Green Room - Week 8 - Day 6

[clauderainsrm.livejournal.com]

Now that I've gathered you here, I can unleash my true plan - picking your brains for homemade Christmas ornament ideas that are fun for kids to make! Yes, 8 seasons of Idol have all been an elaborate ruse to get you to this point!

Either that or I completely spaced on putting together some ideas, and we are going to be going to make some this afternoon! So the sooner you post them, the better!

The person with the best idea will win imm. . . the praise of everyone who sees the idea!


Oh yeah, there's something about a poll too http://therealljidol.livejournal.com/508975.html but mostly I'm curious about kid friendly homemade Christmas ornaments!

Comments

[notodette.livejournal.com]

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays are coming! (I'm just happy to be going home. Vacation isn't vacation with toddlers, for real.)

[drjeff.livejournal.com]

OH, guess I'm SECOND. haha

You beat me!

[drjeff.livejournal.com]

First?

[drjeff.livejournal.com]

Never mind. :)

[notodette.livejournal.com]

As far as ornaments go, I can't help. We're not even touching it this year. We're lucky we were able to pull off Christmas cookies without ruining lives.

[ashgaelsonaria.livejournal.com]

You can make a dough out of flower, water, egg and backing soda. use cookie cutters and back. once they cool you use glue and glitter to decorate. use hair spray to seal um for now and a clear polycoat later once you can get some.
Also, you can get foam balls that are wrapped in a soft thready stuff and decorate them with ribbon, glitter and other stuff.

[lilycobalt.livejournal.com]

I was actually at a party last night where the only requirement for attendees, aside from socializing, was making an ornament. There were blank ornaments provided, of the sort you can probably find at a craft store (snowflake, heart, angel, etc.), along with assorted art supplies (paint, glitter, glue, beads, though the beads do carry a danger of kids putting them in their mouths). So I mixed up some paint, gave my ornament a blue-violet coating, and glued blue-green beads on each end of the snowflake.

Then I remembered I was supposed to put my name and the year on the other side of the ornament. Whoops.

[serpentpixie.livejournal.com]

BUT anonymous ornaments are so much cooler. You're a mystery ;)

[pixiebelle.livejournal.com]

Umm I have no experience making Christmas ornaments. Well I did as a kid, but sadly my arts and crafts skills haven't improved any. Anything I'd make still could pass for a kindergartners. I think I made a reindeer out of a popsicle stick once. My mom still has it, that's the only reason I remember it :)

Java is still snoozing beside me, I just woke up and was contemplating getting more sleep... But had to check my email and saw the GR was up. We stated up until 1 am being the wild and crazy kids we are - playing Jeopardy on the Wii. We even played the Hard level and did okay. We are such nerds.

I leave for Missouri tomorrow! So crazy. I'm dropping my giant dog off at the coolest boarding facility ever today. Shea going to have a blast, but I'm still going to miss her like crazy and worry about her. They have indoor and outdoor play areas and they play all day. There's a pool and tunnels to run around in. They sleep in a big room with each other, on human beds, couches, and futons. They even have a toddler racecar bed, how crazy is that? And 24 hour supervision. So Annabelle will be having a vacation of her own, I've just never left my baby for this long before!

[ashgaelsonaria.livejournal.com]

you weren't able to plain a vacation at pet freandly hotels? Bummer.
I have herd that they can be hard to get reservations at.

[cacophonesque.livejournal.com]

I am full of sad today after finding out that Vaclav Havel died. He was an amazing man and an inspiration to me.

I'm also full of phlegm.

[mac-arthur-park.livejournal.com]

I'm sad as well.

Then I've lost.

[ellakite.livejournal.com]

I don't do Christmas ornaments.

I don't even do Christmas. Not really. I meet my siblings, we eat dinner, Secret Santa gifts are exchanged... and that's about it.

At this point, I don't really feel anything about the Holiday Season, good or bad. For me, Xmas is just another day.

Re: Then I've lost.

