Punched Tin Christmas Tree Ornaments: An Easy To Make Children’s Craft

Posted Nov 25, 10 -Filed Under children's crafts (recycled materials), crafts (recycled materials), gifts from recycled materials, holiday crafts: Christmas (recycled stuff), metal cylindrical | 12 Comments

These vintage inspired punched “tin” ornaments are so easy to make. I’ve been meaning to post this project for ages. I love history and learning about how people lived. Isn’t it inspiring how resourceful and creative people can be. The early Americans were no exception, because glass was so expensive and not very durable, tin was used to make lanterns. Because tin wasn’t transparent like glass, holes were punched in the sides to allow the candle to shine through producing a beautiful display of spotted light. Often times elaborate patterns were made. These lanterns were my inspiration for this project. Although not necessarily tin, these metal tops make perfect sized ornaments. Furthermore, the edges are already smooth.

I hope you spend some quality time with the kids making attractive Christmas tree ornaments using salvaged materials.

These ornaments and many more were done free hand. My girls sure liked making them.

You will need a small hammer, a selection of nails, and a board or other hard surface to work on.

You will also need “tin” tops and ribbon or thread.

To make:

1. Collect the tops and bottoms of cylindrical packaging from chips, crescent rolls, biscuits, dinner rolls, etc…

2. Get a pattern or draw your own on paper (or use no pattern at all). When I make some patterns, I’ll post them here.

3. Hold or tape in place the pattern you are using. The pattern should be centered on your “tin” top.

4. Use a hammer and nail to make holes. Make sure you have a board (or an old cutting board) underneath so as not to ruin your table. Use a workbench if you have one.

5. Add an extra hole in the top for stringing a ribbon or cord through to hang on tree.

Another Spadefoot Toad in MD! Alive and Well

Posted Nov 22, 10 -Filed Under Nature: plant and animal identification | 1 Comment

Yesterday my husband found me this live Eastern spadefoot toad in our yard while doing some digging. He remembered my recent post about the dead one I found and knowing I’d be excited, he saved it for me to see. It makes me wonder how many times I’ve come across a toad like this. At first glance, it looks similar to the common American toad. But if you look closer you will see that they look very different. For example, a spadefoot doesn’t have the glands (large bumps) on its head that an American toad has.

A toad that spends most of its time underground is hard to find. Are any of you Marylanders finding this toad?

I love its eyes: amazing!

So cool: I now have live Eastern spadefoot toad pictures to share!

We let it go of course, after this photo shoot.

Time To Install Storm Windows In The Chicken House

Posted Nov 11, 10 -Filed Under Chickens, seasonal: fall | 3 Comments

Here is a picture of our henhouse which was built almost entirely of salvaged materials.

In the fall before it gets really cold, I like to start winterizing my chicken houses. I cover screen windows with “storm windows”. I get out of storage the pieces of Plexiglas that I made a few years ago for that purpose.

Each window is custom fitted with a “storm window”. Therefore, to make it easier to install, I used a permanent marker to write the location of the window that it fit over.

How to tips: Measure and cut out pieces of scrap Plexiglas. I used a box cutter and a metal ruler to score the lines. Then I snapped it over the edge of a work bench. This primitive technique works well enough for chicken house window covers.

To attach the Plexiglas, pre-drill holes making sure that your exterior grade screws can freely fit through. Plexiglas will start to crack if the drill hole isn’t big enough. (See crack at the top of the window in picture.)Use the kind of washers that are rubbery. That way you can get a snug fit without stressing the fiberglass.

In the spring, I remove these window coverings.

More on winterizing our henhouse in another post.

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    Are you having any trouble understanding some of the instructions? Feel free to send me a quick e-mail at HesterJane@FunInTheMaking.net. I’ll do my best to answer your questions. Do you have any suggestions regarding a specific post? Maybe you have a better way and would like to share it with the other creative people visiting this site? -Hester Jane