I’ve made it a rule to avoid the craziness that is Black Friday at all costs. I hole up in the house and don’t emerge again until at least Saturday – unless I’m simply going to visit with friends who’ve come back to town for the holiday. I never really understood going out at 3am to get pushed and shoved by other shoppers, and now, having worked retail for over 3 years (thankfully, I’ve left that stage of my career behind), I know first-hand how insane it can be and have sympathy for those who must work the holiday. I’d just rather stay home, sleep in, enjoy a day of relaxation with the family, and maybe even do some decorating for Christmas.
But today, I broke that rule. Granted, I didn’t go out until after noon, and the only reason I went was to get crafting supplies. My family is doing Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, and my sister and I, being the magnificent planners that we are, decided that with 5 kids aged 12 and under, we should craft some ornaments to keep the kiddos out from underfoot – when we had virtually none of the supplies we needed on hand. So off we went to the dollar store and chain craft store.
Naturally, we had make samples of a few of the ornaments when we got back from the store. I mean really, all that crafty goodness on hand, who could wait until tomorrow without playing with at least some of it?
I love the way the Santa ornament came out. We used 2 1/2″ red ornaments, 5/8″ black ribbon, gold glitter-coated foam, and tacky glue.
I drew out the belt buckle on the back of the foam: 1 1/4″ by 1 1/4″ square, with a 1/4″ margin around the 2 slits for the ribbon to pass through. I used an X-Acto knife to cut out my buckles. You can see a finished buckle to the right in the picture. I just love the sparkle!
My buckle isn’t cut the straightest because I was holding the foam off the table, trying my hardest not to cut mom’s tablecloth, since I was too lazy to find some cardboard to put underneath the foam.
Then you just thread the ribbon through the buckle, spread a very thin layer of glue along the entire length of the ribbon, and center it on the ornament pressing firmly to make sure it adheres. I added a little extra glue to the ends of the ribbon to make sure they were really secure.
Isn’t that just adorable?! And so easy for the kiddos (note: I cut the buckles out for the youngest ones ahead of time).
We’ve got more ornaments on tap for the kids to make, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, snowmen, candy canes, and more. Make sure to check back in a few days to see the results!
I’d love to see what kind of ornaments you’re crafting! Or are there any that you remember making as a kid? I remember popsicle stick reindeer and glittered pine cones (I think we still have them somewhere!).
As always, questions and comments are welcome! I’d love to hear from you! Hope you enjoy the rest of you holiday weekend!
yarn over and bake 