Yesterday Matt and I made our annual Christmas ornament. I like the idea of using recycled or repurposed papers to make such a beautiful thing. So far we’ve recycled paper 3 years, and purchased origami paper one year. This year I was fortunate enough to pick up some waste paper from a song book we were printing at work and it made for a beautiful ornament. This is the tutorial pattern I follow every year. This was also the first year we used hot glue and it is by far the sturdiest ornament yet. I highly recommend using hot glue. If you don’t have a glue gun you can find them at your typical marts and craft stores for under $10. Also, don’t make the same mistake we made, use small paper! Our first ornament ended up being the size of a soccer ball and will never make it to the tree. Now we use 3″ square and it works perfectly.
I like this picture above with all the ornaments we’ve made so far. It’s our first year in our first home and this picture captures so much. It’s like an eye spy. There are four ornaments on our dining room table but can you see the a handmade table cloth that Matt’s great grandmother made? How about a nosey kitty, and a christmas tree, and don’t forget a tired Matt lounging on the couch?
And since we are on holiday decorations, here is a picture of our first full sized tree. Previously we had a little 3 foot tree that was more of a pain than anything. The cat was constantly trying to eat it and it was always falling over. This new tree was gifted to us by Matt’s parents. Please disregard the lack of a tree skirt. I’m working on it. The tree is covered in white lights (my preference), my handmade gold and silver garland, and a collection of both of our ornaments from since we were babies.
I hope everyone who celebrates it, had a warm, safe and happy Thanksgiving. I didn’t get to post before hand, but I wanted to share some of the things I am most thankful: An awesome house of our very own, a wonderful and understanding man that I never get tired of being around, a supportive family that lives nearby and get to see often, a sprinkling of friends that add variety, adventure and fun to a life that might be dull otherwise, a fun job with a steady paycheck and coworkers who mean so much to me, wonderful memories and experiences that will be with me forever, a pesky cat that hates everyone but Matt and I, my health (that I should be MUCH more thankful for) and a great body that I should take better care of.
Friday night I held my Sixth Annual Gingerbread House Making Contest. I hope everyone had a fun time. I think there were 19 entries and over 25 people (little kiddies included) in attendance.
The winner was made by Dacia. She had told me beforehand that she had a great idea and needed to get her secret ingredient right before the event.
Yep, that girl loves her some bacon! There are more pictures from the night over at flickr.
So, now that it is officially the 2011 holiday season I’m trying to create a list of things I want to do.
-winterize the windows to keep the house efficient and warm
-put together the advent box with little presents
-Put up the tree and decorate it
-hang stockings from the mantle
-decorate the outside of the house
-make this year’s ornament
-go sledding (once we have snow)
-listen to plenty of Christmas music
-buy meaningful Christmas presents for family
-think of a good exchange project idea for extended family Christmas
-productive and fun vacation week between Christmas and New years
-make another snowflake wallhanging.
Recycled Kusadama Ornament, originally uploaded by robayre.
I followed this 2 stage pattern. Make sure you have lots of time, it takes about 3 hours with two people working at it. AND we use translucent double faced tape. I can’t imagine how long it would take if you used glue like the instruction say. This year I followed the directions for size and the instructions call for 60 7 inch square pieces of paper. It wasn’t until afterward I reread my post from last year and saw that I stated I used 4 inch square papers. Basically this year’s ornament is equal to a good sized globe in diameter.
Once again I cut apart an old art magazine with a good weight, luster and variety of colors. Next year I hope I return to this post and read it before creating the third ornament. Robyn, cut the paper down to 3 inch squares please. Not that it will make the process any faster, but perhaps one year we might actually make an ornament that can fit on the tree.
recycled ornament, originally uploaded by robayre.
