In 2017 I bought and fell in love with my pencil Christmas tree. While shopping in Michaels I saw some tall, skinny artificial Christmas trees that I call "pencil" trees and thought they might look nice in our family room. My sister had bought a tall, skinny artificial tree a few years before for her living room as the tree she had was just too big for the room and was really, really happy with it.
So I thought about our Christmas trees over the years and wondered if the pencil tree would be good for us too. The problem with our Christmas trees every year was they always ended up in the dining room, living room, or sun-room. That's okay, but we spend most of our time in the kitchen and family room, which isn't big enough for a large Christmas tree without moving some of the furniture out, and as a result we don't really get to see much of the Christmas tree.
So, I mentioned this to hubby and we went to look at them as they were on sale in 2017. We both thought it would be nice to see a lighted Christmas tree (albeit tall and skinny) in the family room. So, we bought one as the sale price was good and brought it home.
After setting it up I put on all the ornaments I've made, my mother or sister made, or were given to me by family members and I was determined to uphold this tradition with my skinny tree. I wasn't sure the tree would be big enough to hold them all but decided I would give it my best shot.
Well, I was pleasantly surprised when I was finished. I was happy to see that all my decorations fit perfectly. In fact, I loved the way they looked on the "pencil" tree as it really highlights the decorations and there's still plenty of room to add more. That's when I fell in love with it.
This year I had made quite a few new mixed media ornaments like small gingerbread houses and small decorated presents cubes and was hoping there would be room on my pencil tree for them along with everything else I like to put on it. To my delight everything fit including my new decorations.
I couldn't have been happier and even more in love with my pencil tree. It is just so beautiful this year. I'm happy, hubby is happy, Mr. Jolly is happy, and the little doggie is happy.
Like the past two years both Mr. Jolly and the Little Doggie took their place of honor next to the pencil Christmas tree.
Shown in the picture above is one of the 6 small mixed media gingerbread house ornaments I made for my tree this year. I just love how they look on the tree.
Also shown is one of the first wood craft ornaments I made close to 40 years ago - a Popsicle stick sled with miniature bear on it. They still look good as new and have survived all these years.
Just below the gingerbread house ornament is one of the jingle bell bead ornaments and one of the icicle beaded ornaments my mother and I made decades ago during a crafting weekend. There is another one to the top and right of the gingerbread house - one of the white beaded cross ornaments. It was during this crafting adventure that I discovered how difficult beading really was. You definitely need steady hands and a lot of patience.
To the left of the gingerbread house ornament is one of the cross-stitch stocking ornaments I made a few years ago from the "Joy" stockings ornaments cross-stitch kit. There are four of them on my tree now.
To the right of the gingerbread house ornament is one of the mixed media goddess dolls that I made. My goddess doll adventure began in 2008 and was finally completed in 2014 with the creation of 10 beautiful goddess dolls, with 4 being angels that I decided to add hangers to so I could put them on my Christmas tree.
Also shown in that close-up picture is a pair of old fashioned skates ornament that was given to me years ago by my niece. There is a close-up picture of these skates below that gives you a better view of these skates.
The picture above contains several handmade ornaments:
1) A tiny wood reindeer upside down clothes pin that I made close to 35 years ago. My sister-in-law and her mother had been making them that year and I loved them so much I decided to make some of my own.
2) One of the larger mixed media ornaments I made in 2015 after hubby cut the wood for me in 2001 and which I didn't have the time to finish for fourteen years - the green stocking.
3) Several cross-stitch ornaments I made over the years - one of my "Jingle Bells" cross-stitch ornaments - the Santa, one of the "Joy" stockings cross-stitch ornaments, one of the Santa cross-stitch ornaments, and two of the "Stained Glass" cross-stitch ornaments - the tree ornament and the angel ornament.
4) One of the Wee Winter Whimsies ornaments I made after taking Hally Levesque's Class at Artful Gathering - the pink angel.
