Christmas Ornament

Jesus is the Reason!

Jesus, Gentle Shepherd,

this cane of red and white

proclaims the sweet

love story born

on Christmas night.

This cane, you see,

when turned around

begins your name of Love

and now becomes a symbol

of peace proclaimed above.

The lively peppermint flavor

 is the regal gift of spice.

The white is your purity

and the red your sacrifice.

And so this cane reminds us 

of just how much you care

and like your Christmas gift to us

it's meant for all to share.

My inspiration came from a tutorial to make sun catchers. I saw a kit in the Oriental Trading Co. magazine to make ornaments like these but while normally the things in the magazine are pretty cheap. The kit was going to be upwards of $40. I totally wanted to do this with my kindergarten Sunday school class but thought that I could figure out how to do it cheaper. The sun catchers tutorial gave me the idea to use regular pony beads and cookie cutters to keep the shape.

You'll need a candy cane cookie cutter (or other shape),  beads, parchment paper, a cookie sheet, and an oven set to 400 Degrees to make your own ornament.

Place parchment paper on the cookie sheet, placing the cookie cutter of your choice on the parchment paper. Organize the beads in the cookie cutter. Place in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.

Let your ornament cool and add some string.
You've got yourself a homemade ornament!
You can either hang it as a candy cane.

OR my favorite option as a J for Jesus!

Happy Crafting!