"Christmas in a Frame"
This ornament is meant to hang near the Christmas tree and it is special because it is made from leftovers and discarded materials. It is also special because I used a very old tree topper we decided not to use any more. The old topper was from our college days when we didn't have much money and it was very cheap, but it has sentimental value and I hated to throw it away. So I replaced old burnt out bulbs with the extras that came with other sets of lights and made it glow once again.
The frame can be any size, depending on how many lights you want to put in it. For the star frame I used an old 16 X 20 I had stored in the barn.
Space out some wood screws on the back of the frame so that the frame sits away from the wall when hung. For the star frame I put two on each side and one in the middle of the top and bottom.
Using a staple gun, stretch some material over the frame that light can pass through. For this frame I doubled up the material because it was too see through.
On the front side decorate the material/frame like a package with ribbon and a bow. Staple gun the ribbon to the back of the frame. I used glittered pine cones for the larger one with the bow. From the back I used a safety pin to hold on the bow.
I used fishing line tied to the screws to attach the topper onto the back of the frame where I wanted it to shine through and used a piece of plastic left over from replacing a bathroom sink screwed to the frame to hold its base to the frame.
On the larger version I placed screws every four inches or so on the frame and zig zagged the lights back and forth on the screws. That's it, plug it in and enjoy!
Editor's Note: Remember to never leave plugged in decorations unattended.
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Copyright © 2010 by Marj Locker. All rights reserved.
