My Take on the Christmas Kissing Ball...Mwah!

Who doesn't love kisses? Kissing Balls date way back and are a different take of the Mistletoe. I believe they became most popular in the 18th century Victorian Era. ( I am not a historian, so don't quote me;) ) A sign of romance. We all need a little romance right? Here is my take on the Kissing Ball...

You will need a foam ball, ( I think I used a 4 1/2 inch, but you could use any size) hot glue, moss, ribbon and greenery, berries or whatever you want to decorate it with. I re-used a foam ball from another project, and pulled out my bin of "leftovers". You don't need much for this, so saves those scraps from other projects!!

I then started covering the foam ball with the moss. One section at a time, apply some hot glue and then fold the moss over it. I love moss ( in case you didn't know) so I used pa-lenty.

I then pressed it around the ball firmly to form it. If you see places that need more glue or moss, stick it on and then continue to press it around in your hands.

I then took my ribbon, again leftover from a bigger project, and started at the top and wrapped it around to the bottom. Once it is down to the bottom, twist it around itself and then wrap up around the other side, back to the top. Kind of like wrapping a gift. (if this is making any sense at all) The amount of ribbon depends on the size of your ball and how much of a drop you want it to hang. (my hands always look so weird in these pics)

Back at the top wind it underneath your starting point and tie a knot. I leave on end longer than the other because this will be my hanger. You could definitely loop even ends up to hang as well and even tie a pretty bow at the top. The possibilities are endless!! I like to use wired ribbon so I can manipulate it a bit.

Once you have it tied, you can even it out around the ball and even take a pin or a dab of glue to anchor it.

Now for the fun part! You can use pine, holly, mistletoe, ivy. Whatever you have will work...no rules here! ;) Some of these are stuck in the foam, other glued on.

I had this great ornament that broke (of course I saved it) and it had sweet little red pine cones that I used as my "berries" for this project. Simply glued around the top. Ooooh, one day I'll show you what I did with the other broken ornament!!

I then added in some other smallish pine cones along with some more greenery from my "leftovers" bin. (yay!)

I kept adding and playing, playing and adding. I found some green berries in my bin to compliment, some more pine and smaller pieces of ribbon looped through. And...........

(drum roll please)

Here she is in all her Romantic Festiveness!

I think it turned out quite nicely, so I took lots of pictures for ya!

So, all and all pretty simple right? But a great way to add some romance to your holiday decorating!

You can hang them lots of different places. You could even stick them in your tree or hang them from your garland. Inside, outside on your porch, it's up to you! Or, what a fun hostess gift!

No fear decorating here. Just go for it! Everyone is their own worst critic. Don't analyze things to much and again, if it makes your home feel warm and inviting, you've done good!

I'm sharing at...

Super Lovely Christmas Star...Made From LEFTOVERS!

I love to make these cute decorative stars. They make a great accent piece with any decor throughout the season. Here is a quick and easy Christmas Star!

Alright. Confessions time. I don't like to throw anything away because "I might need it one day". ;) Seriously, my mother-in-law calls me everytime Oprah has that show about hoarders. LOL! I admit sometimes you need to throw things away but here is an example of what you can do with all that "crap". ( as my husband so kindly calls it ) Above you will see a nice little bin (me being organized!) where I keep some of my Christmas leftovers. I grabbed that and a star I already had...I'm sure I found on clearance somewhere! Ohhh Yeeaahh!!

Lets dig in. I found a sprig of twigs already bunched together. I attached this to the star with wire and hot glue and... some more hot glue. Now I have an anchor of sorts. Check out this perfectly wonderful pine I found!!

I stuck 3 sprigs of the pine under the wire with some more hot glue. Because it is flat, this pine makes a great backdrop. Next I found a couple little pine cone fellas. I tightly wrapped the stem with my green pipe cleaner and wound it back down to make it a little sturdier. (word?)

I wedged it down in the wire among the twigs and pine, with some hot glue. ( I love me some hot glue!) Then, a favorite trick of mine, covered my tracks with moss. Have I told you I love moss? I do. Look how it hides everything and looks great!

Now for a pop of color an orphan hydrangea bunch. I snipped of individual stems. This way they are light and easy to tuck in there with yet some more hot glue.

Time for the other pine cone friend. I used the other half of the green pipe cleaner to attach him in.

Cover with some more moss...

Add in some leftover berries for some more color.

Then I found a remnant of gorgeous brown tulle that I wrapped around the star, over the wire from the beginning, and tied it in a knot. A bit of hot glue will hold it in place. Trim up the ends and look for any place you might need some more moss.

I decided it needed some cinnamon sticks I found. Wrapped these together with pipe cleaner. To add a little more color and sweetness, I tied a bow around these before I stuck them in.

Ta da! Pretty cute eh?

This fun project took me about 15-20 minutes. For real! There is no wrong or right and don't judge it until your finished. Have fun with it and give it your own flair! :)

You can tuck this little star anyway in your Christmas decor. On a shelf, under the tree, in the tree or even on top of your tree!

Or, what a super cute gift!

Here is another one. Again made from just leftovers! :) What do ya think of this "crap" now, honey? Bwahhahahaha ;)

I will definately be posting more ideas on using leftover items, so hang on to some of those scraps! You never know!

I linked up to WFMW at WeAreThatFamily.com

I'm entered in the See Mommy Sew Tutorial Contest!