The Jesse Tree

I learned about Jesse trees about two years ago.  Last year I looked on etsy.com for Jesse tree ornaments and just couldn't settle on anything.  I really wanted to make my own ornaments but it seemed like one more thing.  I did purchase The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean with the intention of using it this year.

The children are older now and craft projects are often a family fun filled time.  With a Thanksgiving tree that can easily transition to a Jesse tree, a yard full of branches, two teenage daughters, and a husband qualified to train previously mentioned daughters in the safe use of power tools, this seems like the perfect year for a Jesse tree.

We took the notes of thankfulness off the tree and replaced them with some plain gold ornaments. 

I selected several branches from our yard to be used for our Jesse ornaments.  K16 learned to cut discs using the circular saw.

H13 used the drill to create a hole for hanging each ornament.

One hundred twenty five ornaments ready for drying.  I placed them on the oven racks at 217 degrees for an hour to help dry the wood so we could use them right away.

The plan is for each child to paint an ornament each day as we read the selection from The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean.  We'll seal the ornaments with Modge Podge and hang them from the tree.  I anticipate the project will be worthwhile and challenging.  I look forward to sharing our progress with you.