I'll share a bit about those 4 finishes and one top over the next couple of weeks, but tonight, while I listen to Christmas music, I'm in the mood to share Christmas ornaments.
Last weekend I enjoyed an afternoon trimming the Christmas tree with my family, and was overwhelmed at the number of ornaments we have. I remember the first Christmas my husband and I were married, we had a little 2 foot tree and not much to put on it. Money was tight. We bought one box of cheap plastic bulb ornaments, made a popcorn garland, and I made 4 little cinnamon stick baskets.
I didn't sew at the time, but I did know how to crochet, so the next year I found a book of patterns at the library and crocheted some snowflakes, and the tree was little less bare.
I have a list somewhere of what ornaments we added every year. One year I finished a cross stitched wall hanging instead, and another year the kids assisted in making a felt tree skirt, but there has been something new every year, and I think for all but those 2 years it has been a tree ornament. The kids contributed most years from preschool through grade school, and occasionally since then as well. One year we made felt mittens, and another we found instructions for the cute felt and Popsicle stick reindeer.
The sand dollars make me think of mom and dad, as we collected those on the beach together.
I found the vintage cookie cutters at the antique mall with my mother-in-law during one of my in-laws' Thanksgiving visits.
There are many more, each with a memory attached. Most of the store bought ornaments have stories as well. Yes, we have many ornaments. Maybe too many. I really need to stop adding more.
Except that I remember the joy of making something for that little bare tree 26 years ago, and I just can't bring myself to break 26 years of tradition.
Here are this year's additions for our tree. I need to add some hanging loops still. You can find Angie's Bits and Piece's video tutorial here if you also feel the urge to add just one more thing to your tree. (I'll just add that applying a little bit of Fray Check to the edges and points where I needed to take a stitch, before starting, helped a lot.)
My Ridiculously Tiny Ornaments tutorial is also still available for you to download to make some tiny patchwork ornaments. These are from Christmas 2013, I believe, and are really not as finicky to make as they seem. I blogged about them here. They are a bit addictive though, so be careful!
I'd love to hear the stories your favourite ornaments tell. Please share in the comments. I'll be reading them while munching on Christmas cookies and listening to Christmas music!
I still have that bell cookie cutter! Been ages, though, since I've made sugar cookies. I've seen those hexie ornaments. I need to make me some!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't put up a tree this year because we are traveling to visit 2 sons, one in Kansas and one in Florida. My parents owned a Hallmark store for a while, so we have a lot of Hallmark ornaments from the 80s. I have also made lots of ornaments, but can't show them here, because the laptop doesn't have the photos on it. Thanks for sharing yours, though. I love the handmade ornaments a lot!
ReplyDeleteI think some of my favorite ornaments are ones I picked up when I travel. They bring back such great memories and always make me smile.
ReplyDeleteWonderful nostalgic post, one I can relate to on more than one level! I did a major declutter of ornaments when we did the 'big move' from Alberta to Ontario, but a few extra-special ones made the cut. I love the origami new ones! Christmas cookies...must get started on some!
ReplyDeleteMy parents have a collection of ornaments like yours. The hubby and I, not so much. With no kids and cats that take down the tree, we just haven't had reason to start a collection. But I do have the itty bitty ornament you sent me back in 2013 - just found it the other day when looking for something else, in fact, and it was a fun reminder of years past!
ReplyDeleteWe all make ornaments of one kind or another in my family. I usually get a couple home made ones each year. These recent years I have made only bird ones and now have a bit of a collection. Thanks for sharing yours...I loved reading about them.
ReplyDeleteI made a whole set of felt ornaments one year early in our marriage, and I have never used them (I thought they were too big for our tiny apartment tree, and then I fell out of love with them by the time we had a large enough tree)--though I still have them. But I have used the ones I cross-stitched the next year, and the ceramic ones I painted over the course of a couple of years. As a family we have purchased an ornament every year on our family vacations, and at Christmas we always had the kids choose an ornament for themselves on our annual December getaway. Plus I have collected vintage glass bulbs like the ones on my tree as a child. Like you, we have WAY too many ornaments!
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