DIY Fun Foam Ornaments

Hello All!

Last night when we were putting up our family Christmas tree, I came across some ornaments that I thought I would share with all of you. 

When Hannah was little, we were concerned that her curiosity would result in some broken ornaments at Christmas.  So, I decided to make some 100% unbreakable ones. 

These are made out of fun foam, and take no time at all to make.  When I made these, sticky backed foam wasn't as available as it is now.  So, I used super glue and hot glue.  Now, you can get most any color or shape with a sticky back, making this project even easier!

First, you need to decide what shapes you will be making.  I used some cookie cutters as inspiration, but several of my ornaments were made free-hand.  I also based several ornaments on their breakable counterparts. 

Once you know what shapes you are doing, simply trace or draw out your shapes on the foam and cut them out.  Keep in mind the possibility that your shapes may end up reversed if you have any markings left from drawing them.  Also, be careful when you cut them out.  I was able to make two candy canes out of one cutting.  I simply made one in the reversed colors of the other.  Some other tools that can be helpful are hole punchers for berries and printable images on the computer. 


Finally, once all of your pieces are cut out, assemble them either with their sticky backs or glue.  When I use hot glue or super glue, I place all of my shapes on parchment paper.  It saves me from making a mess if the glue spills out the sides.
To hang your ornaments, you can use wire, ribbon, pipe cleaners, you name it.  I decided to use wire for mine.  I took a small piece of wire, doubled it over and twisted the ends together.  I then took a small scrap of coordinating foam and hot glued the pieces together, with the wire sandwiched in the middle.  On some of the ornaments, such as the blue ball with snow, I sandwiched the wire between the white and blue foam. Be sure if you do this that none of the wire is peeking out from under the foam.  It wouldn't take much to scratch a little one, which defeats the purpose of making kid friendly ornaments!! 

The possibilities are endless with this craft!  You could even pre-cut the pieces and have an ornament party with your kids and their friends.  These make great keepsakes, and you could even add a photo to a wreath shaped ornament for a great gift for family members.  I'd love to hear your ideas!!

Happy Crafting!!

Sharon

A Lot of Catching Up to Do

Happy 2011!!!

I realized this morning that I haven't posted in AGES!!!  I was having a hard time thinking of posts since all of my knitting was gift knitting, and then we were out of the country for the holidays.  Needless to say, I'm back, and I have a lot to share. 

Here are some of the holiday gifts I wasn't able to post before...

Here is the winter hat I knit for my Mom.  We went out to Banff for the Christmas Parade, and after a stop in the Jacques Cartier store, I came home with some beautiful yarn.  It is 50% Qiviuk and 50% Wool.  The yarn is thin, but really warm.  I was able to make this cabled hat in a few days, and I gave my Mom the rest of the yarn...one ball made an adult hat with extra repeats and I still had about half leftover!!!  I am really happy with this project, and I think Mom liked it.

Next up, this super cute knitting basket ornament.  A bunch of my knitting buddies came over for a Secret Santa Swap Party right before we left on holiday.  My partner asked for handknit stuff, and mentioned ornaments, so I whipped this little guy up.  The original pattern suggests making mini hanks of yarn, but I made balls instead.  The knitting needles are made with toothpicks and beads.  I may make one for our tree next year!!

This next project involved some design modifications by Hannah.  We went through my yarn stash and she planned out the hair, tights, and shoes.  She even wanted to pick the eye color for each doll.  The blonde doll is made much more like the original pattern.  She has tights that go all the way up to her white bloomers.  The brunette doll (I don't have a good photo of her legs...sorry) has black shoes and white ankle socks.  We then carried the skin color all the way up to her bloomers.  These dolls took a bit of time, since every hair is stitched individually, and the doll is seamed, not done in the round.  I made them for our niece, and despite the effort it took to make them, it was well worth it!!

I had been wanting to try cables, so I found a pattern on Ravelry that everyone claimed was a good starter project.  The hat is based on one of the Harry Potter movies...I'm not a HP fan, so I can't give you much more info than that.  I made these before I made my Mom's hat, and I think that they gave me the courage to try hers.  The gray one was made for a friend of ours who is a huge HP fan (she saw the white one and knew what movie/character the hat was from without me saying anything!), and the white one was for my sister-in-law.  Not too shabby for my first real go at cables!

Finally, I made a bunch of dishcloths and hanging towels for my sister and sister-in-law.  They seemed to like them, and I hope they find them useful. 

Now that Christmas knitting is done, what does 2011 have in store??  Well, you'll notice that my WIP charts in the sidebar are multiplying!  We have several babies on the way amongst our family and friends, so I'm going to be making baby stuff like crazy!!  Two of the babies are due next month, so my needles are on fire!!!  After that, I have a break for a few months, with the next bundle arriving in early May.  So far all of the babies are girls, so the plan is to make a bunch of girly things and then just split them up. 

Wish me luck on getting through the To Do List!!!

Cheers!

Sharon

A Blast from the Past

Hey Everyone!

Remember last winter the Diva and I made ornaments with buttons??  Well, I submitted the idea to the blog, Kids in Cowtown, and guess who made their page today?!?

Go check it out...(Click here to go to the Kids in Cowtown site)

Cheers!
Sharon

Buttons...Buttons...Everywhere!

So, I was going to post this entry on my family blog, but since this one is called "Nana's Button Jar", I felt compelled to post it here instead!

Hannah and I decided to make some ornaments for the Christmas tree she keeps bugging me about! I saw this tutorial on Martha Stewart's website, and I figured we'd give it a try. Goodness knows we have enough buttons around here!

Hannah got so into the project! I was only going to post a few photos, but after looking through the ones I took, I couldn't decide which ones to post...she was so deep in thought...

And here are our finished ornaments...we decided to expand on the wreath and also do a snowman and tree.

...and the mess...ahhh...the mess...

It was worth it...don't you think???

Cheers!

Sharon