welcome to the second week of a pinterest christmas {see the first post here} – very exciting!
this week i was able to add more ornaments to our family christmas tree.
first up, a house key clay ornament. i really liked the idea of preserving our first house key as there is a {slight} chance we won’t stay in this house forever.
{original pinterest link is unknown}
there wasn’t a page that linked to this pinterest {hence no source link above} but it was a pretty easy project to figure out.
instead of buying white clay, i followed this recipe to make a simple clay.
supplies:
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3/4 cup water
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1/2 cup cornstarch
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1 cup baking soda
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glass – to make round ornament
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key
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plastic straw – to make hanger hole
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parchment paper
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cookie cutters – optional {i used ones from the trader joe’s christmas sugar cookie kit}
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ribbon/twine/string
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thin marker/Sharpie/paint pen
once the mixture started heating up, i stirred it often in order to scrape up the cornstarch that would stick to the bottom of the pan. once in the bowl, i let my clay cool for a couple of hours before i rolled it out on the cutting board.
i had a little trouble with the dough crumbling & had to make a few round ornaments before i got two that i liked {i made two in case one didn’t turn out}. i also found that moving the round circle of clay to the baking sheet before imprinting the key was much more successful! {sidenote”: on the snowman & christmas tree there is unevenness – this is because when i was rolling out the clay, pieces stuck to the rolling pin. i liked the texture so i left it.}
after the ornaments had cooled, i added the string. on the house key ornament, i wrote our first house 4.27.12 – i used a sharpie marker. the clay was a bit soft, so the pen made an imprint where i wrote. in hindsight, i would try a thin paint pen.
i also made this cute little pom pom santa!
{original pinterest link – pom pom santa}
supplies:
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knobby white/cream yarn
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red felt
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ruler
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small wood beads
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red embroidery floss
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needle with large eye
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glue – i used hot glue
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scissors
the original link has a really great tutorial. the only thing i did differently is how i made my yarn pom pom – instead of using the fork method, i used the method kendra used last week for her pom pom wreath.
i trimmed up my pom pom, but didn’t worry about it being a perfectly round shape. this is supposed to be santa’s beard & i liked it to be a little uneven. when i made the felt hat, i didn’t use a compass – instead i measured out the 3 inches along the bottom & side of the corner & also from the corner, making marks. then i cut along the marks i had made.
these were the only small wooden beads i could find at michael’s. i sort of like the idea of making santas with different racial backgrounds!
i love this pom pom santa – he was easy to make & so cute! i only made one for our tree, but i am planning on making them {without the hanging string} as placecards for christmas dinner {perhaps adding a name sign to the hat or something}.
since this is my christmas ornament post, i will also share the pinecone ornament i made out of a pinecone i saved from our now-gone cedar tree {see timber details here}.
{this pinecone is nearly 4 inches tall & weighs a lot, so i rested it on a tree bough along with hanging it!}
{thinking about taking on this project? feel free to leave questions in the comments, and i’d love for you to comment with a link to projects you make inspired by mine.}
ready for some more {p}inspiration? check out these ladies this week and throughout the month of december:
{mondays} amanda @ without a doubt – diy ornaments & alternative christmas tree
{tuesdays} sally@ chacha and mogo – ornaments & junk & kendra @ The Gilbertson Family – diy ornaments
{wednesdays} – michelle @ this grey house – ornaments & scrabble
{thursdays} –maggi @ Greg, Maggi, & Rodney – ruffle tree skirt & abbi @ The Pena Family
have you been {p}inspired by any christmas projects?
M
