White felt figure skate tree ornament.
Approximate Time: Half an hour
Cut out two pieces of felt in a boot shape as shown.
For each skate, slip the felt through the paper clip and glue along the side edges to secure.
Using all six strands of embroidery thread, use an overcast stitch to make the laces, leaving enough thread to tie in a bow so that you can hang it on your tree.
By preserverpreserver from Manitoba
I want to make some Christmas ornaments. Does anyone have any good, thrifty ideas?
Jane
Long ago we took 2 or 3 inch styrofoam balls and some scraps of material and just place a small piece of material on the ball. With a spoon or nail file press the material in to cover about an inch or so of the ball.
I have used the lids from juice cans, and made punched tin ornaments. Use a nail and a block of wood, and one large nail hammered into the block of wood to secure it while you work. Certain designs, like a tree, angel, train, NOEL, 2000, star, holly are the most obvious ones. Can be accented with model paint. Others could be the frame for a cut-out picture or photograph. Hang with a ribbon through the hole at the top.
Anything you can get your hands on is a potential ornament. Think about it.
Last year my daughter (6) and I made ornaments for our tree which are also momentos.
Here's what we did: 1st we took out pictures of all my children, especially when they were younger. We then cut out colored construction paper 1/2 wider than the picture.
We made about 15 of these and my children and everyone else that came to our home last year was thrilled to see something about their happy past on our tree.
We even gave them the ornament as a gift for their tree. My children were so blessed. It will always remind them of their holidays.
Joanne
Clothespin Reindeer
Use the spring type, remove the spring & discard. Paint or stain the clothespins brown (liquid shoe polish works.) Cut a piece of red 1/4" ribbon about 8-1/2" long.
It's real cute. You could also make a pin
by gluing a pin back.
I used this for my nursing home craft class and it was a big hit.
Ms. Syd Barr
When I was young, Mom made ornaments out of 'tin' can lids. She used tin snips to cut out designs such as stars, etc. One really pretty one was a circle than had cuts toward the center evenly spaced around the edge and bent upward. It looked like a mini turbine.
Another ornament that Mom made were beautiful fabric shapes, trees, patchwork squares, stars, stockings, etc. stuffed with batting and closed. She made use of the tinest scraps of material this way.
I have seen woven straw ornaments at garage sales. (I buy Christmas ornaments regularly at garage sales.)
Ornaments can be made out of sewing supplies, old Christmas cards, wrapping paper, ribbon (perfect for bows) and dried flowers and weeds.
You can melt old styrofoam cups in the oven on a cookie sheet. Set the oven at 250 degrees and place used cups, right side up into the oven. Watch them carefully as they will melt down and take on different shapes. When they start to take shape, take them out of the oven, let them cool, and use you creativity to decide if they are hats, or santa bags.
Warning: Do this in a very well ventilated room as the styrofoam will smell as it melts.
I have made these and sold them at church bazaars, and people love to find out that they are recycled!!
I made great ornaments from CD's They are shiny and a good size.I put family photos in the center with evergreen and small oraments around the circle.
I even made a clock. Went to the dollar and got a clock so I could use the mechanism . Attach to back of cd Looks great.
Glue Paper gold doilies around a paper drinking cup that has a point at the end fill with silk flowers or baby breath. Attach a ribbon. Victorian
Decorate an Altoid box punch holes top and bottom put ribbon into holes and hang on tree
Hope these ideas will help Lenore
Save all the colored paper that comes home from the kids school or from junk mail. Cut into strips and then make the strips into loops and make a paper chain.
Any ornament your kids make will always look wonderful on your tree even years from now.
I've seen walnut shell halves decorated and hung from ribbons.
The balls from a sweet gum tree spray painted and hung with a string or ribbon make great ornaments. Try using the seed heads from thistles or other weeds.
Paper snowflakes.
Do you love long walks picking up pinecones but aren't sure what to do with them? Trying making pinecone angels! This can be as thrifty as you want it to be. The head can be a wooden craft ball or an old high bounce ball that has outlived its usefulness. You can either purchase craft wings or make your own. Be creative. Spray paint it gold and hang a string on the back. These are very pretty!
To make these cute Christmas tree ornaments, an adult should cut across the bottom of an empty juice box to open it up. Rinse well and dry. Tape the slit back up. For a Bible, have your child cover the box with black construction or tissue paper. Wrap it like a little gift.
You can make beads to string on thread or thin elastic for bracelets or necklaces or Christmas ornaments by punching holes with a hole punch in Styrofoam egg cartons and meat trays.
To make a Christmas elf sitting on the spool, wind some knitting wool on the spool. Glue it at start of winding, wrap around and glue a tab at the end to hold it. Leave a little piece dangling down.
Rub yarn in glitter to make it sparkle. Great to use for kids' craft Christmas ornaments.
About 30 years ago I needed to make some items for our school PTA fundraiser. I bought some wooden curtain rings and some little angels at a craft store and glued the angels into the rings.
These are little hand made stuffed chairs I am giving as ornaments. You may be able to see they open. One has a little teddy bear inside.
Intricate wooden snowflakes are painted white and hung on the tree with silver thread. An optional touch of glitter provides extra pizzazz for those who like their holidays to sparkle!
Take old scraps of quilting if you have some or your favorite fabrics and cut out a few hearts and sew up leaving a small place to stuff them and then whip stitch them shut. Then hot glue green and red antique or old buttons on them for extra charm.