But my heart is still deeply rooted in sharing ideas to help create a thoughtful, beautiful home with your own two hands, and I decided this Christmas I want to bring back some simple, inexpensive DIY projects that you can use to decorate your tree, your home or give as gifts this year! And honestly, it feels so good to dig through my boxes of craft supplies and get back to basics. I hope you enjoy what I have planned this Christmas season!

These felt ball and wooden bead ornaments are so darling, and I love the how simple they were to make. I went with neutral colors so I can reuse them year after year no matter how I decide to decorate my tree, but you can choose any colors you like! Learn how to make them below…

FELT BALL AND WOODEN BEAD ORNAMENTS

SUPPLIES:

wooden beads in various sizes – I used 20mm, 10mm and 8mm
felt balls in various sizes – I used 25mm and 15mm
scissors
sewing needle – you’ll need one sturdy and thick enough to push through the felt balls
thin string or twine – I used natural hemp cord or embroidery floss would also work

STEP 1

Gather your supplies and decide what size felt balls and wood beads you will use and how many for each ornament. Play around with different variations until you find a look you like. The pattern I used was: 

• 15mm felt ball
• 20mm wood bead
• 25mm felt ball
• 20mm wood bead
• 15mm felt ball
• 10mm wood bead
• 8mm wood bead

STEP 2

Cut a piece of string approximately 2 feet. It doesn’t need to be exact, and I usually just pulled out an arm’s length of string to work with. Just keep in mind you would rather have a little extra to work with on the first few ornaments than be short. Thread your needle with the string.

Then thread the felt balls and wood beads onto the string starting with the whichever piece you want to be on the bottom of your ornament.

STEP 3

Once you have all the pieces on the string, leave a loop at the top of the ornament and thread the string back down through the felt balls and beads. 

This is where it helps to have a little extra string so you can shift the beads and balls as needed to thread the needle back down.

STEP 4

Once you are done threading the needle back down, you can remove the needle from the string. You should have a loop at the top, the felt balls and beads in the middle, and two pieces of string at the bottom. 

STEP 5

Tie a knot just above the top felt ball and just below the bottom wood bead to hold the pieces in place on the string. Make sure the knot is big enough that the opening of the beads can’t pull through. 

STEP 6

Make sure the bottom knot is nice and tight, then trim off the ends of the string.

STEP 7

Hang on your tree!

I hope this little idea brings you some joy this Christmas and a little quality time you may need… whether that be a quiet, kidless afternoon to craft in peace or a day spent with your girlfriends creating together. Please share your photos with me if you decide to make these! I love seeing what you create!

MORE CHRISTMAS PROJECTS:

3 Ingredient Air Dry Clay

Winter Planter Tutorial

Scrap Wood Christmas Trees

Cutting Board Tablet Holder

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

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You may have heard of or even tried homemade salt dough recipes before, and while the two mediums are similar, I definitely prefer the air dry clay. The salt dough browns slightly when baked, while the air dry clay stays a bright pure white, and I think the clay also holds the shape of the cookie cutter much sharper and more defined without any shrinkage. But what I love most about this project is how simple and how affordable it is to make. You probably already have these ingredients in your pantry!

AIR DRY CLAY

SUPPLIES:

1 cup cornstarch
2 cups baking soda
1 1/2 cups water

STEP 1

Add all three ingredients in a large pot or pan over medium-low heat and stir until completely smooth.

STEP 2

Continue stirring constantly with a rubber spatula, making sure to scrape the bottom of the pan so none of the mixture hardens or burns. Heat the mixture low and slow until it begins to bubble and thicken. Keep moving the liquid around the pan, and don’t worry if it starts to clump as it heats. Once all the moisture has evaporated, the entire mixture should come together in a big ball of “dough” that somewhat resembles a really stiff pile of mashed potatoes. Once all the dough is solid and pulls away from the pan, remove it from the heat.

STEP 3

Transfer the dough to a bowl to cool, and cover with a damp paper towel so it doesn’t harden.

STEP 4

Once the dough is cool, roll it out to about 1/4″ thickness. I find it easiest to roll the dough in between two pieces of wax or parchment paper to avoid it sticking to the rolling pin. Use any size or shape cookie cutter to cut the dough into pieces, and if desired use a straw or skewer to poke a hole in each cut-out so they can be hung later.

Tip: You can also make a design on each clay piece by pressing something with a lot of texture into the clay before it starts drying. For the ornaments I made for my tree, I pressed a sprig of evergreen into the clay, and I bought some lace ribbon that I’d like to press into heart shaped ornaments as well. 

STEP 5

Let the clay air dry for 2-3 days until they are completely hard, flipping them over after the first day to allow them to dry evenly. After that, they are ready to be used!

