CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

Knowing that many of our wedding guests are from out of town, I wanted to share something which would be a memento of the day and also capture the theme of the wedding which is a combination of "Fall" and the very unique features of Colorado.

With that in mind, I came up with the idea of making Christmas ornaments; these aren't actually the favors that ALL guests will receive (I'm still toying around with ideas on that one), but rather it would be available for the guests who may want one.  I realize this concept may not necessarily "melt everyone's butter" like it does mine!

I get a charge out of pulling my ornaments out each year to trim the tree; especially since the majority are from our travels over the years.  It's a nice opportunity to reminisce about those special vacations that we took over the years. 

What makes them unique for the wedding is the ribbon I ordered via one of the many online stores which sell ribbon, favor boxes, favors, etc.   I ordered a continuous spool of ribbon with the bride and groom's names and wedding date printed on it.

Anyway, this would translate well for those of you who are just looking for a creative idea for Christmas gifts, simply substitute a nice Christmas ribbon and you're in business.....happy crafting!

The first thing that you will need are pine cones.  This was easy for me since all along the walks I take with our dog, there are all sizes and shapes of pine cones.    Depending on the day, I would either come home with a few stuffed into my jacket pockets, or a full plastic bag (given the bag wasn't used for something else, if you know what I mean!).

Since I wanted a bit of sheen to mine, they were sprayed with a semi-gloss clear lacquer (thanks to my husband).

In addition to the pine cones, you will need
the following items...all of which I purchased
at my favorite craft store:

• thin gold cord
• iced cranberries (seasonal)
• bag of moss
• gold/silver ornaments (seasonal)
• glue gun
• artificial snow (I used Snow Tex which comes in a plastic jar)

Add the artificial snow to some of the cone edges, as much or little as you would like.  I used a plastic knife versus a paint brush due to the consistency.  Let that dry nicely before moving to the next step.  Next, cut a length of gold cord long enough so the cone will hang nicely from a tree branch.  Use the glue gun to attach one edge to the top left and the other to the top right of the cone, pressing the edges down into the cone itself.

The next step is to take a bit of the moss and secure it to the top of the cone covering the points where the cord is glued.  

I took just two of the iced cranberries and glued them to the top right of the cone (since you only use two of these per cone, you don't need many of "seasonal picks" that tend to go on sale in August/September/October). I used a wire clipper to remove the wire stem.      The final two step are the ornamental "topper".  Again, I only used half for each ornament, so the little box I bought still left me with extras.   That gets glued down into the moss; leave a bit of the stem and press securely after applying the glue.

Finally, the last step is the beautiful ribbon, front and center... voila~