Canning Lid Ornaments

Happy weekend everyone.  To quickly update you on my ever-changing life:  I have a new job that is still in the field of social work but is Monday-Friday 8-5 (you know... a normal job!)  That being said, I am- for the first time since being married- really getting to enjoy my evenings and weekends with my husband and extended family.  This also means that I am going to start adding new blog posts on Saturdays, since it is a consistent day that I have off.  I also have an injured puppy right now (he tore the bottom layer of his paw pad off- ouch!) that is going stir crazy being stuck in the house with me.  I am hoping that this post makes sense, because my mind is on him right now.  So, if something sounds a little off, have mercy on me today.  Thanks!

Now, on to the post...

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend an Ornament Exchange Party.  I've never been to one before but I would totally recommend having one- it was so much fun!  My old college roommate (of 3 years) was hosting it.  The only requirement was to bring an ornament.  At the party, we played a sort of "white elephant" gift exchange so that everyone wound up with a different ornament than they came with.  Being a crafty person (you all understand) I couldn't just go buy one... I needed to make one.  Here is what I came up with:

If you've been here before, you might recall that I use mason jars for EVERYTHING.  Seriously, I have enough for a small army yet keep acquiring more.  I can't complain though, they are so useful! 


Making ornaments from canning lids is not an original idea, I do hope however that you can draw some inspiration from my three very different designs:  Classic Christmas, Pretty in Pink and Rustic Treasure.

{Classic Christmas}
Since I had no idea who these ornaments would be going to, I didn't want to make a set of rustic ornaments (my personal favorite style in about everything) and them be a die-hard classic Christmas person. So, I made both.

All I did was attach some blue paper to the flat part of the lid with glue.  The snowman is a sticker and the snow balls at the bottom are sticky "lumpy bumpys".  I finished off the design by hot gluing sparkly gems around the snowman.  Looking back, I would have used a finer point glue applicator because the hot glue made a mess!

Meanwhile, I painted the rim of the lid with white paint.  For that snowy affect, take a sponge brush and dab it onto the surface of the rim.  Don't worry if a little bit of the metal color shows through, that is what helps it achieve that look!

Once everything was dry, I stuck the flat part of the lid as far into the rim as I could, flipped it over and glued around the edges to keep it in place.  Sorry I don't have a picture of this.  I wrote "Ornament Exchange 2013" with a Sharpie on the lid but you can cover it with another piece of paper or leave it blank as well.  It's the back, so no one will see it when it is hanging.

Tie a piece of ribbon around the rim of the lid and allow room to make a loop so that it can hang on a tree.  All done!  Now you have a classic Christmas ornament.

{Pretty in Pink}
Since my friend Christine was hosting the party, I wanted to give her an ornament to help her remember her first ornament party. She loves pink, pearls and all things dainty and pretty. It's no wonder we are friends. I stuck with the canning lid theme but made hers a little more... girly!

 
This was basically made the same way as the last ornament with paper at the base.  However, here I added a chipboard flower (outlined in colored pencil) a "C" tag (for Christine) with a heart shaped brad and a piece of lace across it all.  Just as I have many mason jars left over from my wedding, that lace was a part of it as well- it was on our invitations! 

Please note: If you use a brad, attach it to the paper prior to gluing it to the lid.  It can be done afterwards, but it will be more difficult to puncture a hole in the metal.

The rim was pained the same way as the snowman ornament and it was finished off with a sparkly pink ribbon.  Perfect for my lovely friend.

{Rustic Treasure}
Now on to my favorite one. I love the rustic feel of this ornament and am thrilled to have been able to tie the "Christmas" theme into it!

 
Just like the others, it was started with a base paper and embellishments were added on top of it.  I LOVE paper that has words written all over it and this musical themed one fit perfectly into my idea of Christmas.  How many of you imagine singing classic Christmas songs from an old hymnal or from a yellowed piece of sheet music as a critical part of your Christmas celebrations?  I know I do.

After this, I added some thicker kraft paper and covered it with glitter.  I find this is easiest to do with spray adhesive and a sealant (after the glitter is on).  I thought the glitter would dress up the ornament a bit.

It was finished off with a "2" and a "5" (December 25... get it?) from the same punched letter set that I used for Christine's "C".  Lastly, I added some of my special wedding lace and the design was done.

I did not paint the rim because I thought it fit the look better without it.  Attach it the same way as the others and finish this one off with some thin jute twine.



{That's it!}
Ornaments are not one of my craft specialties but I had a blast making these! I had even more fun attending the party and getting to spend that time with some people that mean the world to me.

I took my mom along...

...and got to catch up with one of my best friends in the world...

I couldn't have asked for more!

{Your Turn!}
Which design is your favorite? Do you have any tips or tricks for those of us just dabbling into ornament making? For those of you who can create amazing ornaments without a second thought, I am in awe of you. I think I lucked out this time!

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann 

Rustic Wedding & Old Friends

Last weekend my husband and I had the privilege of attending a wedding for one of my dearest friends.  This guy not only is one of the best people I know, but was responsible for me staying at my college (I had a rough time freshman year) and possibly from gaining the freshman 15 (he rarely let me skip our racquetball sessions!)  All joking aside, he was one of my first real friends on campus and will forever be one of my best friends.  Watching him get married to his beautiful bride was the perfect end to my week.

 

His name is Dustin and he's a total dork, but so am I... that's why we're friends!

I knew that his wedding was going to be rustic themed but I was blown away with how darling it all was!  The venue was a mix of outdoor and barn, there were mason jars hanging from shepherd hooks as you walked between the two, there were signs pointing to the different areas (like "restroom" "barn", etc.)  It was so lovely.

Although I did not take pictures of everything, I wanted to share their favors with you (there were two!)...

After the ceremony, while the happy couple took pictures the rest of the guests had time to catch up with each other, snack on some food and drink from... you guessed it- mason jars!

If you've been following this blog long, you know that I am addicted to mason jars.  I use them for everything and almost every day.  Each jar had some twine wrapped around it with a blank tag on it to write our names.  What a darling way to keep track of our drinks.  I wrote out K. Saus and T. Saus (our last name is Sausaman) for myself and my husband.  I am pretty proud to be his wife as is, but there is something about weddings that makes me want to shout from the hilltops "this one's mine!"  Boy, would that embarrass him.

At the end of the night, we got to take home our mason jars!

Our other favor was sitting at the table when we arrived.  Adorable small burlap sacks tied with twine and finished with a personalized tag.  Think it can't get any better?  They were filled with candy!  Chocolate is a girl's best friend they say...

When they get back from the honeymoon I will have to ask if they made the tags or ordered them from somewhere.  I love the font used in the "Thank You" and love that it is personalized with their names and wedding date.

Although I can never get enough burlap or have too many mason jars, the best part of the night was being able to catch up with old friends.  Two of these guys I haven't seen since my wedding and the other since we graduated!  It's funny to think that we are all grown up now (each of us is married except for one who just proposed to his girlfriend a few days ago... she said yes!) and not just a bunch of college kids.  Anyone else with me on this?

It was a beautiful day and a beautiful wedding.  I still feel enormously blessed to have been a part of it and hope that it's not so long until we can all catch up again.

 {That's me and my husband with Dustin and his beautiful wife Brittani}

What is your favorite thing about rustic weddings?  I've mentioned that I am a sucker for burlap and mason jars (both in our wedding as well.) Or... are you not quite convinced that rustic is the way to go?  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Happy Crafting,
Kelsie Ann