I may not be the "ornament lady" but my kids think I'm super cool! #gluenglitter #elmersholiday

I was given a challenge.  I was up for the challenge.  And dang nabbit I was going to succeed at the challenge.

Remember the ornaments I was talking about?  The ornaments that all the children in my life can decorate their first tree with when they move out on their own?  Well, 'twas a week before Christmas and I was feeling the pressure.

So I went to to Walmart and checked out the Elmer's Memory Keeping aisle and after much back and forth between plain Christmas tree bulbs that I could jazz up, and foam creations I could make three dimensional I came up with something that make my youngest say, "Mom, that is super cool!"  So, it has to be.  Right?

I found that the Elmer's and X-ACTO section at Walmart has some mighty fine tools to use to make my holiday ornaments "super cool." I also discovered that X-ACTO has come a long way since I was in high school and was given a plain silver weapon to cut out and place format when we laid out the school newspaper.

I perused items I don't need this time, but ones that I definitely will have in the future including these templates.

And this Spot Stamper!  Wow!  Santa are you listening!  If I am to finish scrapbooking the eight trillion gazillion photos I have this would certainly help!

In the end, these were the items I decided on to make my 3-D Snowflake ornament. No, you don't need special glasses to watch, but here is a list of what you will need. 

 Supplies Needed:

• Elmer's CraftBond™ Foam Mounting Tape
• Elmer's CraftBond Sparkle Glue in Basic Shimmer
•  Elmer's CraftBond Sparkle Glue in Shimmer
• X-ACTO Designers Series #1 Craft Knife
• X-ACTO Designers Series Precision Tip Scissors
• Elmer's Paint Marker in Silver
• 35 Count Foam Snowflakes
• Thin ribbon for hanging

 My pack of 35 foam snowflakes contained white and light blue snowflakes.  I had to experiment to see which configuration looked best.  In the end I went with whatever struck me.

 I used the X-ACTO Designers Series #1 Craft Knife to make a notch in the two snowflakes for adding the ribbon hanger when I am done decorating.

The ornaments I give have to be personalized and dated.  It's a must.  I used the Elmer's Sparkle Glue to do just that.  I did find that my letters should have used less Sparkle Glue.  Keep your designs thin as it states on the package.  I had to let mine dry overnight.

 I had SO much fun adding dots and squiggles.  My eight-year-old thought it was so cool and wanted to join in.  It was her bed time but I will definitely let her help with the other 15 or so I have to make this week.

I bought ribbon in white and dark blue and cut the strips about 8 inches long to hang the ornaments.

After an overnight drying period I used the Elmer's CraftBond™ Foam Mounting Tape to adhere the two snowflakes together.  This is where the 3-D look came into play.  The two flakes were not flat against each other.  Then I tied each with a ribbon to hang it by.  Voila!

 This was a very simple project, but the kids love it.  Added bonus it was very inexpensive.  If you can't find your "ornament lady" then getting creative and DIYing it is the next best thing.

You can follow Elmer's on Facebook and Twitter and X-ACTO on Facebook for more awesome Do-It-Yourself ideas.

This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #ElmersHoliday #gluenglitter #collectivebias #CBias.  All opinions are my own.

It was a great idea at the time

Twelve years ago I had a brilliant idea.  It was my last one.

Twelve years ago I decided that I would start a tradition of providing my nieces, nephews, children of friends, and eventually my own children, with yearly Christmas ornaments.  For some, this yearly sentimental act was in lieu of a gift.  No more dolls, books, or stuff their Mom's didn't want, just a nice ornament signed and dated by yours truly.

That was 1999.  I had one niece.  My close friends had three daughters among them.  I could swing the whole endeavor for less than 20 bucks.  That was 1999.

It is now 2011.  I have three nieces, four nephews, and my closest, dearest friends now have 18 kids between them.  I have developed friendships with new families too and could easily add in about eight more kids.  That would total 33 ornaments.  And once there was four.

Back in the day I had a great "Ornament Lady", which is what I really called her.  I could find her at a variety of craft shows in Jackson or Ann Arbor. 

She is responsible for this...

 

And this and this...

And then she fell off the Earth.  Leaving me and my ornaments...hanging... with no idea where to turn to continue the tradition.

I tried to continue the craft show tradition for a bit, but everything that met my "standards" which were based on the "Ornament Lady" cost an arm and a leg, and my siblings and friends kept reproducing.

One year I found these lovely gems...

Not cheap and I had to pay to have them shipped because when I gave the crafter my list of names she passed out on the floor.

Another year I got these for girls, and heaven only knows what everyone else got...

 

And as the numbers grew, and my money shrank- not in size, just in volume, I tried my luck at boxed ornaments that I could personalize myself.  Thanks to Target and my love of Snowmen/SnowSantas I had a couple of more great years...

and my favorite...

 

So now here we are in 2011 and Christmas is 15 days away and I have yet to find this year's ornament that I need a gazillion of.  OK, not a gazillion, but even if I only bought for my girls, nieces and nephews I would need 9.  But of course I will buy more than that.  I will probably even buy them for my dogs.  And yes, the ornament has to "speak" to me, and when I see it I will just know that it's the one.  I will drive my husband crazy with my process, but I will be proud of the outcome.  When I deliver them to their recipients some of whom have 12 from me already they will love what I choose.  And for awhile it will seem like a great idea all over again.  Until next December anyway.