Cheri: This is my second ornament in the Christmas Ornament Countdown. I like to work in paper and when I can use paper that was something else at one time, that makes it doubly good. These ornaments are made from paper and toilet paper rolls. They are really quite easy to make.
All you need to do is take the roll and flatten it. Then take a ruler and measure in ¼ inch increments. After that is done cut them apart with scissors, or if you have a large paper cutter you can use that. You will have several rings of cardboard. I like to start out with a flower pattern and work from there. You can bend the cardboard into any shape that you want and just let your imagination take over.
After I had them glued together, I spray painted them with silver metallic spray paint, then I sprayed adhesive glue and sprinkled them with glitter.
When you are faced with an empty paper roll, you may want to think twice before throwing it out. You never know what you can make out of it.
Simply elegant ornament made form scrapbook paper strips and floral wire.
Cheri:Kristin’s ornament was so awesome that I have to admit I was a tad bit intimidated by this challenge. Actually, this type of challenge really brings out the best in both of us.
My ornament was made with scrapbook paper too.
I cut about 35 strips of paper and pushed a hole in all of them on both ends. I then took some floral wire that I had and made a loop in one end, and fed all the strips onto the wire. I then took the very last strip and threaded it on to the other end of the wire and continued to do this until all of them had been put on.
I fanned them out into a ball, and made a loop in the other end. I really like to use scrapbook paper that has stripes on it because the pattern seems to flow better. So one down 7 more to go.
The ornament hangs vertically with two balls strung together.Christmas Ornament Paper Strip Balls
Cheri: Well, another project come and gone. This one did not freak me out too much. I am always making little projects.
Sometimes I will see an object that I really like because it stirs up memories of being a kid. That is what happened when I bought these Christmas tree light bulbs at a garage sale a few months ago. I was drawn to the color, (pink) and I really liked the vintage feel of them too.
I knew that I would never use bulbs like these on a lighted string (who could trust them), but I still liked the look of them. They were the kind of lights we had on our tree when I was a kid. I don’t even know if these are sold anymore. They do have a tendency to get hot and really the newer, small lights are brighter.
When I saw them for 50 cents, I couldn’t think of anything to do with them at the time so I tucked them away for when an idea came. When this project was discussed, I felt that I could possibly use the light bulbs for something. I was pretty sure what I wanted to do and I was also sure that the idea would work pretty well. All I really needed was hot glue, ( I am the Queen of hot glue).
For the 14 point star ornament, I started out with glue on the metal tips and then I put one light bulb in the center on each side. I tried to do this mathematically but as I am math challenged, I decided to go by sight. It came out pretty well the first time and I knew that I really didn’t want to press my luck so I decided it looked pretty symmetrical.
For the eight point stars, I just glued 4 together and glued 4 more together and attached them. I hot-glued buttons onto them to cover the glue in the center.
I then decided I needed a hanger that was not very noticeable. In the box were 2 bulb clips, so I took one bulb off the star, attached the clip and then glued the bulb back on. This way I can attach a hook to it.
All in all I was quite pleased with the outcome and I think it will look terrific on a tree. The best thing is it was really simple and cheap. I just love it when a plan comes together.
14 point Christmas tree lightbulb star ornament.
The back of the 14 point star ornament with hanger.Four lightbulbs glued together end to end into a four point star and then two of those flat stars glued together to form an eight point star.The back of the eight point star with a close-up of the wire hanger,
We have just finished our Crafty Challenge 4 and are ready for number 5! This one is all about the time of year. From around now until Christmas, the Crafty Sisters begin to get secretive. We tend to stop discussing our projects with each other and mutter a lot, or at least I mutter a lot.
For us, this is crunch time for Christmas gifts and we do make a lot of them. In this vein, Crafty Challenge 5 is all about Christmas Decorations. We did need to limit this somehow and due to the whole Christmas crunch time I mentioned, the best idea was an actual time limit. So, the challenge is to create a Christmas decoration in less than two hours. We even set a specific time. December 4th – 10am until 12pm is the making time and the unveiling will be at 12:30pm. We can think all we want and purchase the supplies in the meantime, we just cannot start making the decorations until 10am.
To get us in a holiday mood, I thought some examples of a few of our past Christmas decorations was in order. So, get your mind in gear and get thinking (but don’t get making yet!).
Chenille pipe cleaner door wreath made by Cheri.Garland by Kristin, Choir Bird and Winter A-Frame by Cheri.Choir bird made by Cheri.Miniature A-Frame winter scene made by Cheri.Snowman ornament made by Cheri.Ornament door wreath made by Kristin.Painted bird ornaments made by Cheri.Silver ornament and twig door decor made by Cheri.
If you have any questions about any of the above decorations or would like to know how they were made, ask us! You can email us in the Contact Us section of the blog.
These were all decorations I had in my Christmas storage and I realize that almost all of them were made by Cheri. You can definitely see who we will be comparing ourselves to. Wish us luck and you get crafting!
the crafty sisters 