Homemade Christmas Ornaments
Homemade Christmas Ornaments questions and answers
Learn more about Personalized Christmas Ornaments at the best craft website online, GetCrafty Crafts
Q: homemade christmas presents?
i am trying to find out some creative christmas presents to give to my family that won't cost any money. (the best presents come from the heart) : ) so does anyone have any ideas? i have already thought of, and made, some ornaments for next year to give to my family. ideas pls?
and thx so much!!
A: Food gifts are easy and don't cost much money.
Seriously, though--gifts that cost NO money are going to have to be unusually creative. You can cut vines or limber branches from shrubs and make vine wreaths. You can weave mats or baskets from pine needles, certain grasses, or even grocery store plastic bags. If you're near a national forest or logwoods, you may collect pine stumps to make fatwood. You can harvest bulbs from old plantings that have multiplied and become crowded and "force" them to bloom. Take outgrown or worn t-shirts with logos, school colors, or sayings on them and stitch them together or to a backing to make a "personalized" bed quilt.
Q: Homemade Christmas gifts from kids to grandparents ..?
Any good ideas .. I was thinking about making a handprint ornament out of plaster of paris for there tree but I heard it would be too heavy. I have a 3 year old and a 5 weeks old btw.
Anything bought too would be good .. thinking about one homemade and one store bought.
A: you can use the handprint idea differently.
have your little ones make finger & hand prints on paper [construction or thick paper would be best for longevity], either in some sort of pattern/design or just randomly. maybe even add a few footprints.
if you do it randomly, use different colours.
then, convert them into designs such as flower, chicken, rabbit, & so on, adding the details with crayons/felt pens/water colors.....
you can even adorn these with beads, sequins, glitter, satin ribbon, wool .... something your 3-year old will help with gleefully.
then cut these out neatly, laminate, pierce with string & use as tree ornaments for their grandparents.
for handprint [you can convert it into a peacock], you can glue two together, back to back, laminate & string. add your kids' names & wishes on the palm/fingers, if you like. similarly for footprint.
these paper ornaments will be light enough for the tree.
hope these inspire you.
have fun :-)
Q: What do you put on YOUR Christmas Tree?
For me, it's:
1. Homemade ornaments that me and my siblings made when we were young, candy canes, beads, colorful lights, and great big star on the top.
Just curious to see what other people put on their trees....
A: lots and lots of ornaments! homemade, and alot of halmark!
white lights, candy canes, and a angel on top, i love it! =)
Q: How to fashion a homemade cookie cutter for a Christmas cookie shape?
I'd like something a little fancier than a star or a Christmas tree ball / ornament. Maybe a Christmas tree, snowflake, or Santa head? Maybe a wreath that looks like a wreath and not a tire or a donut?
I've made a dough cutter out of the bottom of a tuna fish can, but it was a LOT of work so I'm trying to avoid so much metal cutting if I can.
The goal is to do this without making a trip to the grocery store and to fashion a form from common household items.
Any creative / innovative ideas?
I realize cookie cutters are not expensive and can be purchased at the store. The store is not close, however, and my car is in the shop right now. So I'm looking for a quick alternative until my car is back in about 4 days. I have some time off right now and wanted to bake some Christmas cookies for friends coming over tomorrow. Homemade cookie cutter ideas, anyone?
A: Take a can such as tuna can & fashion it out of that.
**** Use a round glass & cut out the cookies, decorate as round ornaments!!
or you can make them into wreaths or paint other Christmas symbols onto them.
You can make faces on them, like Santa Claus' face. The kids will love to come up with as many different ways to decorate them as possible.
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Squares, Triangles, and Rectangles
It's easy to cut squares, triangles and rectangles from your cookie dough. Simply use a pizza cutter and a ruler to cut straight even lines first one way, and then the other.
For triangles, add diagonal lines to cut the squares in half.
You can use plastic storage containers such as Tupperware to cut out your squares and rectangles. You can then use a plastic knife or a butter knife to cut these diagonally in order to get triangle shapes.
Squares and rectangles are the perfect shape to decorate as gifts and presents, but they can become many other things as well.
