hints/Tips from Deanne:
I made some of those popcorn ornaments.
Here's some hints and things that I will pass on.
**You're gonna break some! Be prepared!
I started out with 12 glass balls.
Ended up with 9, not bad. The first one I broke right away because I
pulled off the metal part and let the popcorn kernal fall into the ball. Crash! One gone!
*TIP: Let the popcorn kernals "sllliiidddeee" into the ornament!
The next one I placed on it's side and when the first popcorn popped it blew the side out of the ornament.Bang! Another one gone!
*TIP:Place the ornament in the microwave upright. The glass on the top I found was a little thicker and could take the blows of the popping popcorn. The next one broke because I stopped the microwave too many times. I was experimenting on how much time I would need to pop all the kernals. And also the cottonball kept popping out when a popcorn popped and I had to stop the microwave to put it back in.
*TIP: Use about 14 kernals and the first couple you will have to experiment with to see how long it will take to pop "most", not all , of them. With my microwave which is 9 years old, I had to put them on
anywhere from 5-7 minutes. The kernals that don't pop can easily be gently shaken out when the ball cools down.
*Tip: Make sure the cotton ball is very tight in the hole.I found two cotton balls worked the best.
Some more hints that I learned:
* Use good cushioning under the ball because they jump when the popcorn pops! I used 2 paper towels and folded in 4ths.Then I wrapped another one around the ball to keep it upright.
*Do  ONE at a time and watch it EVERY second!
* Let them cool completely before doing anything else with them.
Now, I'm going to decorate them with a piece of gold cording around the top and tie it into a bow and then place some gold glitter either in the ball with the popcorn or some little gold glitter dots on the outside.

I made some Christmas tree ornaments out of popsicle sticks once.  It is very  easy.
You will need:
4 sticks
One will be the base
One will be the long branch along the bottom The othe two till have to be cut in half and trimmed to look like smaller  branches. These will form the middle and top branches of the tree. Glue them on, cover the cut area with buttons. Paint them green and use a star as the tree topper.  They are really cute!
Thanks Carole!

POPSICLE STICK SNOWMAN ORNAMENT
Take a jumbo stick and paint both sides white. Cut out a top hat from either black felt or fun foam and glue to top of stick. Paint black button eyes and mouth and orange carrot nose for face. Tie red ribbon around neck area for scarf. Paint 3 dots vertically below scarf for buttons. Punch hole in top center of hat and tie gold hanger.
Thanks Debbie!

Squirrel A Sleepin'
This makes 1 squirrel
Materials:
walnut shell- one half
Red plaid flannel, 2" square
Tan pom-poms: 5 mm, four ,3/4", one
Plastic animal eyes, 5 mm, one pair
Black bead, 3 mm, one
Tan bump chenille, one bump
Cotton ball
White thread. Sewing needle
Low-temperature glue gun and glue sticks
Scissors. Ruler
INSTRUCTIONS
For the cradle, glue cotton hall inside walnut half-shell at rounded end.
For the neck, glue one large pom-pom on inside of shell at pointed end.
For tail, bend narrow end of chenille bump over rounded end of shell.
Glue inside shell to hold. Trim opposite end of chenille bump to
resemble a squirrel's tail, bend tail in an upward curl.
To form blanket, fold over 1/4" twice along one edge of fabric. With
folded near neck, glue edges of blanket over sides of shell; trim excess fabric.
For the head, glue large pom-pom on top of neck. For the paws, glue one
small pom-pom on top of blanket on each side of head.
For the ears, glue one small pom-pom near top on each side of head.
Glue eyes to front of face, glue black bead nose to bottom of face so nose rests on blanket edge.
To hang, thread needle  with a single strand of white thread. Insert
needle through  blanket at center side edge;take a 1" stitch and bring
needle out to other side. Cut both strands to 5 inches; tie ends in an overhand knot to form a loop.


Crushed Can Polar Bear
Instructions:
Cut out patterns. Follow the directions ob the patterns.Crush can by
stepping on it with open end down. Spray entire can white.
Make the bear. Glue pupils on eyes. Glue nose on muzzle. See picture to
help you. Glue ears,eyes, muzzle,tongue,arms and legs to can. For sign,
use black marker to write RECYCLE! on paper scrap. Glue sign to back of
front paws. (Sign is optional)
Make the hanger. Place ribbon around rim of face and tie a tight knot at
top of head. Tie ribbon ends together at top. Trim ends at a slant.

