I know today’s Christmas craft is quite similar to Tuesday’s Wool wrapped ornaments, but what the heck; I’m blogging about it anyway.  Our wool wrapped trees were actually the inspiration  behind these Lacing Tree Ornaments.  These were fun, because they were a sewing activity and craft all in one.

I started out by gluing some wallpaper samples to cardboard (it was the box from a frozen pizza), and then cutting out tree-shaped triangles.  

I took a hole punch to the cards, punching lots of random holes in some of the cards, and for others, punching only around the edges of the cards.  If your punch is easy enough to use, your child can make the holes.  My punch is way too stiff for the Hooligans to use, so I did the punching.  It’s also missing the little cap that collects the punched holes, so whenever I use it for a project like this, the floor is covered in confetti afterwards.  Note to self:  ask Santa for a new hole punch.

An assortment of yarn in yummy colours and textures:

Here’s a little tip:  look for yarn whenever you’re at the second hand shop.  It comes in handy for so many crafts and activities.  I rarely have to buy brand new yarn for crafting because the thrift shops always have a decent supply of it.

My Mom picked up all of this embroidery yarn at an auction sale the other night.

Once the kiddos have chosen their wool, they can sew their card any which way they like.  Toddlers and preschoolers won’t likely follow any particular order with their sewing, but older children can do a whip stitch or a blanket stitch around the edges.

Plastic sewing needles, that you buy in the knitting section of the craft store, are perfect for little hands to lace with, but if you don’t have a plastic needle, fear not!  I came up with this awesome substitute.

•  Cut a short length of a slim drinking straw to serve as your “needle”.
• Make a small slit in one end of your straw.
• Thread your yarn through the straw and secure it in the slit to hold it in place.

It works like a charm!

We secured our wool to the back of the cardboard with a bit of tape.

Here are 3 ornaments that we made using JUST wool.

For some fun, we broke out the sparkly gems, and added some shimmer and glimmer to the rest of the ornaments. 

Wanna see ‘em?

So there you go.  Another tree ornament to add to your collection, and a fun fine motor activity too!

Happy lacing!  And happy holidays!