2017 Ornament Exchange

Welcome to the 2017 Ornament Exchange & Blog Hop! This year, there are 47 amazing bloggers participating in the exchange. The rules of the challenge were simple: be partnered with a fellow blogger, create a handmade ornament for $15 or under, create a tutorial, and ship the ornament off to a new home!

Here is the important information for the exchange and all the players - if you have a moment take a quick look and leave some happy love for all the crafty makers.

Happy holidays

Meet the 2017 Ornament Exchange Hosts

Erlene ⋅ My Pinterventures Kim · Made In A Day Amanda · The Kolb Corner

Shirley · Intelligent Domesticatons Michelle · Our Crafty Mom

Beverly · Across the Blvd. Christene · Key to Inspiration Pili ⋅ My Sweet Things

Nicki · Sweet Parrish Place Megan · C'mon Get Crafty

Hilary · Raising Fairies and Knights Emily · Two Purple Couches

Tina · One Crafty Mess Marie · The Inspiration Vault Debra · Shoppe No. 5

Trisha · Rosewood and Grace Jeanie · Create and Babble Katrin ⋅ Kreativ K

Terri · Christmas Tree Lane Maureen · Red Cottage Chronicles

Toni ⋅ Small Home Soul Ula ⋅ Lulu & Celeste Sue ⋅ A Purdy Little House

Pamela · Home On The Corner Lorelai ⋅ Life with Lorelai Cindy ⋅ DIY Beautify

Debbie ⋅ Tweak and Style Stephanie ⋅ Swoodson Says Chelc ⋅ Inside the Fox Den

Susan ⋅ Super Mom - No Cape! Molly ⋅ Just a Little Creativity

Roseann ⋅ This Autoimmune Life Angela ⋅ Simply Beautiful by Angela

Vicki and Jenn ⋅ 2 Bees in a Pod Joanne ⋅ Our Unschooling Journey

Tylynn ⋅ Bitterroot DIY Sam ⋅ Raggedity Bits Mary ⋅ The Boondocks Blog

Cyn ⋅ Creative Cynchronicity Dione ⋅ Clever Chameleon Quilting

Erica ⋅ Erica Ever After Chelsea ⋅ Love Paper Crafts Evija ⋅ From Evija with Love

Samantha ⋅ Little Bits of Home Hope ⋅ Hopes Crafty Niche Anne ⋅ Orange Bettie

Pam · P.S. I Love You Crafts

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Hey there - My partner for this exchange was the wonderful Debra over at Shoppe No 5 - shoppeno5.com - she is a crafty girl and does awesome upcycled furniture makeovers - I sent her the above snowman ornament and she sent me a cute handmade ornament made using a clay pot - wait till you see it...

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This is my first year participating in this swap and boy are there a lot of us involved. It’s kind of a big deal!

We were  paired off with partners and were to make an ornament and share the tutorial on how to make the ornament we were  sending about partner. 

Wait till the end to see the finished ornament - pretty please!

So I started with paperclay and a styrofoam ball the size is up to you - these balls can come as big as 5 inches. I chose the 2 inch ball 

I use water and my palms to flatten out some clay and then spread it into the ball, the texture helps keep the clay in place, and keep  adding clay to cover the ball until it’s nice and even.

I added small balls of clay for cheeks and again use water to smooth out the lumps and make them look like they belong. I used more clay to add the nose and pulled on it to stretch it out some. Then I used a toothpick to make a crooked smile.

It takes around 24 hours to dry - i put my snowman head on a skewer so it dries all the way around. Once it dries use acrylic paint to add the face and details - as you can see from above I changed his smile and used dots instead —

Then decorate to your hearts content. I have made hats out of paper before or use a store bought snowman hat (Joanne’s carry them) I made mine out of felt. Seriously no sewing just cut out a circle for the bottom, a rectangle for the tube and glue closed and then a smaller circle for the top-easy peasy! 

Ha-isn’t he cute!!! Imagine the possibilities - the different hats the decorations or collars... here’s hoping my partner enjoyed her ornament. Let me know if you make one of these  and tag me in the photos on Instagram @onecraftymess


Here is the awesome cottage I received from Debra - isn't it the sweetest thing ever.

FIND ALL 47 HANDMADE ORNAMENT TUTORIALS BELOW AND SHARE YOURS TOO! Use Hashtag #2017OrnamentExchange so we can see your creations on social media.

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