Each year I help Abigail make an ornament for the Christmas tree. I also make a handmade ornament for her, and we're always on the lookout for special ornaments at craft shows and boutiques. Hopefully, she will have a nice collection of ornaments by the time she gets married. Abigail made this punched tin ornament last year.
We used a recycled metal juice lid, a small sized nail such as a picture brad, a hammer, a scrap of yarn for hanging the ornament and a scrap of adhesive paper to finish the back. We first drew a pattern of a heart (you could use a star, tree, mitten, etc.) in dots on the back of the lid in permanent marker. Be sure to put a wooden board under the lid so that nothing gets ruined when the nail punches through to the other side. We wanted some of the punches (holes) to be larger than others, so we marked these dots a little bolder and used a slightly thicker nail to punch them.
Abigail used the hammer to punch the nail through each dot on the pattern. She used a thicker nail to punch a larger hole in the top of the ornament. She pushed the yarn through this hole and tied it into a bow on the front of the ornament.
We cut a scrap of adhesive paper into a circle to fit inside the back of the ornament. This covered up the markings and made a nice finish for the ornament.
We cut a scrap of adhesive paper into a circle to fit inside the back of the ornament. This covered up the markings and made a nice finish for the ornament.
edit: I found a great tutorial for another ornament (magnet or gift tag) using a juice lid. They are easy enough for Abigail and beautiful. Take a look here.
Hmm, I hadn't thought about putting ornaments away in my hope chest. Thanks for sharing that idea!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting on my blog. I just started it up, so you didn't miss to much. :D Did you see that Sarah has one too? I have a link to her blog on the side of mine.
Hugs!
Rebecca
Those are great ornaments to start out with. They are what ornaments should be; keepsakes with meaning.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom made several ornaments for our tree when I was young. For some, she used a styrofoam ball, wrapped with ribbon and long pins with beads on them. They looked like little, 3d stars. Speaking of stars, she also crocheted several small, star shaped doilies which, once starched, looked for all the world like delicate little snowflakes. The crocheted ones could be made in any color but my mom just used white. They were stored in the family bible marking passages important to her. When she retrieved each one for the holidays, she would read the passages.
It's a good time to remember.
I love the idea of your mom marking significant passages with the crocheted ornaments. Really, that's a lovely idea, and one could mark stories and poems in special Christmas books as well. Thanks for that suggestion.
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