50 Button Crafts: idea #43 – button ornaments (stack style)

Posted on November 17, 2015 by tellingfamilytales

tree ornament made from buttons by UK lass in US

Got a box or jar full of buttons carefully saved by your mother or grandmother? For 2015 I’m in search of great ways to put those buttons to use. Here is this week’s idea:

The button tree ornament above was the first ornament I noticed using the buttons stacked to create the shape. Since then I’ve come across several more ingenious was to use buttons to make simple shapes. With each shape there are potential ways to connect with family stories and memories. Here are several more button ornaments to get you started. Click on the photos for more information, if it is available. Which shape is your favorite?

button ornaments or pendants by milomade.co.uk

button Santa ornament via Pinterest

button ornaments from Martha Stewart

button snowman ornament from funEZcrafts.com

It would be a good idea to document where the buttons for your project came from and any relevant stories or information about that person or family. If you are looking for more button crafts, check out my Pinterest board.

50 Jar Gifts: idea #43 – Snowman Mason Jar

Posted on December 26, 2014 by tellingfamilytales

Snowman Mason Jar from polkadotchair.com

Here is another fun and simple idea from the polkadotchair.com. My plan was to post this on Monday but the week got away from me with finishing Christmas gifts for family and friends. Boy I am sure out of practice with getting posts done. But even though I didn’t get this posted before Christmas the snowman theme is good for at least a few more weeks. Does your family have some fun traditions centered around snow or making snowmen? This jar idea would be a great way to share a story or invite your family to a snow themed event. Several years ago when we were in the mountains cutting down our Christmas trees we found a huge snowball that someone had made. We had lots of fun climbing on it and taking some family photos.

Raelyn & Bill sitting on the giant snowball with Shadow & Ginger looking on

If this idea inspires you, let me know. I’d love to share your project here too.

Want some more ideas? Visit my Pinterest board dedicated to jar gift ideas.

Frosty – Unveiling

Posted on November 30, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

the unveiling of Frosty the Snowman

Tonight was the official unveiling of my candy covered sculpture inspired by Frosty the Snowman. At about 6:30 p.m. with a gathering of family and friends and the crew of Cold Stone Creamery we remove the butcher paper covering my snowman. It was fun to see every ones reactions. All seemed to enjoy it. I loved it when a young toddler pulled up a chair so he could see the window better. The owner of Cold Stone organized a scavenger hunt to encourage everyone who came to see South Jordan‘s Light the Night to see all the candy window. By going to the 5 stores and turning in your sheet you got a free small ice cream cone. It was a great idea and lots of people took advantage of it. It made the night that much more fun.

I didn’t get any close up shots taken of my window. I’ll have to go back and get some more pictures taken and post them here. Tonight was more about enjoying the experience than taking photos.

Candy Sculpture Class

Posted on January 3, 2012 by tellingfamilytales

Tonight I taught a class at the Gale Center. The purpose of the class was to expose potential candy artists to the basic principles of creating a sculpture out of candy. We ran into a couple of challenges. There was no requirement to register so we had no idea how many people would come. We prepared for 20 and about twice that showed up. The second was the kids. We had lots of kids show up. Actually most of the participants came as families. There was lots of scrambling to get the needed supplies and power to all of the glue guns but everyone seemed to have a good time. There was lots of chaos and all thoughts of teaching how to make the little snowman step by step disappeared after the first set of instructions. The students all seemed to have trouble with getting the snowflake sprinkles I had to cover the Styrofoam balls to stick. But they were all very creative in how they did their hats and other parts of the snowman. I think we will be doing more classes in the future but we will require registration and have separate classes for adults and kids/families.