We Aim to Please

Cynthia, you asked for photos of a few of my home-made ornaments, so it's photos you'll get.  'Tis the season, right?  I'm assuming you also wanted some how-to's, though they're all pretty easy.

For the Baby Sock Snowman you'll need baby socks (preferably clean ones, but you decide), rubber bands (I use the little tiny clear elastics for little girls hair), rice, ribbon (to create a hanger) and scraps of fabric (for the scarf and patches).  Carefully fill the bottom portion of the sock with rice and wrap an elastic around several times to secure.  Add a little more rice to sock to create a little bit smaller section and secure with an elastic.  Add even more rice to create an even smaller section and secure that with an elastic, too.  Fold the top of the sock down to form the hat. At this point I like to use a few dabs of hot glue between each section and around the hat to keep everything in place.  Cut a piece of ribbon 3 or 4 inches long, put ends together to form a loop and secure both ends down inside the top of the hat with some hot glue.  Doctor him up however you like with your fabric scraps. I also use a Sharpie to make the eyes, nose and buttons and finish them off with rosy cheeks made using a Q-tip dipped in the powdered blush from my make-up bag.

For the Cinnamon Gingerbread Men you'll need 1 cup of applesauce and 1 cup of ground cinnamon.  That's it.  Just mix those two ingredients and they will form a nice dough that you can roll out and cut with a cookie cutter.  Place your cut images on cookie sheets to dry. (Don't forget to poke holes at the top of each one for the hanger -- I've done that before and it stinks.  Big time!)  At this point you can either set them aside for several days  to air dry or you can bake them at 200* for an hour or so.  It just depends on how soon you need them.  I've had the best results from air-drying, but I do live in the desert.  (Psst . . . it's really dry here.) These ornaments will smell fantastic for years.  I hang them with grosgrain ribbon and store them in a zip-loc freezer bag.

For the felt Snowflakes you will need white felt, scissors, and a whole lotta' patience.  I cut several different designs out of paper first and traced them onto the felt because I'm just too OCD to be OK with not knowing how they were going to look finished.  I hang them from my tree with clothespins because that's the style I do.  You could use fishing line or white ribbon if you wanted.

That last picture is just a peek at how I wrapped my presents this year.  Brown kraft paper, jute twine, and vintage Christmas-themed advertising labels.  Very retro and simple.  Just my speed.  (Yes, every year I wrap my presents with a theme.  I did mention my OCD in the previous paragraph, didn't I?)

Merry Christmas one and all!