We painted, sanded, and glued 40 of these babies.My husband was able to use all wood he had hoarded before to cut these little wooden plaques. We then painted black on the edges and corners so that when they were sanded and scuffed, black would show through. Then I gave them 2 coats of white paint.(Tip: To make sanding easier and to give it the chipped paint look, run a candle on the corner and edges where you painted black. When you sand, it will rub off very easy and in clumps. I love this method.)
I then printed the picture off and modge podged it down. I simply used google images to find the picture I used. Search “Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child”, or go here. To hang, I used a hot glue gun and some hemp.
Then I mass produced the package – because that is just as important as what is inside, right?
I used white cardstock and my Silhouette SD and cut 40 top and bottom pieces for the box. That Silhouette is a goin’ machine.
Then I cut a lot of seersucker fabric strips.
I made a lot of tags.
And filled each box with some soft batting and the ornament.
I put it all together for 40 cute (and inexpensive) little packages.
And that was the most labor intensive thing I will be doing this year for Christmas.
I am working really hard to simplify this Christmas and enjoy more quality time with my family rather than stressing about all the gifts I want to make.
And it is hard work.
I keep getting ideas for homemade gifts and have to shove them to the back of my head.
But the sweet times I’ve already had with my husband and kiddos make it all worth it.
I can’t remember a Christmas together when I have enjoyed myself so much, and it is only the beginning of December!
Til’ next time.
Cute! I am trying how to stress less at Christmas too!
Nice article and very good topic .I really happy because your site is wonderful and very helpful site. Thanks such an amazing article great<br />
I really love your ornaments and the packaging too! I'm always on the lookout for affordable Christmas gifts, thanks so much for sharing your idea! 🙂
Hello Cami! I came across this post from Pinterest. May I ask what size wood blocks these are? Thanks tons! Lovely idea.
Do you rub the candle on the edges before painting with the white, or after painting with the white, just right before sanding? Thank you!!!
I am wondering how and where you got that picture. Did you copy it online and print it at home? I would love to do something similar to this for some teachers in our church so I would need to keep it VERY inexpensive. Love your blog. Thanks!
Was the picture just printed on regular paper or photo paper? And did you mod podge over the picture or just the block and stuck the picture on it? Love it and thanks for sharing!
I am wondering if you can tell me where you got the picture from? Thanks!
What size is the block of wood? This is a lovely ornament and anyone would be pleased to receive it.
For everyone asking, I found the link where I got the picture. Scroll down to chapter 6, and you'll see the picture. Copy and paste in word and make it the same size as your block.<br /><br />http://ldsces.org/inst_manuals/doc-gosp/doc-gosp-01-10.htm
I would really like to have the picture for re-creating the ornaments you shared but the link does not work for me. I have shortened, copy and pasted, re-typed it but keep getting error messages. Is there another link<br />(crossing fingers)that I could try?
The link I mentioned above doesn't seem to be working. I simply googled images "mary and joseph and the Christ child" and it comes up. Or you can try this link. https://www.lds.org/media-library/images/christmas?lang=eng<br /><br />Hope that helps!
simple and beautiful, what are the dimensions?
Did you print these on regular paper? We are going to attempt these for our primary kids. Thanks for the darling idea!
Am also wondering about what kind of paper you printed on? Cardstock or regular?
I used regular paper. I felt like the cardstock would seem to thick where the regular just sits nice and flush with the wood.
Can you answer a couple of questions on this ornament, which by the way is so cute and I can’t wait to work on this project for a holiday craft exchange party I am attending this year. What was the size of your block and did you rub the candle wax on before or after painting the black and/or white?
Thank you for any help
I am really unsure of the size of the block. Hobby Lobby or any craft store should carry pre-made blocks just like this. You can print your image to the size of the block. You rub the wax on top of the black where you want the white paint to chip off. It keeps the top layer paint from sticking and easily reveals the bottom color.
Do you have a guesstimate on the size?