Christmas Bear Ornament
Materials:
For each bear, you'll need:
One gold Christmas ball ornament
Four 1/2" pom poms
Three 1/4" pom poms
One 2" pom pom
One pair googly eyes
Scrap of red felt
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Instructions:
                     1.Glue the two inch pom pom on top of the Christmas ornament, just in front of the hanger. This will form the head.
2.Glue two 1/4" pom poms to the top of the head to form ears. Glue one 1/4" pom pom to the center of the face to form a nose.
3.Glue the two eyes in place above the nose.
4.Cut a smile out of the scrap of red felt and glue to the face underneath the nose.
5.Glue the four 1/2" pom poms to the ornament to form four legs.
6.You can use 3 dimensional paint to write a child's name on the bear's tummy.

Candy Cane Reindeer Tree Decorations
These are the sweetest little things.I make the EVERY year and add them to children's gifts.They love them. This is a quick project the kids can make.
Materials:
Candy cane
Pipe cleaner
White glue or, if an adult is helping, Hot glue gun and glue sticks
One pair of craft eyes (wiggly ones)
Instructions:
1.Slip the pipe cleaner under the crook of the candy cane. Pull ends up over
                       the candy cane and twist together close to the candy cane to secure. Bend the pipe cleaner to form antlers.
2.Glue the eyes to the candy cane just in front of the antlers. If you're using
white glue, make sure to use just a little and hold the eyes in place until the glue is set.
                     3.Hang your reindeer on the tree or slip him inside a gift bow on a wrapped present.

Snowman Necklace
Need:
35mm jingle bells
small paintbrush
white acrylic paint
1/8 " hole punch
scissors
craft foam-black, orange
craft glue
green pompoms
white floral wire
hot glue gun and sticks
red yarn
Make:
Paint bells white. Ley dry.
For each snowman ,punch 7 circles from black foam and cut 3/8 " long triangle nose from orange foam. Holding each bell upside down,use craft glue to attach 2 circles to the bell for eyes, 5 for the mouth and the nose between eyes and mouth. Let dry. Cut 2 1/2 " piece of wire. Bend into half-circle. Hot glue wire ends to sides of the bell to make the top of earmuffs. Glue pompoms over each end of wire. Cut several inches of yarn for necklace.Fold in half. Knot ends together. Slip folded end under hanging loop of bell. Pull knotted ends through fold to attach necklace.
***
I think these would really be cute as gift tag attachments too. Or as
tree ornaments.


Reindeer Ornament
(made with a plastic spoon)

Thanks Tennia!

Thought I'd share a craft...
It was a shell ornament.  It is a snowman made out of an oyster shell. I've  seen the angels and Santa ones before but this was the first time seeing a  snowman.  I'll try my best to describe this cutie:
paint oyster shell white, float a black line for the head and have a big  circle at bottom for belly.  Paint black dots for coal buttons, carrot nose,  coal dots for face, and top it off with a painted hat.  This is where you  have to be creative.  The top of each shell has a different shape so your hat  takes on different shapes.  Some had scarves painted on them, some had fabric  tied around them for scarves and some had sock hats perched on top.  They  were adorable and sold for $15.00 each.
Thanks Maryjo!

Cinnamon Spice Craft Dough
1 c. apple sauce
1 c. cinnamon
1tsp. nutmeg
1tsp. cloves
Mix until the dough has the consistency of playdough, adding more applesauce or cinnamon as needed.  Roll flat, dusting countertop and rolling pin with cinnamon if dough sticks.  Cut into shapes with knife or cookie cutter.  Use a toothpick to make a hole for hanging.  Dry at room temp. for 5-7 days,
turning over at the end of the third day to ensure even drying.  They dry even quicker in a a food dehydrator, and give your house a wonderful smell.
 Thanks Lucinda!

CINNAMON ORNAMENTS:
No baking and simple for kids!  Mix 3/4-1 cup applesauce with one 4.12-oz.  bottle ground cinnamon to form a stiff dough.  Roll out to 1/4-inch  thickness.  Cut with cookie cutter.  Make hole for ribbon.  Carefully put on  rack to dry.  Let air dry several days, turning occasionally.  Makes 12 sweet  smelling ornaments.

Cinnamon Ornaments
1 cup cinnamon
1tbs cloves
1tbs Nutmeg
3/4 cup applesauce (Let drain in a strainer for several hours)
2 tbs white glueMix cinnamon, cloves & nutmeg add applesauce & glue.
     Work mixture with hands until smooth and well mixed. Divide into 4  portions roll out to 1/4 inch thickness cut with cookies cutters. Use straw  to make hole for hanging (if needed). Put on wire rack to dry at room temp  for several days. Turn twice daily so they don't curl.  Use ribbon to hang if needed.

