Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

Tags

Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas decor, Christmas Ornament, Christmas party, Christmas tradition, classic Christmas, craft, happy holidays, holiday craft, holiday ornament, holiday tradition, mistletoe, Ornament, Xmas craft, Xmas ornaments, XMas party

Mistletoe Craft or Ornament
I love to hang mistletoe in my home… any excuse to kiss Hubster is good. 😉 Okay, so I don’t need an excuse, but I think it’s a cute festive decoration.

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe

 

I started with three fuzzy green pipe cleaners and bent them in half to create the “stems”. Then, tied a long piece of burgundy ribbon around the middle of the pipe cleaners to create the hanging piece. I took a smaller piece of burgundy ribbon and tied it lower of the stems, to create a “bunch”. I cut heart-shaped leaves out of green fleece, cutting down the middle of the heart, but not through the base of the heart. Next, I staggered and glued two hearts upside-down on each pipe cleaner. Then I glued 5 white pearls at the bottoms of each stem to create “berries”. I carefully arranged each stem into place, spreading out each branch.

Mistletoe Bunch

 

Then it was time to hang it over my head and see it Hubster got the hint… which was a pretty big deal since it was during yesterday’s football game. Then I hung it in the doorway leading into the living room.

What classic Christmas tradition do you love?

Eleventh Day of Christmas – Gingerbread Man Ornament

Tags

11th day of Christmas, 12 Days of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas craft, Christmas Ornament, Christmas present, Christmas tree, craft, easy craft, eleventh day of Christmas, embroidery, funny ornament, gingerbread man, handmade, handmade gift, handmade ornament, happy holidays, holiday craft, holiday ornament, holiday season, holiday spirit, holiday tradition, homemade, homemade gift, homemade ornament, kid craft, party favor, present, simple craft, twelve days of Christmas, whimsical ornament, Xmas present

On the eleventh day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Gingerbread Man Ornaments, Fleece Blankets, Bottle Cap Magnets, Fleece Sphere Ornament, Button Wreath Ornament, Christmas Mouse Cat Toy, Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

This morning’s post is a little late… 12 hours too late. I thought this would be a cute whimsical ornament to add to our Christmas tree, a half eaten gingerbread man. Pumpkin designed one and started to put it together then gave up, I designed and assembled the other before helping him finish his. Most of the materials we have left over from other crafts. I didn’t have red button, so we painted them. I only spent 50¢ additional for the two squares of felt.

Gingerbread Man Ornaments

 

How To:
Using a large gingerbread cookie cutter, trace the shape twice on tan or brown felt. Decide where you want him “bitten” and draw teeth marks. Cut out gingerbread men. Cut out eyes from felt or fleece and arrange on face, place red button where you want the mouth. If you’re happy with the layout, glue eyes and mouth on face. Using black embroidery thread, stitch eyebrows above the eyes. Use white shimmery embroidery thread to stitch buttons to chest, making “peppermints”. Glue ribbon to inside of back piece. Place two sides together and stitch around the gingerbread man to create “frosting”, skipping where there are bite marks. Stuff the gingerbread man with fiber fill. Use hot glue gun to close gingerbread man at the bite marks. Sit back and admire your gingerbread man… and try not to eat.

Whimsical Gingerbread Ornament

 

Approx. Cost:
Felt square = 25¢ , spool of ribbon = $1, fiber fill = $, bag of glue sticks = $2, package of buttons = $1, small package of embroidery thread = 25¢    Each ornament costs about 40¢

Gingerbread Man Ornament

 

Can you guess who made which gingerbread man?

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

 

Seventh Day of Christmas – Button Wreath Ornament

Tags

12 Days of Christmas, 7th day of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas craft, Christmas Ornament, Christmas tree, classic Christmas, holiday craft, holiday traditions, holiday wreath, Holidays, kids craft, Ornament, ornament craft, party favor, seventh day of Christmas, twelve days of Christmas, XMas, XMas ornament, XMas party

On the seventh day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Button Wreath Ornament, Christmas Mouse Cat Toy, Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

I remember all the Christmas ornaments that we hung on our Christmas tree that my great-grandfather had made; small and simple, yet very detailed . I remember a button wreath and think that’s one of the ones he made. Part of my name comes from him and I thought it an appropriate way to honor him would be to make a few button wreaths for our tree.

