When my wife and I celebrated our first Christmas together in 2005, I was inspired to make an ornament for the occasion. I was probably also trying to impress her with my crafting talents, though I think she is far more artistic and creative than I am. For this one I started with a papier mache birdhouse that I painted and sprinkled with glitter. The roof was made of pine cone scales from a cone we had found on one of our walks together. I also added a dried starfish above the door opening just for fun.
papier mache birdhouse ornament
I’ve continued the tradition of making an new ornament every year since then. For 2006, I started with a small birdhouse gourd to make this snowman. With a link to the past, I used colored pipe cleaners for the arms and earmuff band. A bit of toothpick painted orange simulated a carrot nose, and a piece of leftover ribbon made a colorful scarf.
birdhouse gourd becomes snowman ornament in 2006
Continuing my gourd theme, in 2007 I used an egg gourd to make this ornament to celebrate our first Christmas here. The lettering was printed on a deskjet printer then decoupaged onto the egg. Talk about combining old AND new techniques in one project!
egg gourd ornament from 2007
I also made this one in 2007, using a clear glass ball ornament for the base. I cut triangles of colored tissue paper using Fiskars scallop scissors I borrowed from my crafty (and gadget-loving) wife. I coated the paper in Mod Podge, then stuck them all over the glass. To finish I gave it a coat of sparkle glaze paint.
glass ornament covered in tissue paper
For 2008 I made this flower ornament, starting with a circle I cut out of cardboard. I glued on seeds saved from one our spaghetti squashes for the outer petals, then added collard seeds in the middle. I covered it all with a gold iridescent glaze paint. I am not sure how long this one will last with all those seeds, but we will see.
flower ornament made from seeds, 2008
The other ornament I made last year was a wild creation using glitter glue in a glue gun, dribbling it over one of the leftover glass balls from 2007. It has to be hung carefully since it wound up being quite heavy.
glass ornament with glitter glue, 2008
I will unveil the 2009 ornament(s) on Christmas morning, hopefully surprising my wife. I guess I had better get to work!
These are all so wonderful!! I was looking at your blog with my granddaughter who gave you some “oooh” and “aaah” comments, plus smiles and even a clap!
You keep referring to your artistic and crafty wife, but there’s a craftsman behind every one of these ornaments. Great job! Please show us this year’s ornament after its debut!
Lynn, I am glad you and your granddaughter enjoyed the ornaments. I guess I just feel more comfortable with the “doing” part than I do with the “creating” part. It could be a left brain vs right brain thing. I was always good at areas involving logic and analysis, which served me well in the IT field where I was often in a problem-solving role.
I do think Lynda is more creative than I am – plus I can guarantee she has more crafting supplies and gadgets than I do!
And, I am hard at work on the 2009 ornament(s). 🙂
I love that you make ornaments. That makes them just that much more special. I love the starfish on the birdhouse and the flower ornament is my favorite. I can’t wait to see what you are making this year….
Your hand made ornaments are so lovely, thank you for sharing. I packed our homemade family ornaments away years ago, when we began spending our winters in Arizona. This year we’ve missed the family too much, so I think we’ll spend the holidays at home next winter, and not come to AZ until January.