Cinnamon figurines
3 3/4 ounces of ground cinnamon
23 ounce jar applesauce
      Pour cinnamon into bowl. Add applesauce by the spoonful, stirring until  a stiff dough forms.  Mix dough thoroughly by hand. This recipe is for making little bear figurines, so you basiclaly roll the dough into balls for the body, head, etc and mush them together.  The same recipe would probably work for other kinds of modelling or for rolling out and using cookie cutters.
Thanks Linda!

Pop Can Angel
What you do is take an empty and cleaned soda can and bend it a little above the middle. Don't bend it in half, just put a little bit of an angle to it. Remove the pop top. Now paint the body of the can red and
paint the top of the can flesh tone. Using the opening of the can as the mouth, paint a nose and mouth on the top of the can with a paint marker or a sharpee. I paint the eyes closed so it looks like she is singing.
Then take some paper ribbon and wrap both ends in so it forms two wings and glue it to the back. I use a
little wooden star painted red to cover the place where the ribbon is glued to the can. There you go! They are really cute when done.
Thanks Bess!

I make a ornament out of the brown paper.  I use the brown paper that comes in the roll ... much cheaper than bags. I have a snowman shape ... put a layer of quilt batting (the thin kind) sewing (on the sewing machine around the shape) ... cut it out with pinking shears.  Oh ... I put a binder twine hanger in it before I sew around it! Paint eyes and mouth ... Eyes (big black circle ... small white circle in the center ... use a fine line marker for eyelashes .. mount (I just do small dots of red ... so it looks like radishes ... LOL) ... now for the nose ... half a toothpick ... paint orange (looks like a carrot ... LOL).  I tear a piece of fabric for the scarf and tie around neck.   For the buttons down the front I just use small buttons in any color.
Thanks Tammy!

Candy Cane Ornament
You will need a fat white pipe cleaner, red ribbon, glue and scissors. Bend the pipe cleaner into the shape of a candy cane.  Glue one end of the ribon to the curved end of the pipe cleaner.  Hold till sticks. Wind the ribbon at a slant down the length of pipe cleaner.  Secure at bottom. Trim off excess and enjoy your candy cane.
Berry Basket snowflakes
Cut out the bottoms of the berr baskets.  Snip to make snowflake designs.  Glue two together diagonally.  You may leave their natural color or paint white.  Sprinkle glitter onto both sides.  Tie a loop of yarn at top to make a hanger.
Santa's peanut helper
Cut out a long, thin triangle from red felt to look like a santa hat. Glue the felt to one end of a peanut n shell. Glue a bit of white cotton under the felt to represent the white part of Santa's hat.  Draw a face
on the peanut.  Glue on some cotton for a beard.  Cut a pipe cleaner(white) into four peices each about two inches long.  Glue them onto the peanut for arms and legs.
Shining stars
You will need paper a pencil, waxed paper, ribbon, glue and glitter. Draw a star onto a piece of paper, place a shet of waxed paper over the drawing. Spread glue on a piece of yarn(not ribbon as mentioned before-sorry) use the yar to outline the star.  While the glue is still wet sprinkle glitter on the it and let dry overnight.  Next day peel the star off the waxed paper and tie on a ribbon at top so you can hang. You can also make other shapes such as candy cane, heart, snowman, bell etc.
Deer Knob
You will need and 8 1/2 by 11 piece of deer colored felt, scraps of felt for the antlers, eyes, collar, ears, and mouth. Draw the shape of a reindeer's head and neck on the large piece of felt and cut it out.  Poke a hole in the center of the circle and then cut a few slashes around the hole.  Cut ears, eyes, antlers, and a mouth from
your scraps.  Glue to reindeer.  Hang on your doorknob to decorat. These instructions may make this sound hard but if you see the picture it makes it VERY simple.  I am only on a webtv so I have no way to forward the picture, however if you or anyone wants it I can make arrangements to get it to you.
Christmas Stocking
Trace a stocking shape onto red felt(make two) and cut out.  Thread a long piece of green yar throught a needle.  Sew the two pieces of red felt toghether using an overcast stitch all the way around the sock
except for the top. LOL With glue write your childs name on the sock and then sprinkle glitter on the glue.  Let dry and enjoy.
Thanks ?!

