Tuesday, October 20, 2020

Camp Cozy: Ornament Making and Leaf Collecting

 




Slow, crisp mornings were a lovely way to start the day. Sipping on cocoa and tea, chatting about Christmas gift ideas and snuggling around the fire - all cozy and bringing warmth to our hearts and hands. 

When camping, the biggest decision is what to do first: sit by the fire, read, go for a walk, look at the creek or take a nap!

































Ok, more about the leather ornaments! I've had this idea pinned for a while and struggled to find the leather strips at a good price - the original post had a link to a spool on Amazon but it came with so little that the cost per ornament was way too high. I'm so excited to say I found a much better option!

Here is the original idea post. I ordered the grommet kit that she links in the post. My only complaint about the kit is that the tool used to pierce holes in the leather is already bending from use, so I'm not pleased with how quickly that happened and will probably let the company know. 

For the leather, I searched all over online and just couldn't find a good deal for the leather strips. Finally I looked at Hobby Lobby and found a 3 pound package of scrap leather - basically pieces that have been used for other things but still big pieces and multiple colors and thicknesses included. The scrap pack has a ton of leather in it and was marked $9.99. The day I happened to be in the store, all leather items were 30% off, so I got it on sale, but you could use a 40% off coupon for even a better deal. So far, Rachel and I have made over 20 ornaments and have hardly made a dent in the leather that was included! Cutting it is an added step but I think it is very worth it for the cost savings.

I'm so excited to give these as Christmas gifts this year and I had so much fun making them! Of course there was still plenty of time to go for a walk and collect leaves for clipping up on the clothesline!

And be sure to check out my article in the Fall issue of Bella Grace with 40 Simple Ideas for Slowing Down!















































































5 comments:

Heather said...

Such wonderful pictures! I have a question on the ornaments you made. What size rivets did you use the most? I am looking at doing these with my kids and wondered if we needed the small, medium or large ones more. Thanks for the tip about the scrap leather!

Tina said...

Just a really exceptional place. And Scout, is he not the perfect dog?!

Debbie Fisher (debbiedee) said...

I love all the photos and the leather ornaments! I don't know if you were using your 40% off coupon for something else while you were in Hobby Lobby or not, but wanted to let you know that if something is on sale for 30% off or anything under 40% off and you don't have anything else to use the coupon, you can tell them at the checkout that you want to use your 40% off coupon on that leather and they will. I have done this many times.

Monica Wilkinson said...

@Debbie Fisher: you can?! I didn't know that and I am so happy to learn something new about saving at Hobby Lobby!!

@Heather: I used the medium and large size from the kit. It depends on the thickness of the leather - so on the thinner pieces I used the medium and on the thicker, I used the larger. Hope that helps!

@Tina: isn't he!? :)

Mom said...

Camp Cozy is the perfect name for this campground! :)