Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Ornaments


We put together several of these cute little reindeer the other day. They've been a big hit! Camden asked that we make a couple without strings for hanging, so he could play with them. You betcha, kiddo.

A tutorial really isn't even necessary, but here are the basics:

You'll need three "old fashioned" clothes pins. Size doesn't matter, but they should all be the same size. These are about three inches in length.You'll also need a tiny little red puff, a little brown or white puff {for the tail}, two wiggly eyes, some string of ribbon for hanging, and a glue gun.

Begin by gluing two of the clothespins side-to-side to make the body and legs. Next, attach the third clothespin in the opposite direction to make the face and antlers. {if you'd like a ribbon or string hanger, I suggest sandwiching the cut ends in between the body and head pins as you're gluing the pieces together.}

Use glue to attach the nose, eyes, and tail, and you're set! Our ornaments are hanging on our tree, of course. They would also make adorable little gift toppers.

As with my other projects, a word of caution... please use your best judgement with a glue gun and your small chid(ren). Same goes for the tiny puffs and eyes.

{DIY} Twine-Wrapped Christmas Ornaments


These ornaments come together quite easily {are you noticing a trend?? this mama needs simple, but with a big impact in the end!}, and are another perfect addition to our nature-inspired tree. All you need is a roll of twine from the hardware store, some plain glass bulbs {or old, recycled bulbs in funky colors}, and a glue gun.

The pictures below show the process pretty well, I think:








A couple of things worth mentioning:
1. Work in small sections. Lining up the twine can be a bit fiddly at times, and I'm forever amazed at how quickly that glue dries!
2. You might burn your fingers. I apologize. {also, for that reason, this is probably best reserved for adults or big kids.}
3. Notice that I didn't cut the twine until the very end. This way, I was guaranteed not to run out.
5. Stick the end of the twine down very well. This will keep it from looking ragged on the bottom.
4. Try other materials! Yarn? Sure! What else can you think to use?