Simple and easy to make hydrangea under glass...

Delicate hydrangea petals in a Christmas bauble.

       My eldest daughter loves hydrangea. She has several of these growing in our lawn and displays them lovingly about the house fresh or dried year round. Frankly, I'm surprised she had not thought to include these in an ornament sooner...

Supply List:

• hollow, clear bauble and clip on cap
• dried hydrangea petals
• vintage lace

       To make the ornament, she gently pushed the dried petals through the opening at the top of the hollow glass ornament until the bauble was full. Then she replaced the cap, added a hook and tied a lace bow about the top! This would make a quick and easy craft for those of you who love to decorate the Christmas tree using plants from your garden.

• How to dray hydrangea blooms by Proven Winners
• How to dry out hydrangea flowers by Garden Style nw

How to paint and display a garden spider for the tree...

Left, the wooden flat of a spider unpainted. Right, my painted version based upon a common
garden variety spider found where I live.

       This popular, wooden flat of a spider may be found in many hobby stores or online. I've recycled a plastic netting that once was used to package lemons or onions, I don't remember. This netting looks so much like a spider's web that I decided to display it along with my spider on our family Christmas tree. Spiders are frequently included on Christmas trees in Europe because of several stories told to children during the Season of Advent; below is one of three I have heard told...

Legend of the Christmas Spider

       A poor but hardworking widow once lived in a small hut with her children. One summer day, a pine cone fell on the earthen floor of the hut and took root. The widow's children cared for the tree, excited at the prospect of having a Christmas tree by winter. The tree grew, but when Christmas Eve arrived, they could not afford to decorate it. The children sadly went to bed and fell asleep. Early the next morning, they woke up and saw the tree covered with cobwebs. When they opened the windows, the first rays of sunlight touched the webs and turned them into gold and silver. The widow and her children were overjoyed. From then on, they never lived in poverty again.

Stitch a red and green felt poinsettia ornament . . .

A vintage poinsettia ornament.

       I will sew a thin green wire to the back of this vintage Christmas flower and use this to attach it to a tree branch instead of hanging it with a hook.

Supply List:

• red and green felt scraps
• free pattern here
• pearl beads for the center of the flower
• red lace for the trim on the petals

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Download and print the free pattern from the link above.
2. Cut 6 green felt leaves and 6 red felt petals. All of these use the same small template.
3. Gather the flat edge of each petal/leaf.
4. Sew the red lace around every petal except on the gathered flat ends.
   
5. Then sew all six gathered red petals together at the bottom, flat side, from tip to tip. There should be a small hole at the center of the poinsettia. 
6. Cut a small, red circle to tack onto the backside of the felt flower where the hole is. 
7. Attach the pearl beads to this center.
8. Now repeat the same steps for the green felt leaves, omitting the addition of lace.
9. Turn the flower over on it's backside and stitch the green felt leaves in a circle to the back of the poinsettia.
   

Left, the pearl beads are sewn to the center of the poinsettia. Right, the green felt leaves
are attached to the backside of the felt flower.

Make a Clay Pot Cottage Ornament

The clay pot cottage ornament crafted by my older daughter for Christmas this year.

         To assemble this small clay pot cottage inexpensively, you may need to purchase materials from your local dollar store. However, some of you will probably have most of these supplies laying about a craft work bench or inside a cabinet for of odds and ends.

       You will also need a pair of pliers to take apart a pine cone for this craft. The roof of our pot cottage has faux tiles made of scales. 

Supply List:

• tiny clay pots

  

  Above are photos taken of the clay pot 

  cottage ornament from different angles.

  Click on the image to see it enlarged.

• acrylic paints
• faux plants
• a pinecone
• scrap fabric (hanger)
• oven bake clay
• wooden round (base)
• pebble
• hot glue gun and hot glue
• lead pencil

       Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Hot glue an inverted clay pot onto a cut wooden round to make the basic structure of the clay pot cottage.
2. You will not need to sand any of the surfaces before painting because of the "rustic" nature of the design. Just lightly draw out a tiny door and two windows using a soft lead pencil.
3. Then use acrylic paints to trim out the windows in white. Fill in the window panes using black and add tiny flowers to the window boxes. (see photos above)
4. After the paint dries, hot glue on a pebble for the front door step.
5. Then remove the scales from your dried pine cone using a tough set of pliers.
6. Invert the scales on top of the roof area of your inverted pot using small amounts of hot glue between each piece as you stack these. 
7. Now hot glue the faux plant trimmings with a ribbon or fabric hanger to the top of the roof. Then trim out the rest of the faux plant decorations on the sides of the clay pot.
8. My daughter sculpted two tiny mushrooms from oven bake clay and baked these according to the directions on the package. Then she painted them and attached these over the painted front door.

More Clay Pot Christmas Crafts:

• Clay Pot Advent Calendar
• Christmas ornament ideas from Flower Pot Crafts
• 20 DIY Christmas decorations you can make using flower pots