Simple Handmade Ornaments - Just in Time for the Holidays!

I've always enjoyed handmade ornaments and gifts around the holidays. Those sweaters and blankets I received as a child, made by my favorite Aunts, always made me feel special. Now that I am a Mom I put aside my breakable glass ornaments and turned to homemade ornaments - at first out of need, but now more out of choice.

Little, curious fingers have a way of finding sharp or dangerous decorations on the tree. So, I started making my own.

For these ornaments you will need:

• Plastic or glass ornaments, I prefer the flatter style, but either will work.
• Mod Podge
• water
• Epsom Salt
• Silhouette Silver Foil
• Cut file of choice for a word, phrase or snowflake
• Silhouette Cameo

I found my ornaments at Walmart in the craft section, but check out your local craft store. They are bound to have some clear ornaments for decorating.

Then with my Silhouette Cameo I purchased a few simple decorations and words to use on my ornaments. I love this printable silver foil also. It was pretty durable and very easy to cut and place on my ornament. I actually found it easier to work with than the usual adhesive vinyl.

I cut it out as directed by the Silhouette studio program and then weeded my designs and kept them ready to put on the front of the ornaments.

Then came the fun part...

Remove the top of the ornament. In a disposable container I mixed a little Mod Podge with water. Just a few teaspoons to create a great pour-able consistency. Then I poured it into my first ornament and swished it around to coat the entire inside.

Pour the excess back into your bowl and then sprinkle the inside with Epsom Salt.

The reaction is like magic!

The Salt clings and reacts with the water to create a fabulous ice finish. Best part is, the mess is all contained inside the ornament. Gently shake out any excess, replace the top and repeat for all the remaining ornaments.

That just leaves sticking the adhesive silver foil on the outside of the ornament. And there you have it, 3 new ornaments in about 20 minutes. Perfect for your own tree, or to give out as gifts!

Do you make handmade gifts or ornaments for the holidays? What do you make?

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Felt Crafts - Simple Santa Ornament

Yes, I have already started to think about Christmas...  Each year I hope to tackle a number of Christmas crafts and projects and this year I wanted to start out with a fast ornament project. We started the tradition of handmade Holidays when my son was 1. I sadly parted with my glass ornaments and crystal icicles as soon as it become obvious the baby was going to make a mess of them.

Because I still wanted a tree, I decided to go simple and handmade. A few years ago the kids and I created cinnamon ornaments and paper chains to decorate our tree. It was a huge hit and a tradition was born.

My breakables are still safely tucked away for a future Christmas, but for now I only use our handmade or natural decorations. This year I wanted to create some fun felt ornaments for the tree. With another toddler in the house I want everything to be safe for him.

I started by ordering a variety of wool felt from Etsy. Yes, you can find inexpensive acrylic felt at the craft store, but the wool felt is more durable, thicker and easy to cut. I am a huge fan.

Just a heads up, I am participating in a Handmade Holiday roundup next week and will have a more elaborate felt ornament  to share then. I am so excited for the unveil.

To get started, grab your supplies and print off the Santa template.

I suggest to trace the template with Freezer Paper that can be ironed right onto the wool. This makes cutting out exact shapes so much easier.

You Will Need:

• wool felt in red, white, pink and flesh tone/peach
• Freezer paper
• felt glue
• pink marker
• permanent black marker
• embroidery floss
• embroidery needle
• batting or cotton
• 5" of ribbon
• sequins, white or opal
• seed beads, white or clear

Cut  out all the pieces using your template.

I used a pink marker to create rosey cheeks for Santa, then used a little felt glue to attach the face to the back of the beard.

I embellished the mustache and tassel of Santa's hat with some sequins and seed beads before stitching the mustache to the front beard pieces. Then I stitched around the bottom of the beard leaving the top open for a little bit of batting.

I wanted to give his beard a little dimension.

Once filled, I stitched down the top of the beard and glued on the nose.

Use a marker to fill in eyes and any other detail on the face.

Then I glued and sewed the ribbon hook to the bottom piece of the hat. With the blanket stitch I went around the top of the hat and added the tassle,

Then I used the two white brim pieces to sandwich together the hat and attach it to Santa's head. Simply stitch around the brim to hold it all together.

Then Santa is ready to adorn your tree. I hope this inspires you to whip up some one-of-a-kind felt ornaments for your own tree this year.

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Looking for a Unique Gift or Baby Sweater? Try Nancy's Needlework

*Disclaimer - I received an item for Nancy's Needlework for the purpose of this review. This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own. 

As I have mentioned, I have spent a fair amount of time shopping on Etsy over the past year to prepare for baby #3. I love to knit and craft myself, but between 1st trimester morning sickness and 3rd trimester fatigue, I didn't get as far along in my baby projects as I would have liked. Thank goodness my baby blanket squares are all knitted up, I just need to block and sew them together. Elliott arrived last week and now I am too busy to start any new projects for a while.

But, I am not the only one I know having a baby right now. My little nephew is going to be one year old next month, we have friends who are expecting, others who are TTC, and I am going to be an aunt again in January. So it is back to Etsy to help me supply one-of-a-kind hand-made items for all these precious babies in my life.

I was excited to learn about Nancy's Needlework on Etsy. She had her Grand Opening in May and has already created some lovely items. You can find her shop under 'nwisman'. I don't proclaim to be a skilled knitter and still have two unfinished baby sweaters on the needles. But, I do appreciate the time and effort that goes into producing these adorable items. Nancy's work though is a great alternative to me struggling to finish those sweaters in time.

The sweater set I was sent is knitted out of a soft cotton, making it easier to launder and dry for baby. That is going to come in handy since this little guy tends to spit up a lot.  I love the self-striping green to white yarn she used. I think it is going to look great with Elliott's coloring. This set is for a baby age 3-6 months which should hit perfectly for him to wear during this Fall and Winter seasons.

The hat and sweater are both beautifully made. As a knitter, I can appreciate the skill it takes to create such even tension and join it smoothly at the seams.

For hand knitted items, I was thrilled with the pricing. For the amount of time and love put into these garments, I see it as well worth it. Also, check out her sidebar for requesting custom items. One of the things I love so much about Etsy is talking to the crafters and artists and finding out if they can make what I am looking for. I would also love this sweater in a self-striping dark blue.

The details and seams are beautiful. The cotton yarn is soft and great for small children and their messes.

This set I am keeping for my own baby, but after browsing Nancy's shop, I might have to snag a few of her other patterns for my nephew and to give as baby shower gifts. I really like the toddler sweater embellished with sheep.

Also check out her variety of cross stitch samplers.

What do you think? Doesn't Elliott look handsome?

You can also connect with @NancyWisman on Twitter and Nancy's Needlework on Facebook.

*Disclaimer - I received an item for Nancy's Needlework for the purpose of this review. This post was made possible by Mom Spark Media. Thoughts are my own.