Older children can use food coloring to paint scenes on the shapes, making them into lighted windows, or nativity scenes. Triangles can be even more fun to apply your imagination to. With a few well placed decorations, a triangle can easily become the cutest reindeer you've ever seen. Use a jelly bean for the nose at one tip of the triangle, and paint the eyes on as you like. Use frosting to glue two broken pretzels to the top of the head for the antlers. Don't forget to use a red jelly bean and make a Rudolph cookie too!
Christmas tree: Triangle with rectangle under it!
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Trees, Stars, and Other Shapes
More complex shapes can become a challenge when you are faced with a shortage of cookie cutters in the stores. One of the simplest ways to achieve these shapes in your cookies is this method. Look through the children's coloring books and find a shape you like, such as a tree or perhaps a paper doll or train. Glue this page to a piece of heavy cardboard, and using strong scissors, cut around the outside of the shape. Don't worry about cutting any of the pieces inside the outline, if you'd like them cut from the dough you can do that by eye later. After you have your cardboard shape, let the kids lay it on the dough and cut around it, using a plastic knife or dull butter knife. This will take longer than cookie cutters might, but they will like it, and tracing is a skill they are pretty good at. You could even have them trace their hands on the dough and make each their own hand to eat.
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Using Metal Flashing
If you'd like a more permanent solution and cookie cutters that you can keep for years, you can make them out of metal flashing from Home Depot or Lowe's.
This project is better for adults only, as the metal edge can be very sharp and dangerous for children. Find metal stripping that is an inch or so wide. You will also need a rivet gun or a punch and very small nuts and bolts. Tools you may already have that you'll need include leather gloves to protect your hands and pliers. It's best to have a picture available for reference as you're bending your cutter into shape. You can use a coloring book picture or you could draw the outline you want to make. Use the pliers to shape the flashing into the shape you'd like. For curves instead of angles, you can bend the flashing around a dowel. When you've finished the shape, fasten the two ends together with the rivet gun or the nut and bolt. For safety, it is important to cover one side of the cookie cutter with electrical tape, or similar padding in order to protect kids' hands as they press down on the cutters.
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Making Tin Foil Cookie Cutters
If working with metal is a bit too intimidating, some perfectly acceptable, though less heavy duty, cookie cutters can be made with tin foil. Cut off three sheets of heavy duty aluminum foil about two or three feet long. Lay them evenly on top of each other and fold them in half lengthwise. Fold them in half again and then one more time. You should have a foil strip about an inch wide. If it's too wide, fold the whole strip in half one more time. Be very careful to make each fold as neat and even as possible, or the edges won't stay straight. Crease and smooth each fold as much as possible to create a good cutting edge for your cookie cutter. Now that you have your foil strip, you can shape it with your hands. Older kids can easily join you for this step as well. Use a picture as your guide and shape your foil into a cutter shape, making every crease as neat and smooth as possible. When you've finished the bending, cut off the excess foil with strong kitchen scissors and tape the ends neatly together with Scotch tape. If your foil loses its shape too easily, you can try again with four sheets of foil. Bear in mind though, that these are temporary disposable cookie cutters. They will lose their shape
Q: I want to make a homemade paw print ornament?
I bought a special kit that's supposed to let you make an ornament with your dog's paw print. But the clay that came with it is all dry and crumbly. What clay/dough can I make or buy that will give me a good paw print that I can dry, and hang on the Christmas tree? If Sculpey... which type?
A: The Model Magic will work, but you need to make sure you condition and compress the clay thoroughly, otherwise it will crack as it dries, You might also want to make a form for the paw print.
The easiest way is take a waxed milk carton or any other container that is slick inside. Cut it down to about 1-1 1/2" in height to make a form for your print. Place the form on a piece of waxed paper. Condition your clay and compress it into your form. Really jam it in there, and smooth it flat. Then place the paw on the clay (you might have to wash the paw first...lol...Model Magic picks up EVERYTHING), and gently press it into the clay, pressing on each toe separately. I don't know where you are..I'm in Arizona, and the clay is drying as it comes out of the bag....but leave the print in the form until it is dry, which might take a couple of days. Then you can carefully cut down one side of the form and peel it off. Model Magic can be drilled, to run a hanger or a piece of bright ribbon through.
Leave me a message if you would like to know how to make a mold for doing a REALLY lightweight ornament out of cast paper, where you can make multiple ornaments from one original.
Q: Homemade play dough and how to dry it?
We made homemade play dough today with flour, salt, and water. It is good for about a week when you leave it in the fridge. When it is time to throw it out I would like to make Christmas or Halloween ornaments with it but I can't remember how to do it! Any help moms? Dads? Or kids that have tried this?
I can't dry it in the sun... it would freeze where I live!
A: We tried this exact recipe and could not for the life of us get it to do ANYTHING! It would dry brittle and it'd crack trying to handle it.
We found this recipe that works very well! It is pretty simple with regular household ingredients also...
4 cups flour
4 cups water
2 cups salt
2 tbsp. cooking oil (add more if needed)
4 tbsp. cream of tarter (it is optional but it makes it much easier for the kids to handle!)
Mix all the ingredients in a large pan and it heat it over low heat-medium stove. Stir it continuously until it feels kind of like mashed potatoes. After it is cooled, kneed it. Store it in a ziplock overnight.
When you are ready to make the ornaments, we all get together in the kitchen. We put oil on our hands (so it doesn't stick!) and we cut out various shapes from cookie cutters. Use a large needle to poke a hole at the top. At this point we lay out THICK layers of plastic because I have messy kids =D! DON'T USE NEWSPAPER!!! The ink sticks to the ornaments...! I mix like 1/4 of a bottle of food coloring with a cup of water for paint. I let the kids go at it with a very soft bristle brush or a basting brush that you'd use for barb-q. After this is done take four ornaments and arrange them in the microwave. Microwave on high for about two minutes. Let it sit for thirty seconds before microwaving for another minute. I spray it with heavy duty hairspray and let it sit overnight.
Good luck and I hope I helped.
Q: Are these good gifts for my parents?
Mom
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1. Homemade Paper Mache Heart
2. Coupon Book (Around the house ones, like chores)
3. Perfume
4. A stuffed animal
Dad
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1. Homemade Paper Mache Football
2. Coupon Book (Similar to mom's)
3. Homemade Pinch Pot
4. Christmas Ornament
Are these good presents?
I'm only 13 and i don't get a lot of allowance,
so is this good?
A: I like the fact that a lot of these are handmade. That is really sweet of you because handmade things always come straight from the heart with that person in mind, as opposed to store bought things.
I'm sure they will love their gifts. :)
Merry early Christmas!
Q: Creative Christmas Gift Ideas, Anyone?
I have Cousin who is 9 Years older than me. She is 26. She has always given me a cool homemade Christmas present In years past, she had mad a pillow, blanket, ornaments, poem within a picture frame...you get the drift. Well this year, I would like to give her something special I created myself. I need some suggestions. Anything that comes to mind give it to me. The more the marrier! Thank you very much!
A: Check out http://www.kidoozy.com there's alot of unique homemade gift ideas there and none are to difficult to make.
Good Luck and I hope she loves her gift!
Q: What are some ideas for the next few days to do with kids at home?
We are getting ready to bake some cookies and banana bread. We have already made homemade ornaments. Just curious what you will be doing with the kids getting ready for Christmas. Also, any good ideas for getting them wiped out for Christmas Eve? I don't think I ever slept on Christmas Eve as a kid, lol. I figured we could probably all use some ideas right about now!!!
A: Go outside and play. If you live where there is snow go skating, tobogganing, have snowball fights, etc.
Play with your kids.
Q: which do you think is prettier?
which do you think is prettier a homemade christmas tree with homemade ornament's, or one that matches with all the same color, please answer im bored and im staring at my tree! :D
i like them both two my aunt has one that is matching or should i say 5 that are matching! anyway i have one that is Homemade i like them both
A: homemade--it has personality and character
Q: i need some christmas gift ideas for my mom its last minute and it needs to be homemade!?
it needs to mean something and please no ornaments
A: if she likes food gifts, you could make a really nice cake or something. Or a CD of pictures or something like that.
Q: Christmas gifts for teachers...?
Ok so christmas is coming up and I have four great teachers I want to make presents for? My mum is mega crafty so ever since pre-school it's been kinda tradition to make my teachers a present like a christmas ornament. One year I made this teacher who loved earrings a pair of earrings and she wore them to graduation! Does anyone have any ideas for homemade gifts for teachers? Just for your info I am giving gifts to 4 teachers and I am in highschool.
