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Making Christmas Memories
I originally shared this in 2019 but I enjoyed it so much I'm thinking I will have to do it again. If you enjoy crafting and creating personalized things for your family and friends this is definitely something you will want to do. You could use them in place of the normal name-tags or use them as place cards for your holiday dinners.
Christmas memories are some of my favorite memories of time spent with family and friends. One of the things that always brings me joy is hanging the ornaments on my tree.
As I take them out of the boxes and hang them up I always think of the memories I have of the people who gave them to me, the places I visited, and the small business that I so enjoyed shopping at.
On a side note, I love this tree collar that I got from World Market. The good news is it's on sale, the bad news is it's not available for shipping. Maybe you are lucky enough to live close to a store that has it in stock, if so get it because it is beautiful.
The ones from my childhood make me think of mornings spent around the tree with my mom, dad, brothers, and sister. Then there are those my children made or those that we bought each year for them to add to the tree and eventually take with them for their own tree when they leave home.
These beautiful ornaments made by children when they were little will always be my favorites. Every year when I hang them on the tree I remember them as my young little ones. I still remember how proud they were when they got to finally bring them home from school and/or Sunday school. Thank you to all of the teachers who take time each year to help the little ones make these. Your time and thoughtfulness are appreciated more than you know.
The ornaments my children made get to stay with me and get placed on my tree every year. I give my children their annual ornaments when they leave home but all of those that they made are mine to keep. Maybe one day I will pass them on to their children so they can see the beautiful things they made and maybe they will wonder and think about their parents and what they were like when they were little.
Of course, now there is joy in adding new ones for my grandchildren. These too will remain with me until they are ready to leave home and decorate their own trees.
This year we added our newest member to the family and he gets his first official ornament hung on the tree.
His big sis loves Minnie Mouse and picked out her own ornament for the tree.
This year to celebrate our annual Christmas morning breakfast I decided to make every one a special ornament to take home. Hopefully in years to come when they hang it up they will remember the good times of Christmas morning spent together.
You too can do this and the best thing is it's easy and inexpensive. All you need is air dry or oven dry clay, cookie cutters, twine, and a few other supplies that you probably have around the house.
You can use air dry clay like this that I found at the Dollar General for $1.00 per pack. It's super easy to work with. The clay will dry within about 24-36 hours depending on the thickness. It doesn't harden like the oven-dry clay does and actually stays soft and flexible. It can tear easily so be sure you make the hole for the hanging string large enough for it to go through easily. Probably if I had made them a little thicker they would have been more sturdy.
This clay would be the best for those of you with little ones. There's no risk of getting burned and it is easy for them to work with. They can cut them out and leave them to dry overnight. ***Overlook the imperfections, I promise yours will look much better.
The next clay I used is SculpeyIII oven dry clay. It was easy to work with too. It cost a little more than the Crayola clay but the ornaments seem to be more durable than the other. There are different package sizes available. I actually used two of the 8oz packs and one 2oz pack. This gave me enough to redo the ones that I messed up.
Tear off a little chunk of the clay and knead it until it's soft and pliable. Break out the rolling pin and roll it to the thickness you like. An easy way to make the ornaments a consistent thickness is to take a couple of popsicle sticks and tape them together. Place the clay between them and use your rolling pin to flatten the clay. I did put a piece of parchment paper down to protect my countertop and for easy cleanup.
After you've flattened the clay out take your cookie cutter and cut out the shapes you want. I only did three or four at a time so I wouldn't feel pressure to hurry for fear of the clay starting to dry out. It probably would have been ok to do more at one time but I chose to take it slow.
Press the cookie cutter down firmly to make sure it goes all the way thru the clay. Once the clay is baked you can actually sand the edges down if you need to.
If you want to stamp the ornaments as I did this little embossing tool is the bomb! It's available at many places including Amazon, Michaels, and Walmart. If you don't have this you could always stamp the names if you have an alphabet ink stamp set or you could write the names with a Sharpie. If you're really crafty and talented you could paint the names on them and if you prefer just leave them plain, they're beautiful that way too.
For me, this next part is the hardest part. Not all names fit on all ornaments so choose them accordingly. Another thing to remember is they don't have to be perfectly centered, it's ok if they are off a little. One key thing...don't push the embossing tool down too far or you will end up with the edges also stamped on the ornament. Once you get the name stamped remove the clay slowly and gently from the tool.
To make the hole for the hanging string I used a toothpick to get the hole started then used a paintbrush to make the hole larger enough for the string I was using.
Once you get the ornament stamped and the hole made all you have to do is place it on a cookie sheet and bake it at 275 °F (130 °C) 15 minutes per 1/4 inch (6 mm) thickness. I lined my baking sheet with parchment paper since it is a sheet I would normally use for baking. You could also use aluminum foil instead of parchment paper. Don't overbake them. I did and the color ended up having a slight tan tint so those required a redo.
This is what they look like once you finish them. I can't wait to share these with my family on Christmas morning and for those that won't be able to make it Christmas morning, there will be a fresh batch waiting for them as we celebrate all together after Christmas.
Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas. May it be filled with love and lots of wonderful memories.
