Friends & Family

OK so it isn’t the first day of Christmas but today, it feels like it. 

We’ve officially kicked off the holiday with wooden ornament crafting courtesy of the nice women at APO Industries.  And when I say courtesy, I mean courtesy.  Rebecca was kind enough to send us a sample pack of wooden ornaments – free –  and all she wanted in return was for us to enjoy ourselves and then blog about it.  So here I am, blogging about it and we really did enjoy ourselves.

Let’s do a quick review of the Flamingo House children, shall we?  Michelle is almost 17 and today, she is sick.  She also is in the midst of college finals.  Yes, let your imagination loose and you are probably getting a clear picture of Michelle today. 

Next, we have Prince J who is 13 and even on his best day will tell you that he would rather NOT be painting.  And on a day when a brand new Eragon for Gameboy was waiting, well let your imagination wander and you’re probably getting a clear picture of Prince J. 

Next up RJ, who is 11, and always agreeable even though she’s begun to experience that pre-teen angst.

And then Miss E who is always up for painting and crafting but is especially appreciatiave of holiday crafting.  There you have it – the kids who participated in the holiday wood ornament painting event.

Let me tell you – it was fun.  And I’m not being even a little sarcastic.  Michelle was not her bubbley self but she did smile and she didn’t hide from the camera.  Prince J giggled all of the way through his painting, even as he said he’d rather be …. (fill in the blank).  This kid will rant and rave about crafting but he always does it with a smile and a laugh, it’s actually one of his most redeeming qualities. 
RJ chose the most complicated of ornaments and she did an excellent job.  The gold star on the candle makes it seem more festive, she says – and she’s right.  Miss E loved her rocking horse and reminded me very much of the year Jennifer and Christopher painted wooden horses for the holidays.  Kids grow too quickly.  Miss E enjoyed her painting so much that she painted the extra shape and would have happily painted more. 

For awhile, I thought we might pull out the wood burner and do a little creative burning onto these cut-outs.  I think Prince J would have liked that and the shapes would have handled the burning just fine.  Not enough time for that tonight, maybe next time we’ll give that a try and then stain the shapes with an antique red or antique green stain.

Yes, there will be a next time.  You can see the entire gallery of photos, here.

Now about the wood cut out ornaments.  The set we had was the Jack Collection – 5 ornaments for $5 and free shipping.  The shipping was very, very fast.  The only thing you need to remember is, it doesn’t come with paint and the set doesn’t come with string or ribbon.  I don’t find either of those to be a problem, having paint around the house is always a must when you have kids and I prefer to choose my ribbon and string for these sorts of things anyway.  Rebecca also sent us the Dog at the Mantle – 2006 ornament.  I’m actually going to stain that and use it as an embellishment on a gift for a certain family member who shall remain nameless because he/she reads this blog.  Heh. 

If you’re looking for a wood ornament craft then I’d recommend Rebecca and her mom at APO Industries.  And if you order, I’d love it if you’d blog about it and link me to your blog.  (Especially if you share photos of the fun!)

On the first day of Christmas…. lalalala