Preparing a Cummins Christmas

   No one, in the team, that I presently work in at Cummins Midrange Engine Plant in Walesboro, Indiana cares much for decorating the work place for the holidays.  Me, on the other hand, I like to see a little Christmas spirit where ever I am.  Last year, I used the feet off of cardboard pallets (Thank you, Krupp, crankshafts for the supplies!), spray painted them green and filled in the voids with christmas ornaments and even added a tiny manger scene.  I left a few empty and everyday some people in the team received a candy treat (these were rotated so everyone in the team received some candy every few days).  There wasn't much to it, but it did add some Christmas cheer.

This isn't a very good picture for seeing the nativity, but you can just make it out in the 3rd row from the top:

This year I am thinking a traditional tree -- just a little table top tree.  But with none traditional colors of silver and black.  Here are the supplies I am going to use to make the first of the ornaments:

Notes:   (The stuffed tiger is not a supply, he was just sitting on the back of the chair).
Added to these supplies are vinyl cutouts of the Cummins logo.
Water based polycrylic works much better than oil based.  It costs twice as much, but is well worth it.

Directions:
 First, I poured some of the polycrylic into little Dixie cups, making it more manageable, then, I poured it into the clear glass ornaments (40% off at Hobby Lobby) making sure to coat the entire inside surface.  I poured out the excess once it was coated.  And wiped off the outside of the ornament in case there was any that ran down the sides.  Then I poured in some silver glitter, twirling it around until the entire inside was coated and again poured out the excess.  I then set them aside to dry with the ornament caps still off (I waited 24 hours to make sure they were good and dry).  Next, I put the caps back on and rubbed on the vinyl C's.

I am going to make enough of these that everyone on the team will have one to take home.  And I am going to make 4 or 5 boxes extra in varying colors to hang on the Christmas tree in the plant lobby.  I hope they like it!

Now, I just need more black and silver ornaments to fill our little tree out.  Wonder if I can find some shiny black ribbon...

The finished tree:

Guardian Angel

Time Out!  That's what I am doing - taking time out from rushing and hurrying to get ready for Christmas to share another clear glass ornament the kids and I made together.

These ornaments are dedicated to the memory of those we love who are no longer with us - our guardian angels. 

Here's the poem for the ornaments:

 

 

   We tucked a feather into a clear glass ornament and tied the ribbon and the poem onto it.  These are the flatter disc shaped ornaments.  (Don't know if you can tell that from the picture).  

The kids used dimensional paint to add a few dots around the top to dress them up a bit.  My job was to glue gold rick-rack around the top.  (You just know that will be the part that will fall off!)     

     

Just because you can't see your angels, doesn't mean they are not there.

I Spy With My Little Eye

   Another super-easy Christmas ornament for the grandkids to make were these little "I Spy" ornaments.  Instead of the regular clear glass ornaments, we used the plastic, unbreakable clear ornaments to make them a bit safer while being played with.  The plastic filler beads are from the flower section of the craft store and are meant to use in vases to help hold the flower stems up.  We had to remember to leave a gap of space at the top of the ornament, so there would be room to roll, and twist, and just generally get the inside moving around to find the different items hid within.

We added a tag to list the things that were inside the ornament to find.  Then we added a few extra items to find that weren't on the list.

My granddaughter enjoyed making these quite a bit.  My grandson, at almost twice the age wasn't as impressed, but he was still a sport about it and made a couple, then helped his sister out in making more.  Until finally, we had a whole "tree" full.

Are you getting in the holiday spirit yet?

The Shores of Galilee

 

  With little time for crafting this past year, Pinterest became my haven for whenever I could squeeze in 5 or 10 minutes of pure "me" time.   I pinned many projects for "one day" and several for "the next time the grandkids visit."  This is one of the later.  A super easy Christmas ornament made with a clear glass ornament, some sand and tiny shells.  The tag reads:

"When you see this ornament hanging from your tree, 

may you remember the One,

 who walked the shores of Galilee."  

The card making supplies had to be broken out to add a grommet to the tag -- which was cut with a Spellbinders die on the Cuttlebug. 

I have one tip for making this ornament:  The sand will come back out of the holes in the cap.  We put a dab of hot glue inside the cap to prevent this from happening.  After all, there is enough to clean up after Christmas without adding beach sand to the mess.

May we all remember Everyday "the One"  -- Jesus Christ, Our Lord.