'Home for the Holidays' Christmas Ornament

There really is no place like home...

Truly,

The memory of your childhood home is so special...

a place where our fondest memories dwell...

Home is where our most precious treasures are kept...

...like sea shells, worn rag dolls, and

well-loved comic books.

 Home is where we find the love of family...

Home is where our most favorite people in the 

whole-wide world
can be found...

...our mothers, fathers, siblings, grandmothers and 

grandfathers... 

...family.

All these precious pieces of us can be found in a home.
the treasures...the loved ones... the memories...

Home is so much more than just a place...

It's a feeling....and more...
Home is familiar...
Super comfy and cozy... in every possible way...

Home... is where we grew up...

...memories of neighborhood friends...

learning to ride a bike...

...drive a car...

home...

Windows we watched through, as the seasons changed...

...as the years passed by.

Home was host to birthday parties, 

summertime backyard picnics...

 ...endless games of hide and seek

miles of lawn mowing,
trick-or-treating...and leaf raking....

Home is where life... so much of it anyway... happened.

All of life's moments...

are right there...
neatly gathered...

under one roof.

Which stands to reason why so much of our holiday

fanfare is centered on being home,
coming home, not being home 'alone'...

It's all about the home...and what's inside.

The holiday shows... 

 Christmas music... 

Take a listen and you'll soon be reminded that

home is where all the action is 

during the month of December...

Whether you are headed home this Christmas... 

....Or if it is only in your dreams...

This charming and very easy to make ornament will put a smile on your face...

...remembering the 'good old days'... home sweet home...

This DIY ornament turns a simple copy of a photo 

(In this case a photo of your home)

into a magical wintry snow-globe wonderland.

A bauble you can hang on any tree...

a doorknob...or even in an office cubicle...

A sweet reminder of days gone by.

(Or in my case...a keepsake made for my kiddos)

Grab a hot chocolate...put on some holiday music and gather your craft supplies... 

In a few minutes you can create your very own homemade keepsake ornament.

What you'll need:

A clear plastic craft ornament... 

Joann's Fabric and Crafts is where I purchased mine.

I like the round ones that are flattened ( photo below...)

white glue and white craft paint/paint brush

glitter

fake/imitation snow

a piece of ribbon

scissors

a pencil

A photo/image of your house copied onto plain paper.

A winter photo is ideal...but any will do.

 This is where I grew up...my second childhood home (we moved once or twice)

(This is our home now and I'm making ornaments of my kids as keepsakes)

How-To:

Using a printed copy of a photograph or image of your home, 

make a copy on plain white copy paper.

For my ornament I printed the photo as a 4x6... 

Whatever size ornament you use, 

make your copy about the same size, 

in order to fill the ornament with the image.

In other words...if you make small ornaments, print small photocopies.

You can choose color or black and white...either will work.

Choose one side of the ornament to be the front.

Paint the reverse side with a light coating 

of white craft glue and white craft paint mixed equally. 

Only paint the back side...

this will keep the ornament pretty on all 

sides if it twists on the branches of a tree...

While the paint/glue is still wet, sprinkle the glitter.

I like to do this over a piece of paper to make clean up easier.

I still get the glitter all over...but at least some 

glitter finds its way back into the container.

This glitter is a favorite of mine, because I get a variety of colors

and they come in containers that allow me to lightly dust my projects.

This glitter was from Hobby Lobby.

Once the glitter has dried... 

Trace the ornament shape onto the copied image of your house.

The image will need to be almost 

the same size as the ornament in order to fill the inside space.

I used a pencil to trace around the ornament and cut just inside the line.

Gently roll the cut image so that it can fit into the opening of the ornament.

Using the eraser end of a pencil can help to unfurl the image inside the ornament.

Fill the ornament with a small amount of imitation snow.

Be sure the snow doesn't cover the image... adding just a little works perfectly...

Tip:

I found that dipping the ornament into the bag of imitation snow was easier than trying to

 fill the ornament through the top opening... it was less messy for sure!

Re affix the top onto the ornament.

Tie with a bow (optional)

Enjoy your keepsake 

Home for the Holidays custom ornament!

You will be every one's favorite gift giver this season

 if you make a few of these sentimental treasures.

Wishing you a warm and cozy December day...from my home to yours!!

**Tip**  Need help finding a photo of your childhood home?? 
 If you need a photo of a home...try using local auditors websites.
Often they have images of homes (listed by address or street name)
that might work for this project if you
were unable to find a vintage photo of your home.  

Happy crafting!

This sweetly sentimental 'Home for the Holidays' ornament 

is being shared 

on the 

Home for Christmas blog hop 

brought to you by our friends at:

Hometalk.com

&
CountryLiving.com

Please be sure to check out all the wonderfully crafty 

Christmas bloggers and their fabulous projects below!

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