Clothespin Angels
Materials:
To make 16 angels, you will need
16 clothespins, the old fashioned clothespin, NOT the spring kind
3 fine tip permanent markers in brown, red & blue
Gold acrylic paint
4 fine round brushes
1 bag each of metallic strips & colored crinkled paper
3 yards of 2 1/2" ribbon
Six 12" beige chenille stems
Sixteen 1" earring hoops (or gold wedding rings used in making shower
favors)
3 yards thin, flat gold cord
4 yards 1/8" ribbon
White glue
Instructions:
Use felt tip pins to draw dots for eyes, mouth & cheeks. **Could use acrylic paint & a steady hand instead**  Paint gold on top of clothespin to look like hair & on bottom to look like gold shoes. Cut a 4" chenille stem & fold 1/4" back at each tip for hands.  Glue center to back of clothespin 5/8" below neck.  Glue a layer of crinkle paper or metallic strips around waist, then glue strips around neck to desired fullness.  Trim to just above feet. Glue halo to back of head.  Glue 1" ends of an 8" x 1/4" ribbon to back for hanging loop.  Trace out a wing pattern & make a cardboard template & trace onto folded 2 1/2" ribbon, cut out & glue to back.  Glue gold cord bow to neck.
Thanks ?!

Victorian Christmas Tree Balls
Materials ::
Glass christmas balls (any size)
tull scraps, lace
feathers or white down
potpourri
glitter
bleach/hot water
 Here goes the directions!
1.  Put 1 cup bleach in a sink of hot water.  Remove loop and cap from the glass
ball and place balls inside the bleach water.  Line the sink with an old towel or some washclothes because they are very fragile.
2.  After about 3-4 hours, the balls should be ready for cleaning.  Just clean with hot tap water, rinsing well, use a Q-tip to wipe out remaining paint.  Rinse all paint out, with hot water then take a piece of twisted paper towel, pushing halfway into the ball, leaving some to pull out later.  This absorbs all moisture. Let them dry completely.
3.  Fill ball 1/4 to 1/3 full with potpourri (the type with small buds, small flowers or pretty leaves look nice) then a scrap of lace or tull or some pure white down feathers (just a few), some glitter, (the kind with stars in it is especially pretty) you can experiment, depending what you have to work with.  In one of mine, I used fake snow (the type you buy in a bag, it looks like cut up plastic supermarket bags cut really small)  instead of the lace or feathers.
4.  Then you can hot glue a piece of lace around the cap, or under the cap, so it
sticks out from under, or a tassle to the bottom.  These require little to know experience,and come out amazingly beautiful.  (sounds like a bunch of mishmash - but the things you put in can really come together)
I used a burgundy color potpourri, with the star glitter, tull and 3-4 small down
feathers. (I found the feathers under my bed!!)
Thanks Shelle!

Swinging Snowman Ornament
     Here is a quick and easy ornament to make:
 Materials needed:
3-3/8 in. length of 3/4 in. dowel for snowman's body
2-1/2 in. length of 14 in. dowel for the arms
1/4 in. length of 1in. dowel for hat brim
5/8 in. length of 58 in. dowel for the top hat
3/4 x 2-3/8 in. piece of 1/4 in. wood for the swing
paints: white, black, orange, red, green toothpick
1/2 x 5-1/2 in. strip of fabric for scarf
18 gauge wire
 Method:
Drill a 14 in. hole through body 1-5/8 in. from top end for the arms. Drill a 1/16 in. hole through each end of the 1/4 in. dowel piece, positioning each hole 3/16 in. from the end.  Drill a 1/16 in. hole through each end of the swing, centering them about 1/4 in. from each 3/4 in. end. Slip the 2-1/2 in. length of 1/4 in. dowel through the pre-drilled hole in snowman's body.  Arrange this piece so the arms are equal in length and the holes at each end are at top and bottom of dowel.  Center and glue the 14 x 1in. hat brim to the bottom of the 5/8ix 5/8 in. top hat. Paint the top hat and brim black, swing -black, paint black dot eyes with white highlights, black slash eyebrows above eyes, black smile mouth, pink cheeks, orange carrot nose, and 3 black dot buttons evenly spaced down the front below the arms.  green holly leaves and red berries on the top hat just above brim. Center and glue the snowman's top hat to his head. Center and glue the snowman to the swing. Tie the fabric strip around the snowman just below his face and above his arms for a scarf.  Fringe the ends by pulling the threads. Cut an 18 in. length of wire. Bend the center of wire around a pencil once to create a hanging loop, Remove pencil and slip wire ends, top to bottom through pre-drilled holes on snowman's arms. Then through holes in swing, wrap ends around pencil to form a circle of wire to prevent wire from slipping back through holes.  Adjust wires as needed to balance snowman. Hardest part is cutting the dowel pieces to length, sounds involved when writing out the directions, but it is really very quick and easy.  Cute too!
 Thanks Patti!

