Inspirational Ornaments

December 17, 2010

As the girls get older it is comforting to witness the importance that our holiday traditions take on. The holiday season comes to life as we share in these yearly rituals as a family and remember the years past.

One tradition that we look forward to every year is making our own holiday ornaments. This year we decided to add some uplifting sentiments to our Christmas tree. We used these lovely ornaments (I have been eyeing them for years) as our source of inspiration.

The night before we made the ornaments, I asked the girls to think of some words that inspire them or make them feel good. I must say this was a wonderful experience. I loved hearing what they came up with. We took out a handy dandy piece of list paper and wrote them all down…

After discovering and falling in love with this blog, I decided to use this recipe and these baking directions for our ornaments. After making the dough the girls rolled it out and used cookie cutters to create the shape they wanted. It was interesting to see how they thoughtfully selected certain shapes (circle, heart or star) to coincide with specific words. Next, they used alphabet stamps to spell out the words (another great lesson). We tried to make the letters without the squares around them to no avail—so we decided to go unapologetically with the square borders. Before we baked our creations we used a chopstick to make a hole at the top. When they came out of the oven and cooled down, I took them outside (in the freezing cold) and sprayed a quick coat of clear glossy paint on them for added durability.

Our inspirational ornaments have been a lovely addition to our Christmas tree. Not only do they add a wonderful homemade touch, but they remind us of what is most important about the holiday season.

Happy Holidays!

 

Mariah

Mariah

Founder at Playful Learning
Mariah Bruehl is a parent, educator, entrepreneur, and author of the book Playful Learning: Develop Your Child’s Sense of Joy and Wonder (Shambhala Publications, 2011). In 2008 Mariah brought her expertise online, creating the Parents’ Choice Gold Medal award-winning Web site Playful Learning. In 2011 she launched the Playful Learning Ecademy, which takes virtual-learning experiences to a new level by incorporating the best practices in education with engaging hands-on lessons, bringing parents and children together from all over the world into a unique, creative community environment.
Mariah

@playfullearning

Amazing Little eCourses for Life's Big Lessons—For Children + Their Grown-Ups
Simple tips for keeping toys organized and engaging for the little ones in our lives… http://t.co/Q8tI1PK22u - 1 day ago
Mariah

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7 Comments

  1. Linda Miller said on November 1, 2012 #

    I loved these ornaments, but I didn’t see the recipe you used for them.  Would love to have it!!
    Thanks,
    Linda Miller

    Reply
  2. mariah said on November 1, 2012 #

    Hi Linda – I used this recipe: http://www.themagiconions.com/2009/11/make-playdough-with-our-recipe.html
    Enjoy!

    Reply
  3. Linda Mann said on November 3, 2012 #

    Thanks!!

    Reply
  4. Donni Webber said on November 12, 2012 #

    Hi Mariah… wow, I love your ornaments. Both of my kids are so into writing now that I know they’ll really enjoy making these inspirational ornaments. Thanks for sharing the idea … and for the link love :-)
    Blessings and magic,
    Donni

    Reply
    • mariah said on November 13, 2012 #

      Hi Donni – Thank you for the inspiration! I am a big fan of your work…

      Reply

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