Each year we let the kids pick out an ornament and write their name and the year on it. They can pick whatever they want (this was hard for me at first) and it always surprises me what they pick. This year we decided rather than buying one more thing we'd pick one of our small toys that represents us well and put that on the tree. It was Kabe's idea and this is what they chose.
Ksenya picked this small stuffed horse that she named "Buttercup" (the name of my horse when I was a little girl). She loves animals and has always loved horses and one of her favorite things about this year is that we now have a horse living in our backyard. Seemed fitting.
Kabe's is a lizard. He was very specific about which foot he wanted the hook to go through so it looked like it was climbing up the tree. Loved this!
Ayvri had a hard time because we didn't have a princess toy small enough to put on the tree. She was determined it had to be pink and purple though so we found the end of her magic want and filled it with pretty beads and put a pink bow on top. She's pretty happy with the results and I've gotta say - it's really cute.
Brigham wanted a tractor but again, no tractor to be found so he settled for this car (chosen from a dozen hot wheels by the boy himself). I love that this toy shows so much wear and the fact that it's yellow makes me smile just like he does.
Darla had to have an ornament so we took her red bracelet (the girl is always wearing jewelry thanks to her Aunt Darla) and added a polka dot bow. It is elegant and beautiful and tiny just like her and it will probably make me cry every year I put it on the tree and remember how little all my littles started out.
We also made these wonderful snowball ornaments thanks to Martha Stewart. If I were to make them again I'd use water balloons as these were regular birthday balloons and they are pretty big ornaments. Simply blow up the balloon until it's round and then wrap white string around it and paint it with elmers glue (diluted in a tiny bit of water). Hang it up and let it dry and when it is, let the kids pop the balloon (they LOVED this part) and watch the balloon suck itself off the snowball, then just pull the balloon out. Now the directions said to use model glue and glitter but I didn't have either, I did have some spray glue and sugar so that's what we used to make them sparkly. Add a bow and they are fantastic and delicate and beautiful.
They'd also make a cute garland if you hung them from tinsel I think but since I don't have any they went on the tree.
These trees were inspired from another blog on the internet (thank heavens for other crafty people that I can steal ideas from). Originally made from styrofoam cones (I didn't have any so I made the cones out of some cardstock I had) then just wrap the cones with yarn using elmers glue to keep it down. After they're wrapped I added a little gold ribbon to the bottom and some dress-up necklace beads as embellishments. The kids loved helping with this one and we're all happy with our new Christmas tree centerpiece.
These I made at Super Saturday and my new friend Kelly came up with them (she's so crafty). I don't think she'd mind if I shared that we just made the top ball out of sculpey, stuck it to the top of a bell (she found these at the dollar tree), embellished with wire, tiny pompoms and a ribbon scarf. Super cute!
My sister gave me the idea for these paper creations. I didn't have any scrapbook paper (did I leave that box in Texas) or wrapping paper (again, where did that box go?) but either would work better I think. I did have a bunch of old magazines so we cut 20 circles (small, I used the bottom of a 2 Tbsp measuring spoon) in the colors you want (you can see I used pictures of soy beans, zuchini, fabric, gardens and paint swatches). Draw an equilateral triangle on the back of the circles and fold on the lines. Glue 5 together for the top, 5 together for the bottom and the other 10 in a line. Then connect the line to one end and then the other. When it's all put together I had gaps (my circles may not have been perfect) so I just glued little beads to the holes on the green one and whole cloves on the red one. This made it smell good too which I liked. They are beautiful and I love that they are recycled.
See? Leaves, salads, gardens - fun interesting prints in the same color scheme. You could probably do it with 2 or more colors, but I wanted to stick to 1. (I also made one with the bottom of a glass - it turned out huge and since I made it out of zebra print paper I decided it won't go on the tree . . . . live and learn).
Ksenya picked this small stuffed horse that she named "Buttercup" (the name of my horse when I was a little girl). She loves animals and has always loved horses and one of her favorite things about this year is that we now have a horse living in our backyard. Seemed fitting.