I made the sweetest little garland out of mini clay stars by tying a double knot around each star and leaving about 3″ of space in between each piece.

And the tree shaped ornaments I made a few years back are such a special homemade touch that I love adding to our Christmas decor each year. This project is so inexpensive, a lot of fun to make with kids, and would also be a great gift idea if you’re wanting to give something from the heart for not a lot of money. And the possibilities of what you can create are endless!

Thank you so very much for being here, and I hope this tutorial is helpful and inspires you to create something beautiful! From the bottom of my heart, I wish you a very Merry Christmas, sweet friends. xoxo Liz

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I spent a lot of time last week working on building big display shelves for Love Grows Wild Market and unboxing new goodies to bring into the shop, and I had some cute, new bracelets that I couldn’t figure out how I wanted to display. When I’m in the middle of a project, patience is not a quality I possess, so instead of going shopping or ordering something online and waiting for it to come in, I figured out how to make a bracelet holder out of things I had around the house!

I find that I wear my jewelry so much more when it’s actually displayed where I can see when I get dressed, so this is perfect for getting all your pretty bracelets organized. And you only need 4 supplies to make this!

Supplies:

fabric
paint roller cover (a cardboard tube would work too, but not be as sturdy)
hot glue gun
scissors

Instructions:

Cut a piece of fabric to wrap around and cover the paint roller cover, leaving a couple extra inches on the ends to tuck inside.

Apply hot glue along one long edge of the fabric and turn the fabric edge over to create a “hem”. You could also get your sewing machine out and do this the non-lazy way if you wanted to.

Glue the non-hemmed long edge of the fabric to the roller cover, and once dry, roll the fabric tightly around the roller cover. Secure the hemmed fabric edge to the roller cover with hot glue as well.

Tuck the loose fabric ends inside the paint roller cover, securing with a little bit of hot glue, if necessary.

And that’s it! Sometimes quick, easy, little projects like this are nice to do after spending days on big woodworking projects, and I love the satisfaction of creating something to make my life easier and more organized without spending a penny. I hope you guys enjoy this little project too!

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I’ve shared tons of recipes here on Love Grows Wild over the past few years, but I must say that this one knocked my socks off. It’s not food though, my friends… it’s homemade play dough! The boys and I tried a little kitchen experiment a few weeks ago and whipped up this play dough in just a matter of minutes. It was super easy to do, and the kids played with this stuff for hours! I’m thinking this is going to be the perfect gift for all the kiddos on my Christmas list this year.

Okay, I’m going to be totally honest with you here for a minute.

I’m that mom that NEVER lets her kids play with play dough. Like, ever. We have a pretty decent size box of it sitting up in their playroom closet, but rarely does it ever come down. Why, you ask? I used to get it out quite a bit when the boys were little, but I’ve learned that when you give a toddler a wad of play dough, not only will you have a giant mess all over your table, but you will find little bits of play dough stuck all throughout the house for months afterwards. How do they manage to get this stuff EVERYWHERE?

But apparently I was feeling a little bit of mommy guilt, because I decided to give a homemade version a try this time and see if it was any better. You guys… this stuff is SO much better!

You make it in a saucepan on the stove, and with only 5 ingredients and 5 minutes cooking time, you have your own homemade play dough! My little guy, Wyatt, told me that this was magic, and I must be a magician. Sure… if you insist.

Still pretty skeptical, I gave the boys a rimmed baking sheet to help corral all the loose bits of play dough and watched as they played with some of my holiday cookie cutters. To my surprise, it actually stayed together nicely and didn’t make a huge mess. Even MORE surprising was after I realized we lost track of time and were now 5 minutes late for Alec’s basketball practice. We flew out the door, forgetting all about the play dough that was left out on the baking sheets. When we got back home 2 1/2 hours later, I assumed the play dough would already be dried-up and hard as a rock. But guess what… it hadn’t dried out at all! I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was still just as soft and pliable as when we first made it.

I certainly wouldn’t suggest leaving it out on purpose, but it’s good to know that in case you accidentally do, it won’t be ruined!

I’m sharing a basic play dough recipe with two different options to customize your dough: a white snowball version with glitter and a green peppermint version!

I think this play dough is a great gift idea for the holidays. It’s inexpensive to make and easy to package up in a little mason jar. Just add a some twine and a cute tag, and you’re good to go!

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Homemade Play Dough Recipe

 

PRINT

Learn how to make your own play dough at home! Fast, easy, and keeps the kids entertained for hours!

Author: Liz Fourez

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup salt
• 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 
  Optional mix-ins:
• 1 tablespoon glitter
• ½ teaspoon peppermint extract + a few drops of green food coloring

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix the flour, water, salt, cream of tartar, and vegetable oil in a large saucepan and cook, stirring constantly, for 4-5 minutes until the dough is thick and no longer sticky. Allow to cool 5 minutes before playing with. Optional: Add glitter OR peppermint extract and food coloring to the cooled dough and fold until fully incorporated. Store in an airtight container.

