Day 3 - Twelve Days of Christmas Celebration & Giveaway

Yippee - it's Friday!

Today is also a special day in our family, as it is our youngest son, Drew's birthday.  It's hard to believe that 26 years have passed since that quiet snowy early morning, when he was born.

There is something extra special about having a wee babe at Christmas time.  My parents got to experience it when I was born (my birthday is on the 13th), we got to experience it when Drew was born, and Drew and his wife, Maria, were blessed with little Peter on the 21st two years ago.

Perhaps it is the Celebration of the Birth of Our Lord Jesus, and being able to somehow relate to the wonder of That birth when holding a new born babe in our arms...but  it is truly magical to have a child this time of year.

It takes us back, at least in our family, through the generations and the special moments each parent has felt.

Those moments of the past have inspired me to create the tutorial for today.

Vintage Look Ornaments

 Supplies Needed

 Rotary cutter & mat

Quilting ruler

Dollar store package of snowflakes

Scrapbook paper or heavy wrapping paper

Vintage images printed on card stock or old Christmas cards

Hot glue gun

Embellishments, like glitter glue, ribbons, etc.

metal or wooden skewer (or something similar)

Directions 

Using your rotary cutter and mat, cut a 1 1/2" by 12" strip of your scrapbook paper.

Turn the strip of paper over so the good side is facing down, and using your mat, skewer and ruler, you are going to carefully score the paper every 1/4".  This is the part that takes the longest, but it will help you to fold your creases with ease and exactness.

Once your paper is completely scored, you can start to fold it accordian style.  See the pictures.  Once it is all folded, you will overlap a couple of the folds and carefully glue the edges together with your glue gun.

Hold the edges firmly until the glue has set.  Check your seam and add more glue if necessary. 

Cut a 2" round piece of your paper.  This doesn't have to be exact, as it will be on the back.  Once your seam is secure, you want to gently ease your paper into a circle.  I have shown two ways to do that.  Since we will be working with the backside of the circle, I found that the second method worked well.  It looks like a cupcake paper with the bottom cut out.  Press it down onto the table til it is flat.  I laid my rotary cutter gently on top to hold it is place, while I grabbed my glue gun and paper circle.

Glue the paper circle onto the back of the pleated circle and hold until the glue sets.  Give it at least a minute before you let go, so that the glue is good and set, or the pleats will push the paper up and your piece will not sit flat.  You want a nice, flat circle.

Cut out your vintage image, keeping it as round as possible.  For my size snowflake and paper, I found that a 2" circle worked best.  When printing them out, I wasn't certain which size would work best, so I did three different sizes.

Glue the image to the front of your pleated circle, then glue those onto the front of your snowflake.  You can use glitter glue or tinsel ribbon...whatever you like...to embellish your ornament.

Attach a ribbon or pretty embroidery floss to your ornament, hang and enjoy.

 I found some gold snowflakes in my stash, so I made up a vintage lady ornament too, with some gold, cream and black heavy Christmas wrapping paper as the pleated part.

I hope you have enjoyed today's tutorial.

I can imagine many different versions of this ornament!

Here are some other ideas:

Children's pictures

Beloved Pets

Christmas' past pictures

Deceased relatives and loved ones

I hope you decide to make some ornies like this too.  They are so inexpensive and the results, I think, are quite nice.

I've included a couple of Santa images for you to use, but you may also find more images with an internet search or by checking out The Graphics Fairy website. You will have to take them into a print program to adjust your size.  Remember to print them onto card stock, as regular paper won't be stiff enough.

 

My GIVEAWAY question of the day is

"Do you put up a live or artificial Christmas tree?"

Don't forget to check back on my other posts, comment and answer the question of the day for each day.  You must comment on each day's post to be entered into the giveaway.

We have a busy weekend ahead, so I will see you back here on MONDAY for the next craft, recipe or tutorial!

Have a blessed weekend everyone.