Vintage Toy Ornaments

Since I’ve been on a streak making ornaments using re-purposed items, I figured I’d branch even farther…into the world of vintage toys. You know, the kind you might have gotten as the toy in a McDonald’s Happy Meal back in the day. The kind of toys that bring back a bit of nostalgia.  The kind of toys that are just the perfect size to be made into an ornament.

During a recent trip to the GoodWill Outlet (Bins), I came across some cute little character toys…thinking they might make cute ornaments.  Emboldened by my recent success drilling both wood and plastic, I figured I’d take a chance on a couple of toys that caught my eye.  Currently, I’m making ornaments with certain people in-mind, but I definitely plan to branch-out enough to be able to use these ornaments as stock in this coming winter’s craft bazaar.

Here’s the simple process: wash toy, drill hole, insert eye hook, add fishing line, and that’s it.  You certainly can’t beat a very reasonably priced toy transformed into a priceless ornament.  I look forward to making more of these ornaments, as they’re just too cute.

Geometric Christmas Card Ornaments

Quite a few years ago, a good friend gave me a geometric Christmas ornament kit to put together with my niece. Each year, memories come flooding back of my niece and I working together to create the ornaments.  After putting one of those very ornaments on the tree just last December, I got thinking that it might be possible to create such ornaments from scratch. Fast-forward a bit, I was able to perform a search of the internet to find similar ornaments. I also just started talking to people about them. It seems that these sort of geometric ornaments are nothing new and have been a sort of tradition for many years. Armed with all of that information, I was ready to find a way to make an ornament of my own styling. I’ve long been able to make use of used, old, or cast-aside Christmas cards and figured this would be another chance to create something new from something old. So, with cards as my intended medium, I surged forward. It seems that the basic geometric ornament is made up of 20 individual circles. I had read that a circle punch would make the job of cutting the individual circles easier. I was lent the use of both a 2.5″ and 2″ circle punches. I started out using the 2″ punch and cut out a collection of circles from cards I had available. Next came the task of marking an equilateral triangle on the backside, which would then be folded outward. I made a template that was “good enough” and have been able to use that to create a consistent triangle on each circle. With all of the circles marked and folded, I was able to put some thought as to what sort of patterns I wanted next to other patterns, organizing the circles. Five for both the top and the bottom of the ornament and ten for the middle section. With the help of a little Tacky glue, I was able to attach each individual circle to its neighbor left me with three sections. I didn’t want to forget to have some sort of a way to hang or display the ornament, so I opted for baker’s twine. After cutting a 7.5″ length of the twin, I created a loop and inserted that into what I wanted to be the top section. Once everything has had time to dry and set, I then proceeded to glue the top to the middle and then the middle/top to the bottom. I just love the way that they look when completed! Each one with its own personality. I’ve even branched-out to include heavier scrapbook paper, which gives me even more options. For the time being, the ornaments I’ve made are either random (which are just so whimsical) or thematic (which I’ve made for other people). Just think of the possibilities!  I look forward to my geometric ornaments making their debut at a holiday craft bazaar next December.  Now, I’ve got to get to work making some sort of a stock for the upcoming Christmas season.  After all, it is never too early to get crafty.

Wood Letter Block Ornaments

During a recent trip to the Bins (GoodWill Outlet), I came across a handful of old wood letter blocks. I figured I’d be able to put them to good use…somehow. At that point, I wasn’t quite sure what I’d do with them. At the prices they have at the Bins, I just couldn’t resist. The letters available were a good variety, so I took the chance and purchased them. Once I got the letters home, I cleaned ’em up with a quick little wash (soap and water). After a quick look through of the supplies I had available to me, I realized that I could use these blocks to make some ornaments. So, I set to work with the drill and a small drill bit. With that done, I added an eye hook (simple screw-in style). Some cute, red ribbon…and ta dah, adorable ornaments.  All of the letters that I had gotten just happened to make perfect gifts for folks.  So, I’m currently searching for more of these blocks.  I certainly think these ornaments would make a great addition to what I sell at Christmas bazaars.  I suppose I better get going for next year…

Oregon’s 160th Birthday

Happy 160th Birthday, Oregon!!

