DIY 'Family Tree'

For Christmas and Hanukkah this past year, I wanted to make something special representing both sides of our families since we will soon become one huge and loving family this year. So I decided to make two family trees for both sides of our families that included our parents names at the top and then the siblings names, followed by the grandchildren. And by now, I'm sure you're saying, 'Yes Lauren, I get what a family tree is.' Anyways, I wasn't sure how I was going to go about doing this until I found this really beautiful piece out holiday shopping at Target (another love of my life) and thought it was perfect for the job!

Now I know this is a bit dated, but it turned out to be a really fun craft and gift idea to our parents so I thought I'd share this one. And now that we have a new little one already added to the family, (no, not us. My sister and brother-in-law of course) I have to whip up another name charm for our little Avery with the supplies that I have saved for her arrival.

Here is a zoomed in capture of the name charms.

This tree sculptures were actually candle (tea light) holders when I found it, but I saw much more to it once I got my crafty hands all over it.

Here's what you will need to make the charms:

- Metal ornament hooks (what's great about these is you can bend them as much as you'd like)
- Jewelry hoops, any smaller size will do, I chose silver (found in the jewelry isle of JoAnn's)
- Black felt with the peel and stick adhesive already on the back (this is to finish off the backside)
- Printed names (I typed mine out on the computer)
- Silver metal accent frame stickers (packs of 4 found in the scrapbooking section of JoAnn's)
- Glass beads or any other decorative beads you may find. I chose green to mimic the leaves on a tree.
- Hot glue, the key ingredient to ALL craft rooms
- A ruler
- Scissors

For this project, since the charms are pretty small you have to keep the hot glue usage to a minimum or else it will glob up easily because the charms are pretty small. The frames are about 1.5" x 1.5" in size before you decorate with beads and a hook.

In the near craft-future, I will try to document the entire project, step-by-step so you can see how I created it, but since this project was pre-Crafty Corner, I'm just sharing what materials you will need to use and hope for the best. (if you decide to try it out) I have faith in your inner-Crafter!

Until next time...