Dried Orange Ornaments

Is it even 2020 if you aren't making dried oranges for Christmas?  I don't know if I'm seeing these everywhere b/c I decided to do it, or if it really is just a popular craft this Christmas.  I ordered a feather tree (a new "old" style b/c I've been looking for years for a REAL old one, but no luck).  I decided I was going to do oranges, fake candles, and a popcorn garland, so....first up I used some oranges that were pretty soft to the touch thanks to good intentions and bad planning on my part a few weeks back.  

I sliced my oranges to about 1/4 inch thickness and I lined a pan with parchment paper...just b/c I didn't want to have to work to get out the orange flavor.  

I baked my oranges at 250 for about 2 hours.  When they look pretty juiceless, and felt firmer to the touch I pulled them out.  I didn't want them to get too brown.  

I had picked up these large needles in the yarn section recently for another project and they were perfect.  

I strung bakers twine through and tied off a loop for them to hang, but you could keep going if you wanted a garland instead.  

Now...I'm just waiting for my faux feather tree to arrive.  

Christmas Tree Sign

     Normally I make these little signs randomly and I send them with my mom to her little antique booth and that's the end of that, but....quarantine.  So, I've now started posting all the random things I'm making on Instagram and now...the blog.  I have all these misc pieces of projects sitting around my house-in my garage, craft room, or (this piece of wood) my backyard. 

      They are things I've held on to thinking I'd do something with them someday.  I guess today is someday.  I wanted this sign to look like an old tree farm sign, so I painted it green, and then sanded it down to make it look 'rough'.  I cut out the word TREE FARM on my Cricut and pressed down the outline (not easy to do on rough wood-the more you sand, the easier that is, but-don't do this if you are a perfectionist).  I used a sponge paint brush and dabbed on some mod podge to keep my paint from spreading too much.  When that was done, I sponged on some white paint.  I then flicked it with white paint on a paint brush so there are speckles to make it look even more imperfect.  

      I added a random wooden tree I had left over from a mobile I made more than 4 years ago, added a wire, random fabric and a rusty bell and ta da.  Another piece of junk finds a new life.  

Sleigh Ride Sign

Another quarantine craft.  I had some old wood in my backyard I should have tossed a year ago, but...I decided to make a scrappy sign out of it.  I used my Cricut to cut out stencil using some old vinyl.  I used some left over quilt batting to make the gloves that I hung on the metal with a rope.  I tried to rough up the edges with a little sandpaper and I splattered white paint all over with a toothbrush because I always like how that looks!  I don't know why I'm stuck on Christmas crafts in March, but...there's nobody around to judge those decisions!