For a quick backstory, I’m gonna jump back to the year 2018. As a family, we decided to make it a yearly thing to come together every February/March so that we didn’t lose touch. Early in the new year would allow us the chance to get together for the holidays, but not interrupt other obligations we had with work or in-laws! I wanted to create a memento for everyone that represented where we were at that year. This is where the wooden Christmas ornaments come in!
Finding Something to Earmark Our Annual Gathering
Our first year was 2019. We went to Freeport, TX. I picked up old, smooth, thick shells from the beach and carved the location and date into them. I wanted to keep with the theme of finding something unique to our trip location so that we all didn’t end up with 20+ of the same ornaments, just different dates. So, when last year came around in early February of 2020 (before the States shut down), we went to Pagosa Springs, CO. I picked up a twisted pine branch from a fallen tree beside the condo and decided to make wooden Christmas ornaments!
Every year, I bring the previous years ornament as a gift. So in Pagosa Springs last year, I gave the seashell ornaments from Freeport. This year, I gave the wooden Christmas ornaments from Pagosa Springs.
Hopefully that makes sense!
Anyways, I wanted there to be something even more unique about these ornaments. With the seashells, I made little tassels and hung beads/sea creatures from them that reminded me of each family member. Since I was in the middle of starting Schaedings this year, I decided to go with simple, small designs. One to represent the men and one to represent the women. I felt in the holiday spirit and decided to do snowcapped mountains for the men and a single snowflake for the women!
Beginning the Wooden Christmas Ornaments with My Trusty Hacksaw!
I began by using my trusty hacksaw, the same one I used in my drying house construction. Uniformity and “perfection weren’t in my plan, so I quite literally just clamped the branch down and began hacking away! I got through five of them before I went to find some extra muscle help from The Consultant for the last two.
After I sawed the various widths off the end, I sanded them smooth. Before starting to Dremel the simple designs into the rounds, I needed to drill small holes on the tops for the string to go through so they could be hung from a tree. I also needed to put the location on the back. However, I didn’t take the length of the town’s name into consideration when choosing the branch, so I opted to go big and bold with just CO (the State) and ’20 (the date). Typically, I’d choose to say Pagosa Springs, 2020. But, that was way too much information to fit on the back of the rounds that were only about 2 inches wide.
Getting My Stain On…
After I got the designs carved into each round, I wanted them to pop a bit more. I used my red mahogany stain for the women’s snowflakes and my dark walnut stain for the men’s mountains. They are subtly different in color, but not so close that it would be easy to tell which is which. It took me probably 10 minutes to decide whether to stain inside the design or stain outside the design. I wanted the snowflakes and snowcapped mountains to be lighter than the background. So, in the end, I figured that even though it would look more authentic to have the design stained, staining the background was the route I was going to take.
I didn’t want them to be shiny and smooth. Even though I altered the majority of the color of the natural pine, I wanted them to feel real. Instead of doing my usual four coats of brush-on polyurethane, I grabbed my matte, spray polyurethane. Only doing one coat felt weird, but it looked and felt the best. I was able to keep the natural look of raw wood. Not to mention, when you run your fingers around the round, you can feel the texture of the grain still! It was just as I wanted.
Hanging the Hangers
After I let them dry for 24 hours, I cut some string and did the simple slip-loop attachment. Originally, I was going to do one of those cool triple banded knot thingies that look nautical and awesome, but figured that would be better used for another year in the future. One where we hit the beach and I can work with some driftwood or sea glass!
Either way, I love how they turned out and hopefully the family enjoys this years wooden Christmas ornaments!
Don’t forget to check out My Shop to see other Schaedings creations! Have a great week and I hope your 2020 Christmas wasn’t TOO terrible! 🌲
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