Founded: February 14, 1859 as the 33rd state admitted into the union

One Eye Hook at a Time…

In a previous post, I was deliberating whether I was going to drill a hole in the top for an screw eye hook OR drill a hole through the wood slice, I finally found some eye hooks that would for my ornament project, so I decided to go that direction. After consulting about whether a pilot hole was needed for such a small screw eye hook, turns out that a 1/16 drill bit was just the perfect size. I had every intention of using a vise and the drill press for this project. However, the 1/16 drill bit is super tiny, so I figured I’d stick with an electric hand-held drill. After designating the drill site with an ordinary push pin, I got the wood cookie all cozy in the vise. The screw-in part of the eye hook is relatively short, so I didn’t need to drill a super-deep hole. As I had suspected, Bradford Pear is a pretty hard wood. After getting the hole as deep as I needed it to be, I set forth screwing the eye hook into the wood cookie. For some reason, I can’t find my needle-nose pliers, so I had to use regular pliers, which worked just fine.

I’m delighted that this stage of this project turned out to be relatively simple. Always nice when something goes well.

Where to Drill or Not to Drill?

Since I’ve been on quite a roll with these little wood cookie ornaments, I figured I might as well keep the momentum moving forward. That being said, I’ve reached yet another roadblock. After making good use of the pre-fabricated wood cookies I had on hand, I figured I’d see if any of the more “rough” wood cookies I’ve got on hand would work for this particular project. Just my luck, I discovered a pretty good stash of little, ornament-size wood cookies we cut back in 2015. These particular ones are thicker than the other finished products, but have the same diameter. I’ve been busy sanding ’em all. And, let me tell you, Bradford Pear is a pretty tough wood, but it sure does look neat on the inside.

Anywho, now I’m faced with the question of drilling a little hole at the top and inserting a screw eye hook OR drilling a more traditional hole through the wood cookie.                           What to do?  Go figure, yet another holding pattern.

OR-nament Project

A while back, I scored some neat wood cookie ornaments during the after-Christmas sales. Unless I’m mistaken, I got each pack for 49 cents each…and each pack contained 6 ornaments. I had some grand plans of sanding the deer stamp off and using them for some crafty purpose. Alas, even with a power sander, I just couldn’t get rid of the stamp on the one side. So, as it is with (far too) many projects…the wood cookies sat. Every now and then, I would glance their way…and wonder what I could do with ’em.

Flash forward to just a few days ago. While I was working on putting together some lovely daffodil bouquets for Valentine’s day, I thought the vases could use a little something more. But what? After recently mowing the lawn, I had recently passed by the long-forgotten ornaments awaiting my attention out in the garage. And, conveniently I had gotten a magazine in the mail that had a bunch of “perfect” hearts on one page. Putting two-and-two together, I figured I’d take my hand at a little painting. I cut out the heart that worked best with the space, traced it, painted it, and outlined it. Holy smokes, it actually looked good. The first one provided the perfect accent to the bouquet.

Building upon that success, I figured I’d try some different heart colors. And, since I could paint (well, fill in an outline of) a heart…why not try something more challenging? I’ve seen a particular image of state-pride on window clings, stickers, t-shirts, etc. and figured I’d put my own spin on it. So, I printed out some outlines of Oregon and did the same sort of process as I used with the simple hearts. Yes, there are quite a few steps involved, ’cause we’re talking layer after layer of creativity. But, I must say, I am more than pleased with the end result.  And, I finally put those dog-gone wood cookies to use as OR-naments.  Go figure, just a day shy of Valentine’s day and Oregon’s 159th birthday.  Thematic?  Perhaps.

Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis

A few weeks ago, I was hiking and came across some awesome Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis var. occidentalis) branches.  The branches were just waiting to be cut into manageable pieces and given the opportunity to truly shine. In total, I brought home 5 pieces of beautiful wood. This evening, I finally had an opportunity to see how it looked after some time with the chop saw. I was able to cut quite a few wood cookies from those 5 segments. And, I’m not sure if it is actually possible for it to look even more incredible now that it has been cut into wood cookies…but it does. In addition to each piece looking so unique, this wood also smells great. Unfortunately, I can’t quite share that scent through the internet at this time…but, trust me, it is quite delightful.

Now, I’m only hoping they’ll all dry with non of the wood checking (ie. cracking, splitting, etc.). Ahhh…just think of the possibilities!  I’m thinking I see some of these as coaster, some as name tags, and some as pocket tokens.

Wood Cookie Cutting Time

A couple weeks ago, I noticed some neighbors had put some tree limbs out by the street to be hauled away by the city.  I got thinking that some of them might make some neat wood cookies.  Plus, the branches were from a type of tree (Bradford Pear) that I haven’t seen on the west coast.  So, with assistance, we were able to drag a couple of them home.  And there they sat.

Fast forward to last night.  We pulled out the chop saw and got to work cutting cookies (and creating tons of sawdust).  Yes, I know the wood was still green…but, it’ll be a whole lot easier packing cookies, as compared with packing branches.  So, with plenty of help, we cut a bunch of wood cookies (of all sizes).  I’ve grouped them into small, medium, and large.  Now, I’ve just got to find space to pack ’em all in my luggage.

Just think…of all of the name tags, ornaments, and wreaths these wood cookies can be used to make.  The possibilities are nearly endless.

UPDATE: Rustic Wood Round/Cookie Wreath

With the holidays just around the corner, a great deal of my time has been spent getting various projects ready to sell at a holiday craft bazaar.  If you’ll recall from (about this time) last year, I jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon with my version of a rustic wood round/cookie wreath.  Unfortunately, that particular version didn’t sell last year.  So, the two lonely wreaths sat…just waiting for this year to roll around.  After some moderate brainstorming, I was inspired to add a little greenery (we’re talking real greenery here, folks).  With fresh greenery, that meant a green bow just wouldn’t do, so I decided to change the  color of the bow as well.  In reading various posts and trying to figured out how they actually attach the greenery, I noticed that some of the other wood cookie wreaths had used something called a craft ring as their base.  After thinking about it a bit more, I figured a wider base would provide increased surface area upon which I could glue the rounds.  I was able to find the craft rings I needed at Michaels and set to work dismantling all of the previous year’s hard work.  I scraped and sanded off the old glue on the wood cookies and set to work re-gluing them on the wider base.  For this step, I used my trusty wood glue once again.  I then spent the next couple of weeks thinking about what type of greenery I would like to use AND (perhaps most importantly) where I could acquire said greenery.  Conveniently, I was able to find many of the things I wanted to incorporate located all around me.  I found the cedar at the base of some large trees on the edge of a McDonald’s parking lot.  The holly came from trees which line the road on my way to the local Taco Bell (FYI: I asked the owner before I snipped off some twigs).  The pine cones (which I didn’t use this time around) came from my very own backyard.  Now, I’m not sure why I didn’t even think to add greenery last year to the wreaths last year…especially considering that I made 3 swags at nearly the exact same time.  Perhaps I was just trying to keep the wreaths simple.  Alas, I digress.  With the wood cookies attached to the new base, I simply started laying the greenery on ’em.  Add a little green floral wire to mix and you’ve got a very simple way to add so much flair to what started out as a basic wreath.  As I mentioned earlier, a green bow just wouldn’t cut the mustard, so I did my best to recreate the bows from last year…this time, with the red burlap ribbon.  I’m pretty certain the making of the bow was the hardest part of this whole project.  For me, I found it pretty tough to get the bow to look perfect.  With that being said, I was very pleased with the end result.  In fact, the two wreaths I took to the bazaar were the very first items to sell.  I suppose I better get started on making more for next year.

SOLD: 12/4/15