Traditions: Tiny Treasures

OOOOOOHHHHH.....the FUN has officially begun!!

There's something about Christmas that brings me great JOY.

That brings me to my next tradition.

TRADITION #2

I'll once again give you my "mom tips" at the end.

Our Tiny Homemade Ornaments.

We do this every year and it has become something that my kids look forward to.

It started with a good intention to make a special homemade ornament every year. 

I was going to be "supermom" and come up with a new crafty idea every year.

But, they have loved this one so much, that we have stayed with it.

(Such a smart move, if I do say so myself.)

We start with Sculpey clay.
It's a delightful clay that you cook and it's really easy to work with.
I save my lovely Jo-Ann's 40% coupon and buy it.
One package will usually last me 2-3 years,
depending on when it hardens. 

Then we buy these little treasures.
Get the smallest ones you can find.
I get mine at Lowe's, only because my beloved Walmart doesn't carry them.

And then the fun begins.

Believe it or not, my kids instantly become SILENT.

Not a sound.

.....so beautiful.

hee hee hee

They are very serious about their ornaments, and I get excited to see 

what new creations will be hanging on our tree.

We have acquired quite the collection, and they are some of my favorite treasures. 

We have a collection of a tater tot family.

We have a caterpillar family.

And they both get new additions every year.

We have tigers, Pokemon thingy-majiggers, Princess Leia and even an earless Yoda.

Poor Yoda.

(You didn't believe me.....did you?)

I've included pictures of some of my favorites.

I've saved the funniest for last. 

If you have a teen girl, you'll see why.

Mr. Penguin

(we ALL need a red penguin on our tree)

Whoville Tree

Israel made this years ago, and I still love it.

These are some of this year's new additions.

Our Lovely Ladybug

Adventure Time
It's always "adventure time" here in the Blaylock home.

Luke's "weapons of war"
Every tree needs a sword and a lightsaber.
Don't be jealous.

Sweet and Simple

Lucy Lu-Lu calls this her

"a riaryeoya-ya-ya"

.....who knows.

But I love it.

And I love that she made it.

Here are the funny ones.

Keely's One Direction Guys

I love them.

We listen to our One Direction cd in the car all the time, 

mainly because Lucy Lu-Lu knows every word.....

and sings at the top of her lungs.

It's one of my favorite things, so I now love One Direction.

And I NOW love Keely's One Direction ornaments.

So, there you have it.

One of my favorite traditions.

Now for my "MOM" tip:

You MAY want to have toothpicks handy.

For instance, you may have a lovely child who spends 25 minutes

carefully rolling each ball to make a perfect caterpillar.

And then you might bake that lovely perfect caterpillar.

And then that lovely perfect, and now beloved caterpillar.....may fall apart.

And then that lovely child may fall apart.

So.....

I've learned that if I insert toothpicks into these treasures,

they don't fall apart.

You MAY also want to wrap with great care when packaging up and putting them away. 

We learned the hard way with Yoda. 

...just sayin'.

HO HO HO