Happy Holidays Clean and Scentsible readers! My name is Becky and I blog over at Cupcakes and Ruby Slippers. In January I became a first time parent to a pretty amazingly adorable little man and I am just starting to do all things crafty, DIY and home decor related again. LONG overdue! I
am a self proclaimed Christmas nut and I am sure my family and
friends would not bat an eye to nominate me as such. Confession: I
listen to Christmas tunes BEFORE Halloween. Yes, that is a fact.
I am so excited to take part in Jenn's Trim the Tree Party! I
have known Jenn for a very long time and have been a huge fan of her
blog since day one. I love her crafty ways and her fearless outlook on
all things DIY. This is actually my very first guest post ever and I just love that it is a Christmas themed feature.
I had been wracking my brain, trying to think of a way to capture some of the sweetest little details about my little man Alexander and make them into a special keepsake for our Christmas tree. I wanted to do a message in a bottle type ornament-something he could he could one day open and read. I wanted a way my hubby and I could express the joy he brings us and document a few milestones in a meaningful way. I had a flash of genius! {okay, maybe a stretch?} I thought about using clear ornament balls {instead of a bottle for our message} and it took off from there. I wanted it to be very simple, sweet and somewhat traditional looking. Here is what I came up with....
MATERIALS
- clear glass ornament ball
- glitter paint
- paint brush
- number stencil
- painters tape
- exacto knife
- bakers twine
- vellum paper
- kraft paper
- letter stamp set
- stamp ink in black
- jute string (for hanging)
- Type a list of things you wish to document on the computer-I put the year at the top and then listed the sentiments in point form, the print it on vellum paper.
- Cut the list it to resemble a long scroll, roll it up and secure it with a piece of bakers twine.
- Next cut a small piece of kraft paper and fold it width wise {to give it more weight} and glue it together with adhesive dots to secure the fold. I used tiny letter stamps to spell out my little mans name on both sides. I also burnished the edges with black ink to give it some visual interest.
- Using a cardboard stencil, trace the number 1 on to painters tape and carefully cut it out with a exacto blade. Then place the painters tape stencil on the glass ball as a custom adhesive stencil. Be sure to press the edges of the painters tape stencil down firmly with your nails to avoid any bleeding of the paint. I did three coats of paint to build up the glitter paint power ;) Let dry and carefully remove stencil. I VERY carefully scored the edges with the exacto knife first.
- Carefully place the tied scroll and name card into the ball.
- Lastly, add some jute string to hang from your tree!
This little ornament is the first of a tradition I plan to keep up each Christmas, recognizing the number of Christmases we celebrate with our Alexander. This year he is actually going to be 11 months old on Christmas day. The number on this ornament is to signify his 1st Christmas :)
I hope you and your loved ones have a very happy Holiday Season and make many cherished memories with your loved ones.
Warm Wishes!
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I seriously LOVE this idea!! I wish that I had thought of that when my kiddos were little. Better late than never though, right? Becky and I have been friends since Kindergarten {I won't tell you how many years that is!} so it is extra special for me to have her here today. She is also the one that started me on this whole blogging adventure! I had never even heard of a blog before I saw hers! So hard to believe that that was only a couple of years ago...
Head on over to Cupcakes and Ruby Slippers and say hello to Becky - my one and only blogging friend that I have met in real life!
Don't forget to check out the rest of the other amazing ornaments shared this week. I am so appreciative of all of the wonderful bloggers that joined me!