Button Wreath Ornament

How To:
Cut a piece of floral wire to desired length. Begin to string buttons in random order, leaving 1/2″ of wire on both ends. Twist together ends and reshape wreath into circle if needed. Cut ribbon and tie overtop of exposed wire. Tie ribbon into bow and shape. Cut ends of ribbon at an angle and if needed dab on clear nail polish or fray check.

Approx. Cost:
floral wire = $2, 3 packages of buttons = $1 each, spool of ribbon = $1. About 75¢ each wreath.

This ornament is a great Christmas craft for kids. These wreath ornaments are perfect to attach to gift tags or slip it over the neck of a gift wine bottle. Pass out as party favors or have your child pass them out to classmates in lieu of cards.

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

Fifth Day of Christmas – Melted Frosty Ornament

Tags

12 Days of Christmas, 5th day of Christmas, Christmas, Christmas cheer, Christmas decor, Christmas gift, Christmas Ornament, Christmas party, Christmas snow, Christmas tree, craft, custom ornament, easy craft, fifth day of Christmas, funny ornament, gift giving, gift ideas, handmade ornament, Holiday, holiday spirit, homemade ornament, kid craft, melted frosty, melted snowman, Ornament, party favor, personalized gifts, quick craft, snowman, snowman ornament, twelve days of Christmas, whimsical ornament, winter, winter craft, XMas, XMas ornament, XMas party

On the fifth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Melted Frosty Ornament, Crocheted Fan Bookmarks, Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Today’s gift idea is a whimsical ornament surely to delight children and adults the same. This Melted Frosty Ornament is quick and simple to make. This is a great craft for older kids, supervised with the glue gun of course.

Melted Frosty Ornament

How to:
Heat up glue gun and set aside. Using black fleece or felt, cut small top hat. Cut small piece of ribbon and glue across hat. Cut a 6″ piece of silver yarn and knot ends together, trim excess. Cut a small triangle from the orange felt and set aside. Place foil or wax paper on cutting board, baking tray or rotary mat. Place silver loop on the foil, knot face down. Take glue gun and drizzle glue on top of the knot and downward to create a dripping face. Quickly press felt hat into place, add carrot nose, place two bead for the eyes and begin to arrange the remaining beads for the mouth. Try to keep the number of bead for the mouth odd, 5 or 7 looks better than 6. Allow glue to cool completely. Tear Frosty off of foil and make sure edges that are stuck to the ornament are smoothed out.

Customize your Frosty :
Make your Frosty smile or make your Frosty frown. Use small foil holly leaves and three red beads for holly berries added on top of the satin ribbon. For a shimmery Frosty, sprinkle a bit of glitter dust over the wet glue. Cut out a small pipe and glue to the mouth.  Have fun with it!

Approx. Cost:
1 square of black fleece = 50¢, 1 square of orange fleece = 50¢, hot glue sticks $2 a bag, small beads = $2 a tube, 1 sheet of tin foil 25¢, small skein of silver yarn = $2  Melted Frosty Ornament = under 30¢ each

Once again this ornament makes a great party favor for any holiday party, attach the to gifts in place of a box or give them out to students before break.

2009′s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudge, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

Third Day of Christmas – Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments

Tags

Christmas, Christmas decor, Christmas Ornament, Christmas snow, Christmas wreath, classic Christmas, classic decor, Crochet, crochet snowflake, crocheted, decor, gift, gift giving, gift tag, handmade, handmade ornament, holiday decor, homemade, homemade ornament, hooking, ornaments, simple snowflake, XMas, XMas ornament

On the third day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments, Wine Glass Charms and Glass Globe Ornaments…

Crocheted snowflake ornaments are a staple for classic Christmas decor. They look great many different sizes and patterns. For a white Christmas, string them on the tree. Add them to a wreath for a whimsical touch. Hang then from the windows at varying heights, keep them up all winter for a snowscape.

I reminded of crocheted snowflake ornaments while browsing the internet. I can’t remember who exactly, but I remember seeing them on someone’s tree when I was younger. I tried to follow a few different patterns (I found online), without success. British crochet patterns have different terminology than U.S. crochet patterns and even knowing the conversions (if you will), I still seem to slip up every so often… I changed my yarn, thread and hook, still no success. Just like I can’t seem to follow recipes, I can’t seem to follow patterns. Sometimes creative genius feels more like undiagnosed ADHD. I tore apart each attempt and just made what my heart desired…

Crocheted Snowflake Ornaments

I used a 4 ply worsted white cotton yarn with my US G6 Hook. Then I used size 5 thread  in white/pearl (it has glitter flecks all through the thread) with a 1.65MM hook.

How To:
To Start: chain 6, sl st to join
Row 1: 1 sc, chain 5, repeat 5 more times, sl st to join
Row 2: 1 sc in first chain, chain 5, skip 1, 1 sc, chain 5, 1 sc in same stitch, chain 5, skip 1 stitch, 1 sc, skip 1 stitch and repeat 5 times, sl st to close
Block snowflakes and spray with fabric starch. Once dry to can attach a thin satin ribbon to a corner of the snowflake)

Approx. Cost:
1 skein of yard of thread = less than $4, 1 spool of ribbon = $1, for about than 5-at under 10¢ each this is an ornament you can’t pass up!

2009’s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudgerecipe, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles,gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudgerecipe…

First Day of Christmas – Glass Globe Ornaments

Tags

12 Days of Christmas, children's craft, Christmas, Christmas Ornament, Christmas tradition, craft, figgy pudding, first day of Christmas, frugal, Frugality, gift, glass ornament, handmade, handmade ornament, homemade, homemade ornament, hostess gift, kid craft, Ornament, party favor, personalized gifts

On the first day of Christmas Young Wifey shared with me her Glass Globe Ornaments…

This year for my twelve days of Christmas countdown, I’m sharing homemade gift ideas. Most are simple homemade gifts that the kids can even help assemble. I feel that homemade gifts are much more thoughtful, you can customize them to the recipient’s preferences.

Last year a student made this ornament for me, I thought it was a great idea for a kid to make for a Christmas present. I originally planned to make these with Pumpkin, but he was out hunting with Hubster when I made these. I had scanned the scrapbook paper isle at the craft store, looking over the papers that were printed on both sides. I chose colors that I thought were pretty but not the traditional green and red Christmas scheme, ironically the paper I chose was named Figgy Pudding. It was a sign that it was the perfect paper choice.

Glass Globe Ornament

How To:
Cut scrapbook paper into 1/4″ strips. Cut strips into varying lengths. Curl the strips and make sure some have the front side out and some have the back side out. Remove metal top from glass globe. Carefully slip the paper curls into the globe. Secure the metal top back on the globe. Cut a short piece of ribbon, loop through the metal top and knot the top.

Approx. Cost of Project: 6 Glass Ornament Balls = $5, 2 sheets of craft paper = $2, spool of ribbon  $1
At just over $1 per ornament, you decide whether to give one, or an entire set. Bring a set to a holiday party as a hostess gift. Hand out individual ornaments as a party favor at you holiday party.

Remember to check out my blog tomorrow to see what gift idea I’ll be sharing.

2009’s Christmas Countdown – On the twelfth day of Christmas YoungWifey shared with me, her chocolate Christmas fudgerecipe, chocolate bonbons, coconut clusters, cranberry almond bark, chocolate amaretto cherries, pecan turtles, raspberry chocolate truffles, gingerbread fudge, peppermint bark, dark chocolate peanut butter balls, cracked glass candy, and her peanut butter fudge recipe…

Handmade Ornament

Tags

Christmas, Christmas Ornament, Christmas tradition, gift, glass ornament, handmade, handmade ornament, homemade, homemade ornament, Ornament, personalized gifts

Today was the last day of school before break and merriment was in the air. My students often give me homemade presents for the holidays. This year I received the usual fudge, candies, cookies and candles as well as a jewelry box and a bookmark. They are all truly special coming from my students. The gift I was most impressed with was the handmade glass ornament I received from one student. Her mother purchased empty glass balls and scrap booking paper. My student then cut the paper into strips and curled each of them, stuffing them into the ball. She tied on a ribbon in a coordinating color and had a thoughtful, simple and beautiful gift. It’s such a wonderful and simple idea, I may have to make some with Pumpkin next year.

Handmade Ornament