My first handmade ornament...in a long time!

Ok, I confess, I’ve made handmade ornaments before.  I think we start doing that in preschool, don’t we?  And maybe I’ve even made them as an adult (I really can’t remember, though, so they couldn’t have been that good!).  So, I’m just calling this one my “first...in a long time”!

I was watching NATE the other day and it just put me in a crafting mood.  So I decided to try to make an ornament with what I already had at home.  I really don’t want to spend any more money than I have to right now since we are really trying to spend our money on house updates.  So, I got out my yarn, glue gun, and Styrofoam ornament balls and got to work.  This project is pretty straight forward, just glue and wrap the yarn around the ball.  But I did learn a couple things along the way.  As you, I’m sure, are well aware, I am new at this crafting thing, so I’m still learning...A LOT!  Anyway, I think that I would use regular glue instead of a hot glue gun if I did this project again because you have to use a decent amount of glue and I am a little cheap when it comes to my hot glue!  Also, the hot glue sets up/cools very quickly, so you have to be pretty fast.  Regarding the yarn, I had to start at one “end” and work toward the middle and then stop and start from the other “end” and have them meet in the middle.  If you look closely at the back of the ornament, you can tell there is a tiny overlap of yarn, but oh well.  Once you get about halfway through wrapping the yarn around the Styrofoam ball, it starts to not want to stay together and it is REALLY hard to keep your lines together and not showing white Styrofoam between them.  I tried to make it work, but I was getting really frustrated, so I just stopped where I was and started from the other side.  I think I’d have to do that again in the future, too, because I really don’t see a way around it.  The yarn has to push against each layer/line before it to help keep it on the ball.  Once it gets past that halfway point, it has a very hard time of doing that.  I hope that all even makes sense!  Lastly, the fabric I used for the “H” I’m pretty sure is 100% cotton and once you cut a tiny letter out of it, it starts to pull apart.  So, the edges are unraveling a little bit, but if you don’t look too closely, you really can’t tell!  Like I said, I’m new at all of this, so I’m sure there are plenty of better fabrics I could have used, but I had leftover fabric from my chair project, so that’s what I used!  :)

I am really enjoying learning more about crafting and doing little DIY projects.  It is fun, especially when it doesn’t cost much money!  And I figure, if I already have the supplies at home, I’m not really losing anything (other than a little time) if I try something and fail at it.  I can always just throw it out and try something new!  I know this ornament isn’t perfect...but I think I’ll keep it!  ;)