Saturday, August 20, 2022

The Children's Day

Mary and Baby Jesus by k. grimm
        "I am very glad that the holiday is always recognized as belonging especially to the children. There is a charming Christmas sermon which is a "plea for childhood," which calls Christmas "the young child's festival." It is by Dr. Henry W. Bellows, and I wish I could send it all to all the Readers. It begins by an amusing description of the pilgrimage in our time of the Wise Men at Christmas, who may be seen in every street, with their gifts in their hands, following the star till it comes and stands over the place where the young child is. The young child with his mother draws over each of our homes the star which wins our following and determines our stay.
       And the children, even the baby in arms, return the gifts to the Wise Men. There is nothing so charming, nothing in after years so precious, as the Christmas gifts which the little ones have made with their own hands. The little boy has trained his fat fingers to the needle and the thimble, that he may make a pocket pincushion for his mother, and long after the little boy is called to the Larger Life, that pincushion lies among her dearest treasures. It is so good to have the weeks before Christmas all preoccupied with thoughts for "the others." A blessed preparatory festival!"

Kids version of the Christmas story with help from REMEDY

Friday, August 19, 2022

How to Assemble a Pom-Pom Bauble

The finished pom-pom bauble.

       This ornament craft is perfect for little ones to hang on the lowest branches of a family Christmas tree. It won't break and it's soft to handle. However, it takes an older child or adult to make it, if you should use a hot glue gun as I did here.

Supply List:

  • pom-poms in rainbow colors
  • aluminum kitchen foil
  • masking tape
  • wire
  • hot glue and hot glue gun

Step-by-step instructions:

  • Crush a Christmas bauble shape using aluminum kitchen foil. Make it any size you like.
  • Twist and attach a wire for hanging the bauble and tape this on the top of your aluminum form.
  • Cover the aluminum ball completely with masking tape. This will help the glue adhere to the surfaces correctly and also protect the glue gun from contacting the metal surface and causing the project to heat up.
  • Now glue the first set of pom-poms next to each other around the middle of the bauble. (see photo)
  • Then proceed to add another row of pom-poms in a different color and so on until the entire bauble is covered.
  • Hang from the children's Christmas tree this ornament that won't break if it falls!

Far left, aluminum foil ball shape. Next, covered in masking tape.
Center, the first row of pom-poms is applied with hot glue.
Far right, the next two rows are added.

Non-breakable Christmas Ornaments:

Make a Popsicle stick top hat for the tree...

Finished top hat made using craft sicks.

       Top hats on Christmas trees are as old as Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." This one is made by cutting a large Popsicle stick into 3 equal parts, then gluing these side by side. For the brim of the wooden top hat, glue two thinner sticks next to each other and then the top part of the top hat to the brim. Glue an additional cross piece on the backside of the top hat to give the ornament strength. Paint the entire hat black and then trim it with a paper ribbon and some Christmas berries and twig. Glue a ribbon on the backside to hang your Victorian top hat to the Christmas tree.

Supply List for One Top Hat:

  • one large Popsicle stick
  • 3 thin Popsicle sticks
  • red paper for top hat ribbon
  • twig and red berries for trim
  • ribbon for hanging

See Also Top Hats, Top Off More Christmas Trees:

DIY Clothespin Airplane for The Christmas Tree

Our finished toy plane also has stripes on it's wings.

       What little child wouldn't love to craft a vintage Popsicle stick airplane for the Christmas tree like this one?

Supply List:

  • thin Popsicle sticks (6 per plane)
  • one wooden clothes pin
  • wooden parts for the propeller 
  • wood glue
  • acrylic paints
  • String for hanging
  • utility scissors or hack saw to cut the Popsicle sticks

       Look at the photos below to determine the places to glue the sticks in order to shape an airplane. You can also hang the wooden plane using transparent fishing line to make it look as though the little plane is actually flying through your Christmas tree!

Left the propeller can also be made using similar shaped buttons.
Center, see the side view of our little wooden plane.
Right, the back side view of the ornament.

More Versions of Popsicle Stick Airplanes:

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Handmade Pastillage Christmas Ornaments

Pastillage ornaments: horse, rooster, cherries, Santa
         These handmade Christmas tree ornaments were crafted by Eugene Frohse from St. Louis Mo. He was born in Russia in 1873; he immigrated to the United States when he was 17 years old. Because he died in 1976 at 102 years of age, I'm assuming that the ornaments I have were crafted sometime in the 1950s or 60s. The color of the pastillage is amazingly vivid after all these years! 
       I purchased this collection from an estate sale and only one of the ornaments was broken. The original price tag, the description and recipe were included on the box. You can see more of his work online.
See More Collections of Ornaments:

Two dogs made using Pastillage. Made to display on trees during the holidays inside bakery.

Pastillage or inedible icing ornaments: cat, goat and squirrel.