A NIGHT MAKING ORNAMENTS

We had such a fun time making ornaments last night.  I figured it would be a rather quiet evening, with everyone concentrating on making just the right folds etc.    You know . . . Christmas music playing softly in the background . . .  people nibbling on cookies here and there as they busily, quietly, and thoughtfully worked on their creations.   Well, not so!  It was one of the most laughter invoking, disorderly evenings I've had in a long time!    If this had been my classroom - a few people would have had to have a SEVERAL time-outs, or even a trip to the principal's office.  But when the principal is one of the culprits, what can you do?  

No one wanted their faces shown in the pictures.  Imagine that.  But, here's the workspace!

Add a ton of glitter and you get the idea . . . 

 So, here's a run-down of the spoils of the evening.  It's fairly self-explanatory, so I'll just show photos of the steps and then let the pictures do the talking.  The great graphics came from The Graphics Fairy,
of course!

Ornament #1

Ornament #2

Ornament #3

Santa Claus How-To1. Fold a 4-inch stick of puffy red chenille inside a 7-inch one. Tuck in a 1 1/2-inch piece of wooden stick for a face. About a third of the way down, twist a 4-inch chenille stick once around to make arms; wrap torso with a 10-inch stick.

2. For the feet, loosely wrap narrow black chenille stick around a pair of needle-nose pliers, then shape coil into boots. Use bits of white pipe cleaner and white craft glue to add the details to his suit. A cotton ball supplies his beard and hat.

Ornament #4

Snowman How-To1. Fold a standard pipe cleaner in half. Slide a wooden bead over the fold for a head, leaving a loop at the top. For the arms, twist a 3-inch pipe cleaner once under the bead; then wind a full pipe cleaner around the torso, below the arms.

2. Shape the hat from a 6-inch strip of narrow black chenille that has been wrapped around a pencil.

3. Use hot glue to attach wire-tinsel skates; crimp up the feet for the best bond. Draw in a face with a felt-tip pen. Add a cane and a striped chenille scarf, and off he glides.

The last one was the favorite of everyone.  The Anthropologie inspired Book Page Christmas Tree.

The base of the tree was made from a spool and a wooden skewer.  This was hot glued onto a disk of cardboard for stability.  We glued a strip of glittery pipe cleaner around the edge to frame the base.  Then, of course, lots of glitter on the base.  

Lots.  Of.  Glitter.Then one by one pull the graduated squares onto the skewer, leaving a little space between each square.And there you have it!  It was a busy night (with lots of off-task time) but everyone went home with five ornaments!  Thank you ladies, for your participation!