Hard at Play

{Working on March's Ornament kit; Shot on April 18, 2017}

My Perspective

A christmas ornament: A work in progress.

Christmas Ornament

I recently completed this beaded and sequined ornament. This was part of a kit (set of three). The instructions had mistakes, not to mention the ornament does not match what is pictured. The bugle beads would slide up inside the red faceted beads. Fun. Not! I had to come up with ways to prevent this from happening. I used glue in some sections and rocaille beads in others. I made it work.

I am once again disappointed with a kit. Also, I am seriously irked with the deception on the manufacturer's part (picture and supplies do not match what is actually received).

With all that said, I will be making at least one more out of this kit. But first, I am returning to the Gypsy Wife quilt now that I am feeling better. (I made this ornament while resting and watching TV).

Finished Craft Project (Christmas Ornament)

This is not a very good picture and it does not do it justice. I finished this ornament yesterday (February 6, 2017). I am fairly pleased with the thing. At first, it was hard to let go of perfectionism; but, that is exactly what I needed to do with this kit. I realize that the tree is perfectly wonky; but, hey, that is how real trees are in life.

Another Christmas Ornament

I recently completed this beaded and sequined ornament. This was part of a kit (set of three). I refuse to make one more! It was tedious making this item and the instructions were horrid. After I completed this one, the extra supplies were dumped into an bin that I keep for just in case I need extras for other kits.

If a kid ever wanted to make an ornament for themselves, I think they would have a blast dipping into this bin of mine! I know I made a few ugly ones in my youth from extra supplies my mother kept; but, they sure were gorgeous in my eyes back in those days.

Final Completed Project of 2016 and Happy New Year!

I accidentally ran across this ornament kit and immediately fell in love. I had to have the kit. It reminded me of Dad and his love of birds not to mention it seems like half of my family are birders. I have always adored cardinals. So, it was perfect.

I finished the project yesterday afternoon with much fussing and such. It has been years and years since I made one of these kind of ornaments. But, while I was working on it, I was happy and content. I thought it turned out beautiful.

I had Dan hang it up in the designated spot before I even took a picture. So, the pictures below are not the best. I actually stood up on a ladder to take the first! Ha!

It is hanging in our hallway which I have turned into a "Christmas room". Yes, I am nuts; but, I do not really care what others may think of the things I do.

The big ornaments hanging beside it were made by my mother and hung over the bar every year at her house. These were the ones that no one picked for themselves and I'm glad now because they are beautiful where they are.

And now, onto a different subject. 2016 is about to end. It wasn't too bad of a year with the exception of an extreme depression time, dealing the chronic issues and the death of an old acquaintance who I was enormously fond of. She was my sister-in-law's Aunt. In spite of all this, I feel that I managed to accomplish more than I have in the past few years. The one thing that I picked up is Bullet Journaling that I believe helped me out immensely.

I am extremely thankful for so many things.

Life.
My husband, Dan.
Abby Gail, my buddy.
Family.
Friends.
The ability and space to create.

The only resolution I have for 2017 is to try to create (make things) more.

May 2017 be good to you all!

Mom's Holiday Wreath Ornament

This was a kit and I it found bagged in a small aluminum foil pan up in my mother's kitchen cabinet above the refrigerator. There was another foam wreath in the kit. FYI: I love ornament kits and have tons stored away that I purchased over the years.

I decided to take the kit for myself. I thought I could repair the one pictured; but, the damage was too severe. I ended up cannibalizing the old one to make a brand new one with the extra foam wreath. (There was not enough supplies to finish a new wreath.)

The maker of the kit is LeeWards which is no longer in business and, after many stores closed, it became Michaels. The kit was dated 1976. I also found a sticker price of $1.89. Wow. I was eleven or twelve years old when this kit was packaged together for sale.

Merry Christmas! (And, a Finished Craft)

Completed on December 10, 2015 using instructions and fabrics from Sweetwater. I made these ornaments for the youngest members of my family, the grand nieces and nephews. I hope the kids like them. I think they turned out so cute. These are so easy to make and requires no sewing (except for threading the hanger onto ornament).

I had to refrain from posting about these cuties due to the fact that maybe some of their parents read this blog. I wanted them to be surprised too. So, this post was written in advance and scheduled for late on Christmas day.

Bur Oak Acorn Ornaments

The inspiration for these ornaments comes from seeing Felted Wool Acorns found around the interwebs. I adore them; but, 1) I cannot afford to buy them and 2) I cannot make them because I'm slightly allergic to wool. I also remembered my childhood and how we used to make ornaments out of walnut shells.

We saw some Bur Oak Acorns one day. Let me tell you, these suckers are huge. I have never seen large acorns like these before (until now). I knew immediately what I could do with a few. So, I decided to grab three of the nicest ones I could find.

I cleaned the acorns as best as I could and separated the caps from the nuts. One of them was still attached. The other two I matched the caps to the nut as best as I could when we found them.

I grabbed some primer, some old spray paint that I have stashed, and fishing line stolen from Dan's fishing rod. Ha! I then primed the acorns and painted them.

Let me tell you, if you have any old spray paint around, throw it away! Holy Moly, what a mess that made. From now on, I'm sticking with regular paint in a can.

I didn't have any true red paint in my stash. Now, that was weird. I must not like the color red all that much. Ha! So anyway, I spent approximately $3 for some sample paint called "candy apple".

Dan drilled a hole in both the tops of the nut and in the caps. The hole in the nut was to help make painting them easier. I cut three six inch pieces of fishing line, looped them and tied a knot at the ends. I threaded them through the acorn caps.

After the nuts were dried, we glued them. Let me tell you, that was fun. NOT! We first tried an Epoxy that was a complete flop. It just would not hold or bond. So, Dan got out some construction adhesive from his stash and we used that. Finally! They were stuck together for good.

We sprayed them with a couple coats of Polycrylic. I love how they turned out.