Tutorial Tuesday: Stained Glass Ornaments

In case you’re not keeping track, only six weeks remain between now and Christmas. Whatever retail stores that had the dignity to wait until after Halloween to unveil their garish holiday displays have completed the terrible act. Now everyone’s flaunting faux evergreen, holly, poinsettia, nutcrackers, stars, snowmen, and dozens of other motifs that signify the season of spending is here.

And boy do I want to spend. This year, more than any other, I want to blow lots of money on extravagant gifts, buy decorations ample enough to turn our home into a holiday wonderland, and invest heavily in scented candles that make the entire house smell like orange and cinnamon and pine 24/7.

Last year, all the energy I might have poured into decorating our home, baking seasonal treats, and searching for the perfect gift instead went toward mastering breastfeeding, changing diapers every hour on the hour, and sleeping in stretches no more than two or three hours in length. This year I’m ready to jump in and binge while I can on holiday everything, and introduce Adelaide to the spectacle that is the Christmas season. I know she won’t remember much, if anything from this year, but I have a difficult time remaining rational.

In an effort to appease my appetite for all things Christmas without breaking my budget, I’ve thrown myself into Holiday DIY projects. You’ve probably noticed. It started with a garland of crochet Christmas trees and then a trio of evergreens made from felted wool sweaters.

My latest crafty endeavor? Stained glass ornaments made with wax paper and crayon shavings. Call this one practice for when Addie is old enough to join me in the holiday making. But even without a little one to help you sprinkle the crayon shavings just so, this is pure comfort food crafting. A little glue, kraft paper, crayons, and some paint – classic craft ingredients if there ever were any.

If you want to make stained glass ornaments my way, check out the tutorial!

Tutorial Wednesday - Recycled Felt Holiday Trees

I haven't even started my November tutorial series and already I am one day behind my intended schedule. You can blame my tardiness on yesterday's Presidential Election. Once the returns started pouring in I couldn't tear myself away from the live coverage for long enough to post this first installment (darn you, Brian Williams!). I wanted so badly to maintain my fidelity to the schedule I announced in my last post that I briefly considered back-dating this entry, but that felt a little disingenuous and silly to me. After much hand-wringing (because I do fret over my admittedly nebulous blogging schedule), I resolved to put to use the option to schedule a post next time.

But enough with the excuses; I have a tutorial to unveil!
I know these little guys are not exactly ornaments, but they’re small enough to nestle in the branches of a larger Christmas tree without weighing it down.

I love my wooly trees, which will likely occupy the coveted role of dining room table centerpiece this holiday season.

You can find the complete tutorial here.