Holiday hearts and such

I forgot to mention these ornaments.  We made them for grandparents for the holidays, but they'd be sweet little gifts for Valentine's Day too.  The boy colored like crazy with fabric crayons (cheap, at your local fabric store) and then I transferred his drawings to some scrap fabric (if the lines are really faint you might want to go over them to darken a bit).  I have loads of fabric crayons from first grade quilt making days.  You could incorporate this great idea (or do it with your machine) with older kids.  I embroidered the boy's name and the year on red felt for the back, stitched all around at the end with the machine (I was running out of time... Handwork would have looked nicer) and he was so, so proud to give them away.  I kept one, of course, for us!

My sister and I have a huge collection of ornaments we made in childhood and I'd love for us to carry on with a yearly tradition (the first year with the boy I was still trying to figure out how to shower again so there was no ornament...). 

Last year we made these hand prints out of basic Sculpey.  I had wanted one of those baby hand print kits forever, and always stopped myself from buying one.  They seemed too super-expensive at that stage of our one income, new baby life (still do, come to think of it).  Anyhow, I used a 50% off coupon at a craft store for Sculpey in a crazy, "let's see if it'll work" $2 shot in the dark and it's totally great.  We had plenty in the box for lots of "ornaments" and still have some left over.  They bake hard in the oven.  They'd be nice for Valentines too, for the loved ones of our little ones.

Comments

[Sarah]

I love those fabric crayons. This year I made t-shirts for my dad and for my husband for father's day with Jack's drawings. We also made dish towels for the aunts for Christmas. Fun, fun!

[kirsten]

i've been wanting to try the fabric crayons - those ornaments turned out so fun! we'll have to make them next year.

[melissa]

oh, sweet idea!

[Amy]

Thanks for the great handprint idea. I'm going to make ornaments like that for Christmas next year.

[Laurie L.]

I love making ornaments with children! They are so creative with color and design.

In reference to an earlier entry: an absolutely wonderful flour to bake bread with in the U.S. is King Arthur.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/
It is highly recommended in "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread" by Peter Reinhart.

[Laurie L.]

I love making ornaments with children! They are so creative with color and design.

In reference to an earlier entry: an absolutely wonderful flour to bake bread with in the U.S. is King Arthur.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/
It is highly recommended in "The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread" by Peter Reinhart.