Personalized Family Ornament

I love making personalized ornaments!

 

 My favorite Christmastime activity

is going through my boxes of ornaments -

 

aw, who am I kidding?

 

My favorite activity is sitting in

front of the fireplace with a hot toddy

and the glow from a fully decorated,

lit Christmas tree in the background,

and the knowledge that all the empty boxes

have been stored away neatly.

 

 

Anyway!!  I love making personalized

ornaments and using them as gift tags on

wrapped packages.  For a change,

this ornament is specifically for hanging.

Well.  I guess you could still use

it as a gift tag ...

 

To make one hearth, you'll need a

3"x4" wood square and one jumbo craft stick.

 

 

I used three pre-cut wood stocking shapes

(you could probably fit five stockings

on the mantle if you don't mind them

hanging off the edges a bit).

 

 

And one Woodsies skinny stick,

rounded ends trimmed and cut into three

cuff lengths (I trim all my wood shapes

with Easy Cutter Ultimate from

Midwest Products).

 

Acrylic Paints:

 

 

These are the colors I used:

Hauser Light Green, Napa Red, Slate Gray,

Lamp Black, White, and Multi-Purpose sealer.

You'll also want a sanding block.

A permanent marking pen.

And a 6" length of ribbon for hanging.

 

Trim one rounded end off the jumbo

craft stick, and then cut a 4 1/2" length.

 

 

 

 Paint the jumbo craft stick and

the rectangle gray.

Paint the stockings green.

 

Allow paint to dry thoroughly,

then sand the edges lightly

with the sanding block.

 I used a regular craft stick to measure

out straight lines, because crooked

lines really bug me.

:D

Then I blocked out a 2" square in the center

of the rectangle for the fireplace

opening.  I made a border around the

opening the same width as the craft stick.

 

 

Paint the square opening black,

and paint the bricks red.

(You don't have to be that neat ...

just get the basic brick shapes

in and leave a perimeter

of gray "mortar"):

 

 

Allow the paint to dry thoroughly,

then sand lightly with the sanding block.

Use a liner brush and white

paint to add details to the stockings.

 

 

Here's where I notice that not all my pics

uploaded from my phone to my

web album.  Actually, I noticed earlier,

when I wanted to post the pic I took

of all the wood pieces together.

 

Anyway, imagine you see the trimmed

skinny sticks painted white and sanded

lightly ... and then imagine you see

the pic I took of the cuffs actually

glued to the stockings.

 

 

 Seal each piece with Multi-Purpose sealer,

and allow to dry thoroughly.

Then use your pen to outline the

details, and write a name on each of

your stockings.

 

I used a thin red ribbon for

hanging ... I attached the ribbon by

putting a line of hot glue lengthwise

across the top of the rectangle where

the mantle will be, then secured

the ribbon by pressing the mantle in

place.  Sort of a ribbon sandwich,

if you will.  I used hot glue

to attach the stockings to the mantle.

 

 

 

From this ^

 

to this:

 

 

With just three or four photos

lost somewhere in cyberspace.

Hmm.

 

~Peace & Personalized Christmas Ornaments~