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Find great gift ideas and win fun prizes during Ball Canning’s 25 Days of Making and Giving!

I made this project as part of Ball Canning’s 25 Days of Making and Giving, presented by Jarden Home Brands. Every day from Nov. 28 – Dec 22, Ball will share a new project that is perfect for holiday gift giving. Follow Ball Canning on Facebook and Pinterest to see all the new creations!  To add to the fun, Ball is also giving away daily prizes along with a grand prize of a FreshTech Automatic Canning System (a $299 value!).

Here’s how to enter: Visit http://www.freshpreserving.com/25days and follow the instructions to enter. You can enter once a day, each day, to win that day’s daily prize. Each daily entry also grants an entry toward the grand prize, which will be selected once the contest concludes at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 22.

 Discover more holiday ideas:

Hot Chocolate Mix Gift Idea

2014 Christmas Home Tour

Silent Night Twinkle Light Canvas

My Christmas Kitchen

Twine Ball Ornaments

Polar Bear Pillow Cover

Fabric Rosette Mistletoe Ball

This post has been sponsored by Ball Canning. I was provided with compensation for my time, but all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make this blog possible!

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We used to have just one tree in the house that had everything but the kitchen sink on it… Barbie ornaments from my childhood, the boys’ superhero ornaments, Jeremy’s John Deere tractor ornaments, and plenty of handmade ornaments from my Grandma Ginny. The past few years I’ve started putting up a second smaller tree in the boys’ bedroom that they can decorate with all their big, crazy, bright-colored ornaments and Momma can have a “pretty tree” in the living room. Best. Decision. Ever. The boys feel special getting their very own Christmas tree, and I get to decorate the living room tree MY style. Which doesn’t happen to include Captain America, Spongebob Square Pants, or Larry the Cable Guy.

I’ve slowly been adding more ornaments to my “pretty tree”, and this year I felt like it needed a little rustic charm to balance out all the glitter and glam. These Twine Ball Ornaments were easy (and so fun!) to make and add a touch of simple, natural beauty to my tree. I’ll show you how I made them!

Supplies:

• glue
• cornstarch
• water
• bowl and whisk
• balloon
• plastic wrap
• jute twine
• tape
• paintbrush
• ornament hanger

Step 1:

Mix together 4 ounces of regular ol’ school glue, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and 1/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Whisk the mixture until it’s thick and smooth. Then go wash your whisk so you don’t end up with hunks of glue in your next batch of pancakes. I used this mixture when I made the “EAT” rope letters for my kitchen last year, and it held up very well over time. You could possibly get away with only using glue or even Mod Podge, but I find that the cornstarch adds a little extra stiffness that these ornaments need to keep their shape. If the mixture gets too thick on ya, just add a little extra water.

Step 2:

Grab a balloon, blow it up just a little, and tie a knot. The size of your balloon will dictate how large or small your finished ornament will be, so keep that in mind. Now wrap your balloon in a layer of plastic wrap. This will keep the balloon from sticking to the glue and make your life much easier. Wrap the twine around your balloon in a random pattern, keeping the twine taut as you go. I used a small piece of tape to hold the twine in place while I wrapped the balloon. Then cut the twine and tuck the end underneath another section of twine.

Now it’s time to get messy! Use a paintbrush to paint the glue over all the twine. I painted on a thick layer at first, making sure every bit was covered in glue, then went back and brushed away any extra.

Step 3:

Let the balloon dry overnight. Once dry, use a pin or knife to pop the balloon. Pull the deflated balloon and plastic wrap through one of the larger openings in your twine ball, and you have yourself a twine ball ornament! I did have little bits of glue left in between the twine pieces after popping the balloon, but they were easy to remove with my fingers.

I just love the way these look on my tree! For the most part, the glue dries clear, but any areas that were heavily coated may have a slight white appearance. I’m okay with that though, because I want these babies to hold their shape over time. I don’t want to open up my box of ornaments next year to find them all smushed! One Christmas project down… lots more to go!

Tell me what YOU think! Do you like these rustic twine ball ornaments? Do you have any handmade ornaments on your tree?

I’ll be sharing more holiday projects and a full tour of my home all decorated over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!

Are you making this project? I’d LOVE to see it! Post a photo of your creation on Instagram and use the hashtag #MyLGWProject. It may just get featured!

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Check out these other holiday ideas:

5 Easy Gift Ideas in a Mason Jar!

DIY Polar Bear Pillow Cover

What Happens Under The Mistletoe Sign

Fabric Rosette Mistletoe Ball

LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!

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