Little Women Inspired Christmas Craft

Hello sweet friends! ! Welcome to the November edition of the Pinterest Challenge. This monthly event is hosted by the amazing Cindy of County Road 407. If you are coming over from A Stroll Thru Life let me say, “Welcome to Storybook Cottage”.  I always love Miss Marty’s thrifty crafts! Today’s post here on DTA shares a Little Women Inspired Christmas Craft.

1860s Christmas Decor Styles

This month’s challenge was to create a Christmas ornament. I recently had announced that this year’s theme here at Storybook Cottage was A Little Women Holiday. 

Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, begins in the early 1860s. 

Small tabletop Christmas trees were all the rage. 

If you were wealthy, like Theodore (Teddy/Laurie) and Mr. Laurence, small glass and tin ornaments could be purchased.

Most trees were decorated simply with small gifts and candles which were lit for just a few minutes each evening. 

Little Women Inspired Christmas Craft

Popcorn, cranberries, paper chains, might also decorate the tree and home. 

The hanging of the greens, such as pine and holly, served a number of purposes. The fresh greenery brightened dark winter rooms and helped to keep the house smelling fresh. Rooms were often shut up with fires continually going to keep warm. It could get a bit smoky. Hearth cooking was also still used so greens helped to freshen up stale food odors.

Dried apple slices, cinnamon sticks, star anise, dried and/or cloved oranges might also be displayed as pretty room refreshers.

However, oranges were still considered a delicacy in this period of time. 

With all that in mind I considered what the March sisters might make in the way of an ornament. Certainly they would have had to use what they had on hand as money was in short supply. 

Just a few weeks ago I had planted holiday paperwhites (narcissus bulbs) in small canning jars. 

In the spirit of the March’s and the time period itself I did not throw away the unused canning jar rings and lids. 

The repurposed lids and rings formed the base of this ornament craft. 

Mr. Decor drilled a small hole on one side of each ring. The rings and lids were then spray painted in red and white. 

Other Supplies

I rummaged around in my craft closet to see what I could find. This is the perfect craft to use up your scraps. 

• Various scrapbook paper 
• Assorted ribbon
• Small picks and embellishments
• Dresden trim (Found on Etsy for a previous project.)
• Glitter
• Glue
• Paper craft punches (Cricuts can also be used.)
• Scissors

Back in 2018 Graphic 45 released a Little Women inspired collection of scrapbook paper which was perfect for this project. (You can still find the collection on Etsy and eBay.)

However, feel free to use whatever color palette or theme that suits your décor. 

I used a craft paper punch on some of the paper images then attached them with craft glue to the front and back of the lids. 

Coordinating ribbon was threaded through the hole and knotted. A dab of hot glue keeps it in place. 

Next, the lids were glued down inside the rings. Then various trims were hot glued in place to cover the ribbon knot and any gaps. 

All That Glitters

This last step is optional, but it adds so much. A layer of craft glue is applied to the sides of the rings and then given a liberal coating of glitter. 

The extra touch of sparkle in the soft candlelight is so pretty. 

The backs of the ornaments also feature various images but the overall look is like this:

I am decorating two trees this year. One for the Laurence family and one for the March sisters. 

They will be shared on my holiday home tour on Wednesday, December 7th. 

I hope you have enjoyed this Little Women inspired craft. Up next is My Wee Abode. You’ll love Julie’s Christmas ornament. 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Laura

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