[jacq22.livejournal.com]

We actually forgot Christmas once when we were young and broke, almost anyway, we hadn't shopped and in NZ in 1960 only milk bars were open....duh.

[reallyginnyf.livejournal.com]

Depending on what supplies you have available, you can make a cute reindeer ornament with candy canes, googly eyes, red pom-poms and brown pipe cleaners or whatever PC name they go by now...chenille stems or something like that? Psh. They're pipe cleaners. It's quick, easy for almost any age and doesn't require eye-stabby hooks for hanging off a tree. Also the littler ones won't get salt poisoning from trying to eat dough ornaments, and if they do try to eat it, eh, it's a candy cane.

Glue on eyes, add a red pom-pom to the tip for a nose, fashion brown pipe cleaners into antlers and wrap them around the top of the candy cane.

Reindeer, Yay!!!

[jacq22.livejournal.com]

Was going to suggest this one, easy to make, fun, and edible if you take the bits off. Used to make them with the 'oldies' for an activity. Was hunting for a photo of one when I saw this. Obviously a kindred spirit. Have made the dough things, but with resident's with dementia they ate them, and the soap we decorated. NEVER give elderly people in care, soap that looks like fruit.... just saying.

[rt-sparrow.livejournal.com]

Family fun Christmas ornaments (http://familyfun.go.com/christmas/christmas-decorations/christmas-ornaments/)

More (http://crafts.kaboose.com/holidays/christmas/christmas-crafts.html)

Also Martha Stewart (http://www.marthastewart.com/275119/christmas-tree-ideas-for-kids/@center/307034/christmas-workshop#/171511)

[shimmerdream.livejournal.com]

There's instructions on how to make a 3-D snowflake at http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-3D-Paper-Snowflake.

I've tried it. The bit where you have to stick all the 3-D shapes together to create the snowflake is surprisingly difficult, but the 3-D shapes look cool on their own.

In other news, I've managed to get ill on the second day of my holiday :(

[mac-arthur-park.livejournal.com]

What are the age(s) of the kids?

[kickthehobbit.livejournal.com]

Hit up the local craft store and see what they have. :D Usually they'll have ornaments that you can paint (sometimes on the kids aisle, sometimes not), and the employees there will be happy to help you figure out what you need to purchase to decorate them.

Failing that, another commenter recommended salt dough, which is also excellent.

[theafaye.livejournal.com]

Some homeschooler I am - I have no suggestions for home made decorations! I could probably google and come up with something to make with the supplies I have about the place, but I'm way too tired right now and the children are all in various stages of colds, coughs and general bugginess.

On the up side, we went to visit some cats today and we have found the people who will let us have a couple of Siamese kittens probably around April of next year. The cats were gorgeous and despite my saying I was only willing to concede to one cat about the place, these guys won me over. They were absolutely stunning and really even tempered. So in a few months' time, we're going to have a VERY full household!

[ashgaelsonaria.livejournal.com]

sounds wonderful.
I like siamese/color point/hymalaians almost as much as abysinains.
for the cat illiterate
color point = siamese of any coloration that is not in the gray - charcol range
Hymalaian = long haired cat with the color point trait.
Abysinian = a bread that is likly the oldest genetic bread of cat being practicaly identical to those kept by the anchant egyptions who first domesticated the cat.
:)

[teaberryblue.livejournal.com]

aw man I have tons of these, but I'm on my phone. Will chime in later.

[banyangirl1832.livejournal.com]

Oh man! My mom and I always made our own ornaments as gifts when I was younger. My favorite had to be the tie-die glass balls we did one year. Basically, you take some of those hollow glass ball ornaments you can find in craft stores, four or six different colors of paint, choose two to mix together in the ball, and pour them in. You swirl the ball around, pour out the excess paint, and let the ball dry. The two colors create a really cool swirly design on the inside of the ball!

[reallyginnyf.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I love that idea! Wish I had time to do that this year, but will definitely remember it.

[alien-infinity.livejournal.com]

The only ornament idea I can think of is getting a pinecone and covering it with glitter, using sticky glitter or glue and glitter or something. A crafter, I am not.

