

The Funny Craft Washi Tape is a lot of fun. I love the patterns, some are metallic, and they look great on cards, in scrapbooks and more. Great for using with your kids too!

You can purchase the Funny Craft Washi Tape HERE!

This reviewer received the product free or at a discounted price in order to bring you an honest review. No other form of compensation was given. All opinions are those of the reviewer.

Glass Ornaments To Personalize Your Christmas Tree

I know you are not going to want to hear about this, but it's time to think about things you need to make for Christmas. As an avid crafter, I make a lot of gifts for people and since I do, I have plan far ahead to avoid being crazy near the holidays. I certainly don't want to do that.

One thing I do every year for my family and closest friends is make an ornament. I love doing it and it is a special way to let them all know how much they mean to me. And they get to remember each year as they hang up the ornaments from previous years.

Sparkle Style has some wonderful Clear Round Glass Christmas Ornaments that are perfect for making all kinds of ornaments! They come in a set of 12 and each one has it's own little bubble wrap bag to keep it safe and protected. This is great for when you store them from year to year. The set also comes with a microfiber cloth to help polish the glass so they always look nice and shiny and show off how you decorate them. The ornaments are well made and are easy to use as they are or to fill them or paint them or any number of other creative things.

Now for decorating, the ways to use these glass balls is almost limitless. They aren't just for Christmas either. You can use them for all kinds of events and holidays. I've seen them for Valentines, New Years, Birthdays, Easter, and more. One wedding I knew about had a tree of these with an ornament for each guest to take home as a keepsake. Inside was a picture of the bride and groom. Cute idea!

Now to help spur you on here is one I made!

And to spur you on with even more ideas, here is a great site for ideas! 25 Ways To Decorate Clear Glass ornaments. I love a lot of them!! They are all super easy to make and add that nice personal touch to your tree or to your gift giving.

You can purchase the Sparkle Style Clear Round Glass Christmas Ornaments HERE!

This reviewer received the product free or at a discounted price in order to bring you an honest review. No other form of compensation was given. All opinions are those of the reviewer.

The Hokey Pokey and Washi Tape

Wahsi!!! Please tell me you know what it is.

No, well let me tell you.

Washi is a fun kind of tape that you use to decorate, well pretty much everything. You use it like you would ribbon, but instead of gluing it down or sewing it on, you simply tape it down. Because it's tape! But here is the cool thing....it's re-positionable. If you don't get it in the right place the first time, you can take it off and do it again. Not many craft items are that forgiving. You can also write on it with a marker or Sharpie.

Washi Tape sticks to pretty much everything and since you can move it around, you can really be creative by moving the tape to get just the right look or angle. It's really super thin too, so you can see the pattern of another Wahsi Tape behind the one in the front. You can create your own kind of pattern doing that. It's so easy to place and edge frames, book pages, decorate lockers, lamp shades and more. You are really only limited by your imagination, oh and the ideas of all of those thousands of other people on the internet who have played with it. LOL!

L'artisant has some wonderful and fun Washi Tape available. I absolutely love all the vibrant colors and designs on their Washi Tape. The set I have from them is just one of many and called Summer Fun. I had a lot of fun playing with them and thought I would show you one really quick project I did for a friend.

You start with a chipboard coaster and start covering it with the Washi Tape in rows, alternating the colors to fit the look you want. Overlap the edges over the back Continue up the whole coaster, overlapping by a scant eighth of an inch until you cover the whole coaster.

When you have finished covering the coaster, cover the back with a piece of paper you have cut the size of the coaster. Glue it on and let it dry completely. Then attach some magnets to it with a good glue and let that dry too.

While things are drying, fine one of your favorite saying in your stamp collection or on the internet and prepare it on a white piece of paper. You can find all kinds of sayings on the internet if you don't have just the right stamp. I chose one of my favorite silly saying stamps I have. It makes me laugh. Then take a sponge and smudge the edges of the white paper with the saying with a coordinating ink color. I love smudging things like this, gives them a fun look.

Mount the saying on coordinating colors of paper to frame it, or edge it with more Washi Tape. Attach it on top of the Washi Tape. Add a couple of decorative things, like buttons.

There you go! You have a fast, fun, and cute magnet to share with a friend or put on your fridge. This is super simple and even your kids would enjoy doing this.

L'artisant Washi Tape is a way to really bring out your creative side and just have some fun with bright colors and patterns! Trust me, it's fun for a multitude of crafting projects!

You can purchase L'artisant Washi Tape HERE!

This reviewer has been compensated with receiving the product free or at a discounted price in order to bring you an honest review. All opinions are those of the reviewer.

Spool Apple Ornament Craft

I thought I would a very simple ornament , and I do mean very simple, that you can make or even make with your kids! It's a Spool Apple Ornament! I made this one a few years ago and plan on making more.

