Ornaments that Document

The year that Ted and I bought our first little country cottage together, we wanted to give gifts that would also serve as announcements but of course, we didn't have a lot of money left that Holiday season.  What I did have, though, was a bag full of leather scraps that I found in the Garment District, a small box full of random jewelry fasteners, and some fabric paint.  Ted had a leather punch and some good wood glue.  I found some festive ribbon and after about three days of our little assembly line, we had about 45 ornaments to send out, each slightly different.  The paint is metallic and quite opaque and worked perfectly on the leather.  We ripped paper squares for a rustic look and glued them to the back for documentation.  Et Voila!  Homemade Christmas Gifts done! And it's fun to go to apartments of friends and family and see little likenesses of our Gingerbread House (that's what we affectionately call it) hanging on the tree.