Gift for Mommy and J...

My Dear Grandson wanted to make an ornament for his Mommy and J for Christmas.  I saw this simple ornament made from clothespins and thought it may be perfect.  This morning I showed him the video on how to make it and his huge smile told me it was a winner!  As per the instructions, I grabbed 8 clothespins from my bag and he happily began twisting them apart.  A few were a bit ornery and grandma helped yank them apart.  Then came the dangerous part!

While Grandma used the hot glue gun to arrange the pieces into the proper shape, K went through my ribbon drawer and picked out the perfect ribbon to hang the star from the tree.  He measured off a 14" piece of ribbon and after I made the cut I fashioned it into a loop and glued it in place.  There is a little more glue glopped onto the back than had been used in the video but the glue was just not holding well.  Does anyone know if glue sticks have a shelf life?  No worries, though, as I pulled the thin plastic from the inside of a pill bottle lid and wrote on it his name and the year with Sharpies.  When the ornament is finished the label will be glued onto the back.

Next comes the painting.  Of course I have absolutely NO acrylic craft paint in my supply cabinet!  What kind of crafter is without acrylic paint?  Once I drop K onto the school bus I will run to JoAnn's to pick up some paint and also some iridescent glitter.  Glitter wasn't part of the video, but he wants his star to shine!  He also wants something blue and shiny on the front!

While the paint may not cover every inch of the star, he had a BLAST painting.  While the paint was still wet we sprinkled on some super fine glitter.  I don't think I will ever get all of the glitter out of my sewing room rug, but that is what childhood is about, right?  A bit more glue glopped onto the heads of the upper portions of the clothespins and the "blue shiny button" stayed in place.  I just hope he can keep quiet until Christmas morning to give it to them!  He is SO excited!!!

Today he and I played chess.  It has been quite a while since we played and surprisingly he still remembered everything.  Now that he is really beginning to strategize it is even more fun.  We have a "standing date" for noon Monday through Friday before he goes off to school.  I will get his "little gray cells" all warmed up for his afternoon kindergarten.

Life is good!

Toodles...