Inside: So you need a craft the kids can help with to curb some of their yuletide enthusiasm. Lucky for you we’re not finished playing with sticks! Come see what else we’ve created.
Simple Ornaments
Guest post by Ann Harke
After finishing our Prim Christmas Tree Forest, I was faced with all the sticks lying around on the table, counter, and chairs. As crazy as it sounds, I just couldn’t throw them out or, better yet, throw them into the woodstove. So I decided to try making something else with them, and my creative juices began to flow.
Tree and Star Ornaments
You will need:
- Sticks
- Card stock (or cardboard)
- Buttons
- Twine
- Hot glue gun with glue sticks
Is it strange to put a tree ornament on a Christmas tree? We think not! Picture by Ann Harke.
I took some of the really small twigs and clipped them in a triangle form. I used a piece of cardstock cut in a narrow strip to use as the tree base on which to hot glue the sticks. You want to leave a small space at the bottom for the trunk and work your way up to the top. For a hook take a small piece of twine string, loop it, and hot glue it to the tree on back or even let it hang in front. You be the creator of your own design.
For a slightly different look I used a stick in place of the cardstock. Follow the same directions in applying the sticks in a triangular shape.
Next I went back to the cardstock and again cut sticks in a triangle, longest at the bottom, shortest at the top, but this time I left space in between the sticks and glued buttons. (See picture above.) I liked that effect.
I did various trees with different sizes and made a loop from the twine string to glue on either the back or front. Again, you be the decider of your creation.
Thinking back to our Prim Christmas Tree Forest, I remembered the star and fashioned a five-pointed star by taking five sticks the same length and gluing them together, placing buttons on the edges. That turned out well, too.
After all of these ornaments I literally ran out of sticks, so I no longer felt guilty about throwing these free sticks away. As in hippie days, you could say I became one with my sticks.
I loved this craft and shortly after made a two and a half foot stick tree with ornaments I cut from galvanized tin. But that’s a post for another day. (Note from editor: Next year!)
Try these ornaments and let your creativity flow. You’ll be surprised at the ideas that come forth. And just have fun!
Do you have any homemade ornaments on your tree? Tell us about it in the comments.
Tomorrow, The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 11: It’s Okay to Say ‘Merry Christmas’
Related posts:
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 1: A Simple Song
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 2: Spiced Nuts
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 3: Our Prim Christmas Tree Forest
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 4: A Truly Southern Christmas
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 5: Seasonal Symbols and Traditions
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 6: My Top Ten Christmas Movie Picks
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 7: Cutest. Sleigh. Ever.
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 8: Spending Christmas with Charlie
The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 9: Tortilla Cinnamon Rolls