Also for any teachers out there, when a student writes a card and gets all mushy saying how they think you're the best teacher ever and stuff do you get uncomfertable and creeped out? Or do you find it sweet? I never know how much to write on a teachers card. Should it be kept to a simple "Merry Christmas" or can I tell these teachers how much I love their lessons and how great I think they are and get a little more personal/mushier?
Thankyou, any help would be appreciated.
A: Teachers appreciate everything they get, especially in high school, because they don't usually get much, if anything, from their students like elementary teachers do.
Ornaments are nice. So are things like keyrings, classroom decorations (a ceramic statue that you painted), picture frames, a class collage, a poem, pin, painted or decorated mug, special keepsake box (or box to put things in such as pencils, pens, or whatever), tote bag (you can get them plain and decorate/paint them), and soap. I'm sure you can find more things in the library.
As for the card, you want to be careful how mushy you get. You want to be sure that it doesn't say anything that may make people think there's something inappropriate going on between you that can get the teacher in trouble. In general though, it's nice to hear that you're actually making a difference in a student's life, if you truly are and the student isn't just looking for brownie points. Teachers can usually tell if you're just blowing smoke or if you mean it. Make sure you don't get too personal (you have the most beautiful blue eyes, I love your hair) because that can give people the wrong impression and something innocent can hurt someone you really like.
This is a very nice thing you're doing. Have fun with it!
Q: What to do with kids these next couple days?
We are getting ready to bake some cookies and banana bread. We have already made homemade ornaments. Just curious what you will be doing with the kids getting ready for Christmas. Also, any good ideas for getting them wiped out for Christmas Eve? I don't think I ever slept on Christmas Eve as a kid, lol. I figured we could probably all use some ideas right about now.
Also if you are younger what are some things your parents do, or did with you that was fun (mine are 3 and 9)
A: Going out to see all the lights in the freezing cold and something about after all that cold and coming home to eat candy canes and drink hot cocoa helps, The mint soothes the tummy and the hot cocoa makes them feel all cozy and warm and often some soft Christmas music will wear them out right before bed.
Q: Christmas presents for my family?
My family is:
1. Two grand-parents (not sure what age D: ) -- They basically like anything made by hand, so if you have any ideas for homemade ornaments, etc. that would be great!
2. Parents (45 and 60) -- Same as above, but they also like music, and holding on to memories (as in photo albums, etc.)
3. Half sister (35) -- Jewelry.
4. Two half brothers (38) + the wife of one of them (36) -- I'm stuck here. I think for the wife I'll also get jewelry, but I'm not sure about the two half brothers: maybe something homemade?
5. One older sister, 14 years old -- I know she likes a few mangas like DeathNote and Full Metal Alchemist, and also cute Japanese characters like the ones from Sanrio.
6. One younger sister, 7 years old -- Plushies.
So, could you help me out with at least one of these people?? That'd be great!
Thanks~
A: grand parents..picture of you in a nice frame
parents..same as above
brothers...an IOU for a vehicle washing and vacuum make a nice card to go with it make it like a gift certificate
sisters-in law....do they like costume jewelry...they have nice kits at wal-mart and craft shops you can make them some costume jewelry
sister...gift card so she can get the one she likes or candles are nice
Lil sis..what is a plushie??? a stuffed toy maybe???
Q: Would you post very old photos of Children that you helped out economically so others could see their smiles?
I posted a 1998 photo of my great niece whom I bought a tree, Christmas ornaments, and gifts at the last minute because her parents could not afford to buy her Christmas because her smile was genuine. The year before I made her homemade gifts and took her gifts but she did not smile because she did not get a tree or a doll so she got angry and told her mommy to put the gifts away in the closet. But when I left I know she took them out because she will not let me give them away to poor children even though they are old and a bit worn. You can see how big the smile is here. Someone told me to get my kids photo off the internet because it was not safe. She does not live here and she has a black belt in Tai Kwan Do now. I just wanted to share her genuine smile with Yahoo people who have been very helpful with answering how to teach reading to my great nephew who is much younger right now. You don't see his photo here do you? He did not want to learn Tai Kwan Do.
I never thought about this. Thank you for telling me instead of insulting me. Both good answers so I will leave it up to Yahoo voters to tell me which is the best of the two. Thanks
A: I personally wouldn't. With soo much digital changes that are out there-a picture could be easily misconstrued in a horrible way.
Mom of B & D