I set out to create a simple and fun ornament to send my parents and ‘oh how I have grown’ snowman ornament was born. Here is my process from gaining inspiration, to making the ornament personalized, to adding a poem to explain it.
Family
Family has always been super important to me. In fact, as a young child some of my fondest memories are from when my siblings would come home for the holidays. I am the youngest of 6 by 11 years so I am not only the youngest, but much of my childhood like an only, so I have always said I am a double spoiled brat.
I grew up in a modest size house and when slews of family came home it was chaos. Blissful, noisy, never a dull moment chaos. I remember one particular holiday as a young grade-schooler taking up residence for bedtime under the kitchen table as all other spots were spoken for. It was the best!
As the years have passed, I have remained close with my family. Some periods more than others, but I have always done my best to keep in touch with and include everyone. As the family grew larger and larger subsequently the gatherings also grew larger and larger.
As a married adult our house often became the hosting space and was littered with family of all ages. For many many years our home got to be the hub. The host spot, the place out of town family stayed for visits, and the place we all congregated. I was generally a nervous wreck preparing for the gatherings and lets be honest sometimes during but it fueled me. It fueled the selective extrovert in me. Generally, it would take me several days of hardcore introverting to recover but I LOVED it. I MISS it.
My Inspiration
Late fall of 2019, we moved several States away and being the hub for family gatherings is no longer possible. New town, new State, followed by COVID-19 it has been a trying year. It has been the longest I have ever gone without seeing family and I have been really missing them.
I started looking for a fun easy ornament to send my parents from the kids to bridge the distance some.
In my searching, I came across these adorable yarn filled ornaments by Golden Lucy Crafts: https://www.goldenlucycrafts.com/diy-clear-ball-christmas-ornaments/
I fell in love with these simple ball ornaments! Since I already had some white yarn on hand the ornament became a screenshot in my phone. Admittedly I rarely read tutorials as I am such a visual person. Horrible confession for someone who is writing tutorials I know! My course of action is to screenshot, and then forget where I got the idea from by the time I am ready to create.
This was no different. I just gathered my supplies based on what I assumed we needed from the screenshot on my phone. After making the ornaments and deciding to share with you all I found the pin. Giving credit where credit was due for my inspiration was important.
Personalization
I decided I wanted to make the ornament more personalized for my parents. They have not seen the kids in over a year so the changes in them are crazy huge. The idea I settled on to personalize the ornaments were to incorporate how much the children have grown. I did this by measuring their height. That measurement became the length of the ornament fillings and the snowman hat.
Items needed to construct your very own ‘OH HOW I HAVE GROWN’ SNOWMAN ORNAMENT
- Ribbon, string or yarn of choice
- Googly Eyes
- Fake Snow or Glitter
- Hole Punch
- Construction Paper
- Scissors
- Ball Ornament
- Glue
How to construct your ornament:
The Filling
- First, I measured my children’s height and cut white yarn in each length, blue string in one length, and pink string in the other length.
- I used what I had available at home which was the pink and blue string but these would be really cute with more Christmas themed ribbon as well.
- Next, I removed the top of the ornament and put the cut lengths of string into the ball.
- Then, I added the fake snow to fill more space (my kiddo’s heights didn’t fill it very full) and the fake snow gave it a really pretty glittery effect.
- You could use glitter or sequins as other options.
- I then replaced the top and closed it all inside.
The Snowman Face
- I started by gluing on the googly eyes.
- I used super glue as I was mailing the ornaments and didn’t want them to arrive faceless but you could probably use any glue.
- Next, I cut a triangle out of orange construction paper for the nose and glued it down.
- You could use felt, any colored paper or cardstock, or draw on the nose with marker or paint.
- I then hole punched black construction paper for the mouth and glued them to the ornament.
- You could also use colored paper or cardstock and just freehand circles, trace a pencil eraser, or just draw on the mouth with marker or paint.
The Hat
- For the final step, I again cut string at my children’s heights for the hat. One string for each of them. I ended up just tucking the end into the ornament top, wrapping it, and then securing the other ends under the string.
The Poem
~ I wrote a little poem to include with the ornament ~
I am no ordinary snowman, not just an ornament at all.
My stuffing is a representation of how us Ovens’ children grew up so big and tall.
It’s been a while since in person we got to see your smile.
A never-ending pandemic is to blame for this travesty and trial.
To children Christmas is full of magic and wonder.
But alas we are in the midst of a careless COVID -19 blunder.
Since this year we will be missing you, and you our presence,
We attempted to capture, bottle, and mail our childhood essence.
Many agree that the arm span is equal to height, and check we attempted ,but we wiggled and moved,
we must confess.
So, give or take a few inches, as neither measurement is an exact, and our size we stand tall and the size we hug,
you now possess.
So, what does all of this rambling mean?
It means that the ribbon that trims my head and fills my cute snowman face,
Fills it with blue, pink, glitter and white are sending you a HUGE warm embrace.
With this snowman ornament we do send, a hug and proof we refuse to stay small.
Pink and white for Miss K who is 51 inches AND Blue and white for Mr. H who is 33 inches.
Hugs and love to bide the time, until once again we can see you all.
With Love,
K & H (November 2020)
Written by our Mom
The finished ‘Oh How I have Grown’ Snowman Ornament
Your turn to create
I would love to hear if you gain inspiration from this post and make your very own ‘Oh How I have Grown’ Snowman Ornament!