The things you need for making them are pretty simple, 

spools, paint, brushes, emery boards, scissors, glue, heavy weight string, green paper and a leaf punch.

I have a tendency to collect old wooden spools because they do make some of the neatest crafts. So before starting to paint the spools you need to clean off any of the old labels on them.  I peel off what I can and then scrape the wood slightly with the edge of a pair of scissors and then sand down any remaining paper and glue with an emery board. I don't mind though if there are bits of them left. Things I make tend to lean towards the primitive and rustic, so bumps, dings and so on don't bother me too much on some things. But if you do not have a big stash of wooden spools like I do (and yes it is big!!), plenty of craft stores carry wooden spools to buy in various sizes.

After removing labels simply start with the white paint. It will take at least 2 coats, but I would suggest 3 to be sure it is well coated and looks best.

Of course the red comes next. Simple to do one end at a time. Leave the edges curvy and bumpy so it looks like an apple that has been eaten. Oh and make sure to put paint down inside the opening of the spool hole. It looks better if you do.

Follow with the seeds. I added three little seeds in two place or three, depending on how big the spool was. It's easy to do, just put a little paint on the end of a fine point brush. Lay the brush tip down on the spool with the point towards the center of the clump of seeds. It just naturally makes a tear drop-like shape, perfect for the seeds! Practice a couple of times on some paper first to get the hang of it.

Next comes putting in the heavy string or cording. I tend to be a person who uses whatever I have on hand and heavy weight string is what I had. I cut a piece of string about one foot long, folded it in half and fed the ends through the spool hole. On the bottom I knotted the two ends together repeatedly making the knot bigger and bigger until it was just almost too big for the hole. It was about three knots on top of each other. I then placed a little dab of glue in the hole opening and pulled the string up tight inside till it was just flush with the wood. Then I cut off the ends of the string. It can sit flat when right side up, but isn't going to go anywhere because of the glue! Of course you could also get extra creative and tie a bell or something similar to the end of the string too! 

At the top of the spool I tied a big knot just to kind of hide the spool hole a little and it just looks better!

I punched out two leaves from card stock, put my initials on one and the date on the other (I always date the ornaments I make!). I bent the stem end of the leaf and put a dab of glue on the back of each leaf, attached them to the top of the spool by putting the stem end in the hole. I then curled the leaves up a little so they weren't laying flat.

It's a pretty simple ornament, but one that is fun to make. If you want to do something different  you could attach a little tag or larger leaf that says something like, "You are the apple of my eye!"  Or there are plenty of other things you could attach to it too! One year I made quite a few of these with my kids. They had a lot of fun and our tree looked great full of apples!

Have fun creating!

Candy Cane Mice ~ A Christmas Craft

I love making little Christmas goodies for friends and family, and the occasional random person who happens into my life around Christmas! One of the little goodies I am making with a couple of my dearest friends is Candy Cane Mice. This one is an oldy but a goody!

We had a ball crafting these little guys. The day was full of laughter, good food, and even better fellowship. I love spending days with my friends like this. The conversation goes all over the place, we get to share while doing something we all enjoy, and the end results are going to bless other people! That's what I call a good day. Oh and of course there was good coffee too!

So if you want to make some of these adorable Candy Cane Mice here's what you need:

• Candy Cane Mice template 
• Felt in a variety of colors
• Pencil or Pen
• Fabric shears 
• Craft glue 
• Candy canes (full size or small 3" individually wrapped, you just want to make sure the candy canes are individually wrapped or they don't fit in the mouse. )
• Craft Knife or Scissors
• Hole Punch
• Wiggly Eyes (optional)

The process is really easy. If you are using full size candy canes you want to enlarge the template by 150%. If you are using the smaller candy canes (like we did) you want to print the template the size it is without enlarging. 

Cut out your pattern pieces. Trace the ear and body with a pencil on the color of felt you want to use. Cut out your pieces.

With a hole punch cut the nose from red felt and two eyes from black felt (or skip the eyes if using wiggly eyes). Cut the inner ear pieces from a contrasting color of felt. You can even make their noses different colors if you want.

With a craft knife or scissors and the pattern, cut the slits in the mouse for the candy cane and the ears. If you are doing this project with your kids this should be an adult only job!

Glue the face on the mouse body and the inner pieces of the ears in place. Set aside to dry.

Assemble the mice by slipping the ears through the slits in the front of the mouse body and the candy cane through the back slits and tucking them into the ears to hold them in place.

These make an adorable table favor at a party or meeting or even just a cute package topper! Plus they hang from a tree branch by their tails and look super cute as an ornament.

Here's what 100 of these little mice look like!!

Have fun crafting. I know we did!

What crafts are you planning on making this Christmas season?

(The Candy Cane Mice template came from Martha Stewart Kids, Holiday 2003)