Multi tasking! , getting our Christmas decorations up, Crafts( how to make ornaments) and baking....

 Our tree this year( 2010). We have to stay with a smaller tree due to our living room size and this year we found one that fits just perfect in front of our bay window.  Cortney already has her gifts for Mike and I under the tree. Now I need to get a few gifts wrapped and under there too.

 Lite up, with LED lights. We bought them last year, on sale and we're quite pleased with them, they do NOT get hot, so the worries of the tree catching fire are not a concern and they are bright, although they don't blink.

              Here are some ornaments we've made, or were given to us in an exchange but all of them are fairly simple to construct and make nice gifts or a new yearly tradition.

 Now this little angel is made of a silk white rose( her dress) then the wings we made out of wedding veil, simply cut into approx. 6=7" circle and gathered at the middle with wire. Her head is wooden, with Spanish moss for her hair and a pipe cleaner forms her halo. This is all glued with hot glue and a ribbon added to the back for easy hanging.

 Again we recycle, here is an incandescent light bulb( one that was burned out) painted with a Santa face and a bit of fur added( again hot glued) around the base of the bulb

 Orange peel, apple slices and cranberries strung on wire, make a nice handmade ornament and the smell wonderful( for the first year anyway) I suppose you could mist them with orange and clove oils to refreshen the smell each year.

 Macaroni noodle angel, this was a gift from a friend. An easy and fun project for children, simply glue the noodles together, paint( I think she just spray painted them outside on a piece of old newspaper), add a bow and maybe a bell or a halo.

 Here is a beaded angle, this is a bit more advanced but still very easy, you'll have to sort of figure out the pattern by looking at it. Once upon a time I had instructions, but who knows where they are now*wink*

Another easy child ornament, made with a Reese's Peanutbutter Cup and an metallic green pipe cleaner, twisted up into a tree form with a hanger on top(hook)

 This little angel was given to us by the same friend who made the macaroni angel. I've seen these beads in the craft store but have no idea what they are called. They are strung together with a metallic gold pipe cleaner and the golden leaves are simply hot glued on the back. The halo is fashioned from the same pipe cleaner that it is strung together  with.

 Again recycling, the kids made these on year, using old Christmas cards from the year before. Cutting and pasting them into the back of another card. Simple and easy way to spurn on creativity.

This is a bit blurred, but you can see it is a needle felted star a friend gave us last year. The wool is from their own sheep.

Shhhh!  This is one of Cortney's gifts.( I have to keep her from looking at this post*wink*) I borrowed the idea from my friend, Goodwife over at Her blog  Her purses are knitted and since I still have yet to learn knitting I improvise and crocheted this little purse for Cortney.  It actually went together pretty quick and I know she'll love it. It's made from a yarn that is 85% wool and 15% mohair, so it should last a long time. :o)

                        

I'll try to post more of our homemade ornaments, that could be done quickly and many of which are easy enough for children to make, with some supervision( especially in dealing with hot glue or spray paint)

We're still working on gourds, hoping to have a few done for pictures this week. Baking of Christmas goodies, making handmade gifts and simply enjoying the music of the season( singing along of course*wink*) while working. :o)