I have had a very different year compared to all my past years. Mainly, in 2014, I worked fairly consistently outside the home. Did it affect my smelting activity? Well, I only made handmade gifts for the nieces and nephews on one side of the family and my own children. Which would be 20 gifts. Here they are:
How did I do it? First, I looked at what I had on hand. I put almost all of my crafting materials into storage since the living room makeover, and scrapbook paper is the only thing I kept upstairs. So I had plenty of colored paper. Second, I looked at how many gifts I had to make and how much time I had to make them. The answer is 20 gifts and 20 nights. Once I figured those things out, I determined to make something small. I have carried on my parents’ tradition of giving a Christmas ornament annually. This builds a child’s collection for the time when he or she has a Christmas tree on his/her own and stores memories at the same time (hopefully all good memories).
I knew that I wanted to make a pine cone ornament because I had “pinned” one two years ago. I settled on styrofoam globes, not eggs, and got to work.
I would probably use a thimble next time, but otherwise, found making these to be relaxing. Handicrafts is the best and maybe only way to get me to sit still enough to “watch” TV with my husband.
