MyTennisLessons loves a good Pinterest craft. And in 2014 we showed you how to make tennis Halloween costumes, how to throw a tennis wedding, how to make tennis home decor and how to throw a tennis party — all from the boards of our Pinterest account. But we felt that we were doing you a disservice by not actually trying out the crafts ourselves, and so, in dire need of some festive flair to spruce up our office, we decided to create tennis holiday decorations. Some of our creations were Pinterest-worthy, others not so much. Here’s what we learned in an afternoon of crafting if you want to create these decorations yourself.
Tennis Ball Wreath
Pinterest Version
Our Version
“My artwork is gonna bring happiness to everyone who gazes upon it.” — Dan
The tennis ball wreath wasn’t too difficult to make because Brian had the brilliant idea of using a toilet paper roll to form its shape. We used hot glue to hold the tennis balls together, but the wreath was pretty heavy and we thought it needed more support. Tommy suggested gluing popsicle sticks to the back of the wreath, which we found worked well. As you can see from the photo, we also discovered the wreath can double as a festive necklace. This may have been our most successful craft attempt.
Star of David
Pinterest Version
Our Version
“My Star of David is lopsided.” — Jesse
“I’m gonna sprinkle this like I’m spicing my food.” — Jesse
“Think this is blog-worthy? That’s what I was striving for.” — Dan
Making these Stars of David was easy enough — the frame is just six popsicle sticks layered together. The part we couldn’t figure out is how to get the tissue paper in between the frame. Instead we decided to decorate our stars with glitter and paint. Andrew created a Star of David with a MyTennisLessons touch (bottom right). Luckily the center of the star was the perfect size to hold a tennis ball.
Tennis Ball Ornaments
Pinterest Version
Our Version
“I’m gonna have glitter in my beard for years.” —Michael
Okay, this one is definitely a Pinterest fail. But before you judge too much, the inspiration for these ornaments came from a project commissioned by Vogue magazine. Top fashion designers like Tory Burch and Monique Lluillier created the tennis balls found on Pinterest, so we were not going to succeed in replicating them. All that glitters is not gold — and we used a lot of glitter. I’m pretty certain no one will be pinning these ornaments to their board, but they give our office a little sparkle.
Dreidel Desserts
Pinterest Version
Our Version
“I really don’t want to eat this.” — Dan
“It’s like sugar on a stick.” — Michael
I wanted to do a food craft in case anyone got hungry, and these dreidels looked super easy to make. Unfortunately, they barely resemble dreidels, plus they don’t taste very good. Michael was really the only one who liked the combination of flavors; everyone else preferred their Hershey’s Kiss, pretzel and marshmallow separate. Alex and Dan worked fervently to spread blue icing on their marshmallows so that no white space was showing. Then they deserted their frosting-covered marshmallows in favor of a plain one.
Festive Racket
Pinterest Version
Our Version
John was very concerned that there were no tennis-themed Chanukah crafts on Pinterest, so he came up with the idea to thread a Star of David within the strings of a tennis racket. It was a slightly challenging task to weave the ribbon through the strings, but the finished product looks pretty cool. I am definitely planning on adding this to the Pinterest board. Are we the first-ever to make one of these?
Getting Creative …
“I am a unique and beautiful snowflake.” — Michael
Michael wanted to come up with his own craft, so he created this Christmas tree using popsicle sticks, white tissue paper, ribbon and glitter. I really like its abstract quality and think this would be a great craft for older kids. Points to Michael for creativity!
“Look at that art. You can’t teach that.” — Dan
Tommy used the leftover popsicle sticks to make a sparkly sign for MyTennisLessons. Even though it’s red and green, I’d keep this decoration up all year round.
Inspired by the tennis ball wreath, John designed this tennis ball Christmas tree. Trey put it together using hot glue, glitter and popsicle sticks. Teamwork!
Finished Product!
Doesn’t it look beautiful? Everyone’s happier when the office looks happier. Trey even brought everyone breakfast this morning because he was so filled with holiday cheer. What do you think? Was this a swing and a miss or were our Pinterest crafts a hit?
P.S. Crafting is so exhausting …
