Monday, December 19, 2011

Ornament Card

Hi everybody, It's Edie,
I have been looking forward to December all year! Not only is it Christmas/Yule time, but this December meant my husband got to come HOME!!!!!!

He is in the Navy and has been stationed in Bahrain (unaccompanied) for the past two years. We have been separated for much of that time, but he came home for good on December 2, and I am THRILLED!!!!

I normally handle deployments very well and I have learned to cope with him being gone most of the time. This time, however, I have felt like my life has been split in half and like I have been on hold waiting for his return. I'm not sure if it is because this separation was so long or because of the unexpected, unhappy way I had to leave Bahrain. I felt like my life was ripped in half and I have been on hold waiting for the other half to catch up.

Now that he is home, at least for the time being, I FINALLY feel whole and like my house is a home again. He really does complete me, LOL :D

All of these thoughts about home and the upcoming holidays inspired me to create a holiday card and ornament that can be given as a gift or displayed in your own home. It would be perfect as a Holiday card for someone special on your mailing list but it would also be great to keep on hand for unexpected guests or for those people you want to give a little something to, but not spend alot.

For this project I used Creative Paperclay® Modeling Material to create the ornament and I incorporated Viva Las Vegas Stamps on the card. I used the brick wall stamp for the chimney's as well as the large pocket chimney on the inside of the card.



To make the ornament I rolled out my Creative Paperclay® and cut the shapes out using a template I cut from basic printer paper. I poked holes at each joint, painted all of the parts and used jump rings to connect all of the pieces. It is important to use THREE jump rings at each joint, otherwise your pieces will not hang straight. You can view the full video tutorial below.



The 'fur' trim on the coat, hat, boots and the beard was made using a cotton ball and don't forget to add plenty of GLITTER :D

For the card I painted the background and the houses using Neocolor II watercolor crayons and the Viva Las Vegas brickwall stamp and archival ink for the chimneys.



Once the card is complete, tuck your ornament into to pocket and viola'! It's ready to go. Don't forget to poke a hole in the top of the ornament so it can be hung on the tree :D







I loved this ornament so much, I decided to keep it and hang it on my tree, LOL, but I DID make some to give as gifts as well :D

I hope you enjoy this project as much as I did and I would love to see your creations.

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday season and a wonderful new year.

From my home to yours, Happy Holidays!!!

For some reason the video is playing off center here on the blog. It does play correctly on Youtube, so click the video link to see the full screen :D

4 comments:

Sandra Strait said...

Congrats on having your hubby at home. Wonderful ornament!

Debbie Buckland said...

Congrats for having your other half home I could not begin to imagine what you have felt.

Great ornament card.

Cindy said...

Please thank your husband for his service to our country and thank you for your service also! Your ornament card is just awesome! I love the idea.

Hugs XX
Barbara

Jingle said...

Cute ornament and YAY for having your husband back home!