Christmas Craft: Handmade Ornaments
On the Farm, we make our gifts. No store-bought doo-dad will do–not so long as we have minds to plan and hands to make. And it’s something different each year. This year we went with S’mores Kits and Popcorn Balls (more on that tomorrow), Cross-stich Lovelies and these Ornaments, to top them all.
To start with, you will need rounds of wood, with the bark still attached. Now, you can either buy these online or you can make your own. And to do that is this: go into your woods and find a branch about three inches in diameter, saw it down and cut it into pieces, about a half-inch thick. Drill a hole a quarter inch from the top. If you don’t have the woods or the saw you’ll have to go with option number one and buy them–the rounds of wood I mean–of course if you want to buy the woods and the saw, go right ahead, but that seems a bit frivolous just to make a gift topper. But to each their own.
And don’t go beating yourself up on it if you do. Do you think I made all that embroidery floss to cross-stick those pictures? No. (Although that idea is very tempting.) There’s no shame in buying what you need to make what you can.
Once you have your rounds of wood, either bought or made, a picture of some kind needs to be placed on them, otherwise they’re just a bunch of wood. Hannah has all kinds of skills in that department, so I set her to drawing some on with pencil. I’m sure you have someone in your family in which you can say the same, so give the job to them. If they’re anything like my family, they’ll love to be involved.
I may not be the best draw-er in the world, but I can woodburn. So that’s what I chose to do. I begin with Hannah’s drawings and woodburn along the lines she’s made. Although for a few I found that she forgot which side was up in the way of the drilled hole, so I ended up having to wing-it a bit. Actually, I’m glad I did. Otherwise, I never would’ve made the decorated windmill ornament, in honor of the Farmer’s love-of-lights this Christmas. And yes. I decided to keep that one for ourselves–to commemorate this very special year.
Once each round was burned, a small amount of paint was added in the way of bows and lights and whatever else the picture needed to let me know it was done. I tend to like things simple, so that’s how I went.
Now, the kids, they aren’t simple at all. Hannah and Jacob chose to go with straight paint. While Hannah went with winter scenes, Jacob, ever the comedian, took a different way. Yes. That’s his at the bottom with the 2020 painted on it, topped with a roll of toilet paper. Hey. We all remember this year in our own way.
How will you remember yours?