5) Another one of the mixed media gingerbread house ornaments I made this year,
6) Another one of the wooden Popsicle stick sled ornaments that I made close to 40 years ago - with Christmas presents on it.
7) A paper bell ornament handmade by our "beloved" Kim and granddaughters over 30 years ago. The yarn hangers on the paper ornament our "beloved" Kim and our granddaughters made are getting a little worn after thirty years but that can be easily fixed. The ornaments are sentimental favorites for our Christmas tree every year.
My Dimensions Santa & Snowman Cross Stitch Ornaments
"Stained Glass" Ornaments Kit by Design Works Crafts
The picture above contains several handmade ornaments:
1) Three of my new mixed media cube decorated Christmas presents cube ornaments.
2) Two of my new mixed media gingerbread house ornaments.
3) One of the Mary Engelbreit Santa Felt Pre-printed Ornaments I made.
4) One of the Santa cross-stitch ornaments I made.
5) One of the Wee Winter Whimsies ornaments I made after taking Hally Levesque's Class at Artful Gathering - the green angel.
6) One of the larger mixed media ornaments I made in 2015 after hubby cut the wood for me in 2001 and which I didn't have the time to finish for fourteen years - the Santa head.
7) One of the green beaded tree ornaments my mother and I made decades ago during a crafting weekend, one of the white cross beaded ornaments and one of the icicle beaded ornaments we made that weekend.
8) The Santa "Joy" cross-stitch ornament I made years ago.
9) Two of the "Jingle Bells" cross-stitch ornaments I made - a heart and a candy cane.
10) There is also a long silver twisted silver icicle type ornaments that hubby and I bought from an artisan who works with metals and was selling some of his metal ornaments at a local crafts show.
What I love about these metal ornaments and some spiral metal ornaments we bought from him are they reflect the lights making the Christmas tree so much prettier. Kind of like a permanent type of tinsel which no one uses these days.
One can't complain, however, as the tree always looked beautiful - that is until my dad got the idea of changing all the bulb lights from multi-colored to all yellow. Yellow!!!
In the picture above you can see a close-up view of some of the ornaments I previously mentioned as well as another one of goddess adventure doll ornaments and my Dimensions cross-stitch tree ornament I made. That ornament was the first cross-stitch plastic canvas ornaments I had ever tried.
The picture above is a better close-up of the mixed media goddess doll that I made during my goddess adventure. This mixed media angel is one of my favorites. There's just something beautiful and calming about her.
Just below her is a white ceramic doggie ornament that I had made for my "beloved" Bud.
In the picture above you can see more of the handmade ornaments I made:
1) At the top of the picture is a small snowman in a terra-cotta pot that I made close to 30 years ago. I love crafting with terra-cotta pots and have made many different types of terra-cotta pot crafts over the years.
2) A better view of the "Jingle Bells" candy cane cross-stitch ornament.
3) One of the larger mixed media ornaments I made in 2015 after hubby cut the wood for me in 2001 and which I didn't have the time to finish for fourteen years - the blue mitten.
4) One of the mixed media gingerbread house ornaments I made this year.
5) One of the "Jingle Bells" cross-stitch ornaments - the peace heart.
6) Two of the green beaded tree ornaments my mother and I made during one of our crafting weekends.
7) One of the Wee Winter Whimsies ornaments I made after taking Hally Levesque's Class at Artful Gathering - the navy blue angel.
8) One of the mixed media Christmas presents cube ornaments I made this year.
9) On the middle of the right hand side of the picture is a paper-clay red Santa head ornament that my sister made for me years ago. She made five of them that year and every year they take their place on the tree. They are quite heavy so one year I decided to hang them off the curtain pull backs in my sun-room. Another year I decided to hang them off the knobs in the kitchen. You never know year to year where you may find them.
In moving around the tree to the right and shown in the picture above is one of the two Victorian ball ornaments I made one year. After making it I decided to create a free e-pattern for all of you so you could make some of your own. There is also a close-up of another one of the terra-cotta snowman ornaments that I made and one of the "Let It Snow" stocking cross-stitch ornaments I made.
Going back to the top of the tree, in the picture above you can see one of the terra-cotta Santa decorations I made, two of the paper ornaments our "beloved" Kim and granddaughters made one year - the blue candle and green tree, one of the terra-cotta floral ornaments I made many years ago, one of the white beaded trees my mother and I made, the old-fashioned skates my niece gave me, and another one of the mixed media gingerbread house ornaments I made this year.
The picture above shows a better close-up of the gingerbread house ornaments I made in the previous picture.
Moving around the top of the tree you'll notice a red felt bird ornament. It was another one of the ornaments my former mother-in-law made over forty years ago during the Christmas season for her church bazaar. It's a red felt bird ornament glued to a metal hair clip.
Also shown is another one of the Mary Engelbreit Santa Felt Pre-printed Ornaments I made and the "Sunday Night" cross-stitch church ornament I made.
In the upper left hand corner of the picture above is one of the handmade metal spiral ornaments hubby and I bought at a local craft fair one year. Just below it is a black wool felt doggie ornament I made.
Also shown above are one of my cut and sew doll ornaments - Jerry Snow Guy, one of the snowman cross-stitch ornaments I made, one of the terra-cotta snowman ornaments I made, one of the mixed media gingerbread house ornaments I made this year, and one of the Wee Winter Whimsies ornaments I made after taking Hally Levesque's Class at Artful Gathering - the light blue angel.
In the lower left hand corner of the picture is the "Best Friend" cross-stitch ornament I made.
In the picture above you can see a close-up of one of the larger mixed media ornaments I made in 2015 after hubby cut the wood for me in 2001 and which I didn't have the time to finish for fourteen years - the gingerbread man, two of the handmade metal ornaments hubby and I bought from an artisan at a local craft show, one of the "Stained Glass" cross-stitch ornaments I made - the poinsettia, one of the mixed media Christmas present ornaments I made this year, one of my sister's Santa heads ornaments, and one of the Wee Winter Whimsies ornaments I made after taking Hally Levesque's Class at Artful Gathering - the red angel.
In the lower right hand corner of the picture is a red cross-stitch heart ornament I made. There were several ornaments in that kit, but I only made this one. It just took way too long to cross-stitch this one ornament. So, I put the rest aside for when I made more time. That was 15 years ago and I still haven't made them!
The two pictures above shows a close-up of some of the handmade ornaments from the previous picture.
The picture above shows a close-up of one of the terra-cotta Santa ornaments I made, one of the "Jingle Bells"cross-stitch ornaments I made - the peace bird, one of the snowman cross-stitch ornaments I made, and my mother-in-laws angel that she gave me one year.
I can remember when she gave this to me. She was so proud of it as she had made it at a local senior center she went to during one of their arts & crafts days. I love it and put it on the tree every year as a tribute to her.
The picture above shows a better close-up of one of the mixed media gingerbread house ornaments I made this year and the angel ornament my mother-in-law made.
A close-up of another one of the mixed media gingerbread house ornaments I made this year.
On the bottom left of the picture above is one of my cut-and-sew doll ornaments - my "Alexander Snow Tsar." To the right of that is a hand-painted house ornament that hubby and I bought years ago at a local craft show from an artisan who paints beautiful acrylic houses. We loved it as it sort of looks like our current house.
In the picture above you can see a close-up of another one of the wooden Popsicle sled ornaments I made, one of the "Joy" cross-stitch stocking ornaments I made years ago and one of the larger mixed media ornaments I made in 2015 after hubby cut the wood for me in 2001 and which I didn't have the time to finish for fourteen years - the snowman.
The last ornament and most precious ornament I have is an ornament I gave to my Grandmother when I was 15 years old. It resides at the top of the Christmas tree every year and was one of the few items my Grandmother kept with her in the nursing home she was in before she passed away.
I hope you enjoyed seeing all ornaments on my pencil tree this year. Happy holidays to all.
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