Welcome to 2017 (a little belated) ! I thought I’d kick off the year on the blog by thinking back about the end of 2016. My year’s end was full of activity; between holiday prep, many cookie baking sessions with my four year old, and holiday meal planning, I made a bunch of ornaments for lovely people all over the country.

Custom and personal projects like these are so satisfying to make. Making these reminded me of how much small, thoughtful gestures mean when it comes to gift-giving. At a time of year that can get filled with busy plans, parties, errands and tasks, it is really nice to be able to take a moment, hang a special ornament on the tree, sit back and reflect on the year. Especially now that I have kids of my own, trimming the tree has become one of my favorite parts of the holidays. Unwrapping each ornament from the dusty box is like scrolling back through years of memories. It is a time-consuming holiday tradition in the very best way. I hope these ornaments become treasured heirlooms for everyone who got one. 

I hand made each ornament with a good old fashioned rolling pin, cookie cutters and white Sculpey clay, baked in the oven. I drew directly on the surface with oil-based paint pens. Here are a few details of  two custom house ornaments and a stack of pretty packages all ready to go under the tree.

I’ll be back next month with a behind the scenes look at one of my big projects from 2016. Happy Friday, friends!