Christmas Ornaments You Can Make

This Christmas make your own Christmas ornaments and give them to your family and friends as gifts. Making your ornaments is a fun, fulfilling hobby that can save you money and fill you with pride because you made them yourself. These ornaments will last for years to come.

Items you will need:

o Glass or plastic clear round ornaments - these are avilable at any craft store or online in quantity

o Potpourri - the small kind, you will be stuffing it into the ornaments

o Small Christmas décor, such as the small red apples or other floral type ornaments (you can also purchase and take apart other décor for use, this works especiallhy well for items you find at the local One Dollar Store)

o Strings of colored beads - also available at the One Dollar Store

o Glue Gun

o Hot Glue

o Small bowls or other dishes to hold materials

o Small Needle Nosed Pliers

o Newspaper to keep glue off floor/table

o Scissors

The glass ornaments are very delicate. You must be very careful when stuffing them with the potpouri. Remove gold top of the ornament by carfully pulling up and out. It is a spring mechanism so be careful that it doesn't pop off too hard. Put aside in a cup in case you need it later.

Pour the potpouri out into a dish you have set aside for this purpose. Carefully pick out the smaller pieces of potpourri and push them into the globe. There will be some pieces that won't fit, you can break them to make them fit. Try to put a multitude of colors into the globe. Fill to the top.

For the top of the ornament you can use a small red apple or other small round decoration (small pinecones work well). Using the hot glue gun, glue the bottom of the apple or pinecone to the top of the globe, covering the hole. Needlenose pliers come in handy to hold the decorations as you place them on the ornament.

The outside of the ornament is where your creativity shines. You can put 2 or 3 small apples on a green leaf on one side of the ornament using the hot glue. You can also use the beads purchased and run them from the top to the bottom of the ornament in straight lines arund the ornament.

Make several different ornaments and give them as gifts to family and friends. Wrap the ornament in tissue before puttingthem in a box and wrapping them. Your family and friends will have a keepsake from you to last forever.