Ahhh Christmas, my favorite holiday of all time. Something about this time of the year just feels magical. I think it has a lot to do with growing up with a mother who loved making the holidays special for my sister and myself. I have so many memories of anxiously waiting for my dad to lug all of the overloaded Christmas totes out of the basement and up into the living room. With fingers covered in glitter, and stray pieces of tinsel strewn about the room, my mom, my sister, and I would dig out all of our favorite holiday decorations, and admire them as if we were seeing them for the very first time. Mariah Carey would serenade our Christmas decorating sessions, and we would assault the eardrums of everyone within a fifty mile radius attempting to recreate her famous falsetto. This feeling of togetherness and tradition is something that I have held onto well into adulthood, even as I embark on creating my own holiday traditions. I've always enjoyed DIY projects; I think I have the opposite of ADHD, I can channel my attention far too intently into projects, and come out the other side completely confused as to how I just spent 14 hours making pompom garlands (guilty of this literally two weeks ago). There is a sense of accomplishment that comes from creating something yourself. To decorate the very first Christmas tree of my own, I wanted to make the majority of the ornaments. I love minimal Scandinavian style, and I think these simple clay holiday ornaments add a touch of class and personalization to any tree. These ornaments are simple to make, relatively inexpensive, and they are perfect to do with a group of friends or with your children. These ornaments are super easy to make, and require some items that you will probably already have lying around your house. In less than an hour (depending on how swiftly you work) you will have one of a kind ornaments, that you can use year after year. In order to make these clay ornaments like the one above, you will need the following: The most expensive requirement for this project is the polymer clay. I got about fifteen ornaments out of one pound of clay, which cost about $12. Not too shabby in my opinion, similar store-bought ornaments go for that price and you only get four ornaments. I chose to use a snowflake and tree cookie cutter, but you can use any shape you desire. I purchased all of these items at my local craft store. In addition to the items above, you will need a baking pan, and some sort of rolling pin. I do not own a rolling pin, but a can of soup worked just the same. The indentations on the can actually created a nice pattern on my ornaments. I also baked these ornaments on parchment paper, just to create a barrier for my baking pan. This worked nicely, but I'm not sure the paper is necessary. The last thing you will need is a drinking straw, which is used to punch the hole in the ornament so that the string can be attached. To make the ornaments, all you need to do is roll out your clay, and cut out your desired shapes with your cookie cutters. The can of soup I was using as a rolling pin was also used to make a few circular ornaments. Once the shapes were cut out, I decided to press some greenery into the clay that I trimmed off a bush in my yard. The greenery added an extra holiday touch. I didn't stop there, though. I went on a scavenger hunt around my house for other items to press into the clay. My cat, Loui, lent his paw to one of the ornaments, and one of the dinosaurs that is adorning my mantle also lent some feet. Half the fun of making these ornaments was finding unique items to make patterns with. Once the ornaments were decorated like I wanted, I used a drinking straw to punch a hole into the top, which is where my string will go after they are baked. The ornaments then went on the baking pan and baked according to the directions on the polymer clay. Once the ornaments were removed from the oven, I let them cool. The only step that was left was to add string. The wooden bead is completely optional, but I think it adds a nice bohemian touch to the ornaments. That's it. These ornaments are simple to make, but they are festive and unique. They're a fun way to add a new tradition to your family holidays. If white isn't your thing, or it doesn't match your holiday decor, the polymer clay comes in a variety of colors. These ornaments can also easily be painted after they are baked. What are some of your family's holiday traditions and pastimes? If you're interested in how I made the pompom garland featured in these photos, let me know. I hope your holiday season is starting off nicely.
Stay Happy and Caffeinated,
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Lindsey. 26. Writer. Pun Maker. Stargazer.
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