[wolfden.livejournal.com]

You can string tri shaped beads or star beads in red and white to make candy canes. You can do the same with green and make a wreath then tie on a bow. You can use clay and cookie cutters and make ornaments that way. I like to use clay that will dry hard. You can cut snowflakes out of paper or coffee filters. You can string popcorn and cranberries. You can make the applesauce and cinnamon ornaments. I don't know the right proportions for that off hand but I think it's about a cup of each.

You can cut strips of paper and make paper chain. You can make reindeer on brown paper or foam trace the child's foot and hands and cut them out. Then you glue the hands behind the toe end of the foot to be te antlers. Then a nose goes on the heel a red button or pompom or a black one and google eyes.

Glitter glue on something sturdy like craft foam cut in circles or holiday shapes.

I think I'm out of ideas now. We used to make ornaments every year when my daughter was younger.

[malruniel11.livejournal.com]

You beat my on the reindeer by 2 minutes! Those are so much fun!

[malruniel11.livejournal.com]

You can make Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer with construction paper! Trace a foot for the head, trace each kid's hands for the antlers and a red pompom, died cotton ball or construction paper circle for the nose!

Also, dollar store foam ornament kits are a life-saver for this nanny.

Hey, I'm crafty!

[megmaureen.livejournal.com]

I've seen shrinky dinks (http://www.shrinkydinks.com/) making a comeback in the craft stores lately. Those are always fun!

Clothes pins also can make good ornaments. Just have paint or the little pompoms handy to glue on and then they clip right on to the tree. Popsicle sticks can work, too, but it can be difficult to attach the string to hang them.

If your kids are a bit older, have them make a small diorama-type scene on piece of poster board cut to be slightly wider than the mouth of a clear plastic cup. Once they glue the scene down tight, put the cup over top and glue it down and it's like a snow globe. I just put a paperclip through the top of the cup to hang it.

Kids stuff.

[jacq22.livejournal.com]

Just making cards is fun for kids. Lots of cut out pics, loads of glue and glitter. Hand made cards are great to give to family. Cheap stores have cut out foam ready shaped. Make book marks and add more paint and glitter. Be prepared to find glitter until about next June.

Make a batch of sweet dough, let them cut out biscuits (cookies) and eat the results !! can sandwich togther with jelly and make icing in garish colours. Don't do it Christmas Eve, just saying......

Re: Kids stuff.

[alien-infinity.livejournal.com]

I <3 your icon! ;)

[bonnie-rocks.livejournal.com]

You can make ornaments using a special recipe for salt dough and using Christmas cookie cutters to cut out shapes before baking them.

Here, have a recipe: http://crafts.kaboose.com/saltdoughgifttoppers.html

Back when I was a youngin', I did this with my mom. Yes, growing up in a Jewish home didn't mean we only did Jewish related crafts.

~*::Meow::*~

[jacq22.livejournal.com]

Well this is such fun, but I think now had better get dressed and start the day...could hang out in the green room quite happily, instead have to wash a floor, iron, tote that barge, etc, see ya soon.... back to the slave galley. Have the front door wide open and there are birds and cats strolling in, have fed the first sitting.

[locknkey.livejournal.com]

I like buying the clear glass ornaments at Michael's or other craft store. Buy some inexpensive craft paint $1-$2 range - glitter and pearls look great, but so do the plain colors. Pour two or three colors into the ornament, shake. Turn over in a plastic cup to drain. let dry. put metal cap back on and hang.

We do these nearly every year as I have several sets of color-coordinated ornaments and I can make new painted ones that match. This year we made black/white/silver/gold to match our tree colors.

re glass bauble swirls.

[jacq22.livejournal.com]

They sound fantastic, a few have mentioned doing a similar thing.

[unmowngrass.livejournal.com]

Make biscuits with a stiff dough, eg. star shapes. Cut the centre of the stars out and replace with a boiled sweet, which then melts to make a 'stained glass window'. Don't forget to also add a hole for the hanging ribbon!