Thought this might be interesting way for the children to make christmas ornaments.  Thanks to Chris at Craftsonline for the idea.
Cast Paper Ornaments
Materials:
Scrap Paper (NOT newspaper!)
Blender
Powder Laundry Starch
Spray on Vegetable Oil
Paper or Cookie Mold
Sieve
      Towel or Sponge
Begin by tearing your scrap paper into small strips or squares. If you have access to a paper shredder, they work very well. Place one or two handfulls of paper pieces into a  blender, cover with water.
Let soak at least 15 minutes. Add one teaspoon of laundry starch to the water and blend for 15 to 30
seconds until the paper pulp has the consistency of cream. Pour pulp into sieve to drain off excess water.
Spray mold with vegetable oil and rinse lightly under cool water. Pour pulp into mold. Use a towel or sponge to press out as much water as possible. It is very important to press the pulp as
firmly as possible. Let the mold dry over night. When dry, seperate paper from mold. I'm using acrylic paint to finish them. With a toothpick I poke a hole in the top while it's still alittle wet so I can put a ribbon through to hang it on the tree.
Thanks Sue!

Recycle a juice can for a drum ornament!
Clean out a frozen juice can.  Save the lid.  Cut it down to about 1 1/2 inches.  Paint the lid and bottom white or gold.  Put the lid on.  Glue wide ribbon around the can.  Red and green plaid looks great!  Zig-zag gold braid back and forth from the lid to the bottom, working around the can.  Add two toothpicks for drumsticks.
Thanks Sarah!

Helpful Tips when Working with Glass Ornaments
Because I hurt myself quite a few times working with these glass balls, I  thought I'd share some tips...don't laught at me:o)
1.  Be careful!  They are thin and break easy.  and the pieces are sharp!
2.  Don't set one next to the kitchen sink to dry..if you have a garbage
disposal there.  I did, somehow it fell in the sink, broke, and now my disposal is clogged.
3.  Don't stick your fingers in the hole!  It may get stuck! Expecially if you  have super glue all over your hands!
4.  Don't stick your finger in the hole again!  You may cut yourself on the  edge of the ball right inbetween your two fingers..ouch!
5.  don't blow into the hole after you have put super glue in there!!  The  air all comes right out and the fumes from the glue REALLY hurts your eyes.
6.  Don't pick up a glass ball 1/2 filled with water out of the oven (when  baking polymer clay) with your bare hands!
7. If a ball does break, don't sweep your hand accross the work surface to  pick up any small bits!!
8.  Keep bandaids near by if you don't follow rules 1-7 because winnie the  pooh does not look right with blood on his hat!
Thanks Teri !

"Melted" Snowman Ornament
Have you made this?  Fill a ball 1/2 way with water, add a small carrot  (they make these..or make some with polymer clay:o) 9 or so black beads  (eyes, mouth, and buttons) a tiny black hat (I'm in Texas and use a small  cowboy hat:o), put a CORK on it.  I am here to testify that super glue
doesn't work!! Neather does Modge podge.  And wax doesn't work eather..plus  it looks messy!  LOL  Find some corks..cut them to fit, and seal the ball  with that, then simply put on your ball "lid"  decorate with a tag that says,  Florida snowman!   OR  You can poor hot glue into the ball, dropping a few
beads, here and there, then a hat and carrot on top..it will make it NON  spillable:o).....but I like the water better:o)
Thanks Teri!

"I was experimenting recently using clear glass ornaments and a couple of  BB's (copper ones from my son's old bb gun) and acrylic paint.   I put a  couple of drops of paint in a paper cup, put in some bb's; fished out a bb  and GENTLY rolled it around inside the ornament.   The first time I gave it a
good swing and put a hole in the ornament!   I used red and green and white  paint.  It makes little spidery lines.    I don't know why you couldn't do  this with gold or silver or copper and put a matching ribbon on the ornament."
I thought it was a cute idea:o)
Thanks Teri!

Had a decoupage craft session the other night for the first time and became inspired to incorporate it with my scroll saw work.  Had some cute x-mas wrapping with nice graphics.  Had my son cut around the pictures and decoupage them on thin wood.  I then cut around the pictures on the scroll saw.  Going to drill a hole in the top and add a ribbon.  Think these would make cute, quick, easy and inexpensive gifts for his class room or to add to a package.  Don't want to forsake painting my own items all together but is a nice option for making easy gifts.
 Thanks Jennifer!

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