Kitchen Tree

Because I am crazy, when I finished my daughter's second round of Sesame Street "deep cut" muppet dolls*, rather than celebrating by taking the day off and enjoying the fact that they were done, I went out and bought another (small) Christmas tree to decorate.

I found a pure white three-foot tree (not iridescent or glittery, just white) and a white wire string of LED lights (multicolor). I already had a plan to make the ornaments for it, using recipes cut from vintage magazines and pasted onto oval paper maché things. I bought paper cupcake cups in an argyle pattern, harlequin patterned ribbon in lime and cherry, and from the dollar store: lime plastic measuring spoons, cups, a tea ball, and four hot pads in lime and cherry. I already had on hand four large copper cookie cutters, another tea diffuser, and two small wooden spoons that were Easy Bake oven accessories (that my daughter never used).

Here's how I made the recipe ornaments:

1. Paint the edges and a bit of the surface you're gluing on.

I used 12 of these; 6 red, 6 green, and each color had 3 of each shape.
(3 green ovals, 3 red ovals, 3 green rectangles, 3 red rectangles)

2. Make a template by tracing the edge of the ornament(s) you're using and cutting out the center. (This will be your guide to see if the recipe you want to use will fit.)

3. Find a recipe to use. (I used ads from vintage December issue women's magazines.)

December 1957 Family Circle

4. Use a template to see if the recipe will fit on your ornament(s).

5. Trace the outline of the ornament onto the recipe as a cutting guide. (The ornaments I used were not perfectly uniform, so I traced the ornament I was using onto the recipes.)

6. Cut out your pieces, checking first to make sure there isn't anything on the back you want to save.

7. Play with the placement, determine if you need more paint, and glue your pieces down. (I used a glue stick.)

The Pet Milk can covered up too much of the recipe.
I used it on the other side instead.

8. After the glue dries, spray sealant on the ornaments. Embellish as desired.

Finished, front and back. Back has a bit of paper tape as embellishment.

On the tree, with some of the other ornaments visible.

Materials needed: Paper maché ornaments (bought at Michael's), vintage magazines, paper (for a template), paint, glue stick, clear spray sealer, embellishments (scrapbook paper, stickers, ribbon, glitter, etc.).

Here's a few more, front/back views. You can see I used paper to cover the ornament
on the left view, top right, and then pasted the recipe on top of that.

All of the ornaments I made have a photo of the thing the recipe is for, because I love the look of those old magazine photos. You could also use photocopies/scans of family recipes (never, ever use originals, unless you're writing a new one just for this project).

I am still making ornaments for this tree. I have some little felt chocolates I'm making, and plan to make some cupcakes, too. More on those when I'm finished...

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* This time, it's Dr. Thad and the Medications. The dolls turned out great, but they're slightly out of scale with Little Chrissy and the Alphabeats, because I had to recreate the pattern. I hope she doesn't notice and insist that Little Chrissy et al. be remade...