Kabe's is a lizard. He was very specific about which foot he wanted the hook to go through so it looked like it was climbing up the tree. Loved this!
Ayvri had a hard time because we didn't have a princess toy small enough to put on the tree. She was determined it had to be pink and purple though so we found the end of her magic want and filled it with pretty beads and put a pink bow on top. She's pretty happy with the results and I've gotta say - it's really cute.
Brigham wanted a tractor but again, no tractor to be found so he settled for this car (chosen from a dozen hot wheels by the boy himself). I love that this toy shows so much wear and the fact that it's yellow makes me smile just like he does.
Darla had to have an ornament so we took her red bracelet (the girl is always wearing jewelry thanks to her Aunt Darla) and added a polka dot bow. It is elegant and beautiful and tiny just like her and it will probably make me cry every year I put it on the tree and remember how little all my littles started out.
We also made these wonderful snowball ornaments thanks to Martha Stewart. If I were to make them again I'd use water balloons as these were regular birthday balloons and they are pretty big ornaments. Simply blow up the balloon until it's round and then wrap white string around it and paint it with elmers glue (diluted in a tiny bit of water). Hang it up and let it dry and when it is, let the kids pop the balloon (they LOVED this part) and watch the balloon suck itself off the snowball, then just pull the balloon out. Now the directions said to use model glue and glitter but I didn't have either, I did have some spray glue and sugar so that's what we used to make them sparkly. Add a bow and they are fantastic and delicate and beautiful.
They'd also make a cute garland if you hung them from tinsel I think but since I don't have any they went on the tree.
These trees were inspired from another blog on the internet (thank heavens for other crafty people that I can steal ideas from). Originally made from styrofoam cones (I didn't have any so I made the cones out of some cardstock I had) then just wrap the cones with yarn using elmers glue to keep it down. After they're wrapped I added a little gold ribbon to the bottom and some dress-up necklace beads as embellishments. The kids loved helping with this one and we're all happy with our new Christmas tree centerpiece.
These I made at Super Saturday and my new friend Kelly came up with them (she's so crafty). I don't think she'd mind if I shared that we just made the top ball out of sculpey, stuck it to the top of a bell (she found these at the dollar tree), embellished with wire, tiny pompoms and a ribbon scarf. Super cute!
My sister gave me the idea for these paper creations. I didn't have any scrapbook paper (did I leave that box in Texas) or wrapping paper (again, where did that box go?) but either would work better I think. I did have a bunch of old magazines so we cut 20 circles (small, I used the bottom of a 2 Tbsp measuring spoon) in the colors you want (you can see I used pictures of soy beans, zuchini, fabric, gardens and paint swatches). Draw an equilateral triangle on the back of the circles and fold on the lines. Glue 5 together for the top, 5 together for the bottom and the other 10 in a line. Then connect the line to one end and then the other. When it's all put together I had gaps (my circles may not have been perfect) so I just glued little beads to the holes on the green one and whole cloves on the red one. This made it smell good too which I liked. They are beautiful and I love that they are recycled.
See? Leaves, salads, gardens - fun interesting prints in the same color scheme. You could probably do it with 2 or more colors, but I wanted to stick to 1. (I also made one with the bottom of a glass - it turned out huge and since I made it out of zebra print paper I decided it won't go on the tree . . . . live and learn).There is more Christmas crafting to come and I'll share as we get it done. I love this time of year and most of all love that when you slow down and enjoy the little things (and little people) you remember what's most important and why we celebrate in the first place.
3 comments:
Soo cute!
I've wanted to make the trees for quite some time, yours turned out so cute.
I can see the snowball ornaments in my entry way next year, high enough that my kids don't lick off all the sugar. (They would!)
Oh my Toni Dee! You continually amaze me. Martha Stewart has NOTHING over on you. Good job on everytning!! I wish I could zap myself to see you (and the kids, and Tyler, and the wonderful crafts)in person!! Until then, thanks for sharing. I love you infinity.
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