It is no surprise to anyone who knows me that I am not a huge fan of Oriental Trading ornaments. Don't get me wrong...I love me some Oriental Trading for getting supplies at a reasonable price, but I don't like hearing from my kids that they have already made the ornament that we are about to complete. So...like with most other things, I look to Pinterest for a little inspiration. Here are the ornaments that we completed this year:
Ornament Number 1: The Grinch
This one looks tricky, but it is really quite easy. The kiddos simply painted a light bulb green and red...yes, a light bulb. I had them use acrylic paint and it required two coats. Once dry, we added the Grinch eyes. How, you might ask??? With a clear return address label! I found a picture of the Grinch, cropped it, and applied it to the label template...and presto...Grinch eyes. The kiddos stuck them on, added a mouth with a paint pen, and glued on some fluff for the hat. I went back with some Mod Podge to make him shiny and we were good to go. Love!
Ornament Number 2: Snow Globe
This is the ornament that I always start off the season completing. It is simple and the kids have a lot of say so. I start off by cutting circles from poster board ( I used silver, but it doesn't really matter). The kiddos glued some fluff to the circle for snow and then they started decorating. I had several options for them: trees (painted pine cones from Micheal's dollar section- four for $1), small glitter ornaments in various colors (also from Micheal's dollar section- eight for $1), and mini presents (from the dollar store). In the past, I was able to find mini Santas, snowmen, and "actual" mini trees...but this year, I didn't have that luck so I had to improvise. The kids added these goodies to their snow with a little glue ( I secured with hot glue if needed). I then glued a small, plastic cup to the poster board (this is definitely a hot glue kind of job). After everything had a chance to dry, the kids put glue dots around the outside and sprinkled it with glitter to make it look like it is snowing. We added a little ribbon to the top for hanging...and voila...a snow globe!
Ornament Number 3: Skiers
This little one is my absolute favorite! I bought two bags of scented pine cones from Micheal's (Are you sensing a theme here?). With these bags, I was able to get 24 good pine cones for my kids with a few left over ($4.99 per bag). My kiddos dabbed some white acrylic paint on the pine cone with a brush, then we rolled them in glitter for a little sparkle. When those were dry, I hot glued a wooden craft ball (yes, Micheal's...ten for about $3) and added a little hair with yarn. The kiddos painted two Popsicle sticks (any color) for their skies). We attached all of these to the pine cone with two toothpicks for their poles and then we got to the fun stuff. The hats were made by cutting the fingers off of gloves (dollar spot at Target) and the scarves were made by cutting up the palm area of the same gloves. After that, the kids added their sweet faces using a Sharpie and their rosy cheeks using a pink crayon. I am in love with these cuties!
Ornament Number 4: Snowman
These little darlings were a new adventure for me...but by golly they were easy...and pretty darn cute if you ask me. Again, I went to Micheal's and purchased some clear, glass crafting ornaments. They were on sale when I went, so I think they ended up being $2.50 for six. Then, we added a little fake snow to the inside and glued on a pipe cleaner and some pom poms for the ear muffs. The kids grabbed a trusty paint pen to make the face.
Coming up...gingerbread houses! I'll post pictures when we make them. For now...here are the fixings:
