Christmas Crafts

1.  Knitted Heart - Mosiah 18:21 

Hearts knitted together in unity and love is the stake theme for 2017.  When President Robert Walton spoke of that in a meeting, I was caught up in the symbolism.  I hoped to find something already made that we could buy to use as a gift for the Stake RS Leadership meeting, but there was nothing.  So, after searching pinterest for hours, doing some Russian translation, and trying a couple of ideas, I came up with this:

It's made out of clay.  We had to make at least 70 for the women in the stake and then I made another 20 or so for my own friends and family as Christmas gifts.  It really filled my desire to make an ornament this year. 














2.  Sweet Tooth

Every year we give each child an ornament to represent something that they did or learned that previous year.  Aubrey has been working at an Endodontist's office this year ... they focus on doing root canals.  The doctor has been teaching her to do x-rays and assisting during the actual procedures.  We thought Aubrey may have found her career, but it doesn't seem to be her cup of tea.  Still, she has learned a lot and made a lot of money with this job.  

 I tried to find a cute tooth ornament I could buy, but there weren't any.  I made this out of felt.  It came out so cute with the glittery holiday spirit.  She loved it and thought it was store bought.















3.  NYLT (National Youth Leadership Training)

 Our goal this year was to give gifts that cost no more than $10 and could even be hand made.  We wanted to give Jon an ornament that represented his NYLT experience this last summer, but there wasn't anything that specific.  So Brian decided to make one:

 This is a tiny replica of the staff each scouter was given at the end of their training.  The silver spoon was a prize Jon's troop got for making good food throughout the week.  Jon was super surprised.  We all loved that Brian made it himself.  Such a good memory.













4.  Holiday Holes 

 We went away to Utah for Christmas.  It seems that every year when we go on vacation we end up with some sort of leak in our house.  Luckily, we've learned to have house sitters stay and protect our home.  This year was no different.  Just 2 days before returning home a leak was detected.  We came home to this:

 Brian has already put up dry wall to fill the hole.  He'll do the taping and texturing after chatting with the plumbers.  Such a fun project to work on for 2017.