Dried Fruit Ornaments

So, have we mentioned how talented & crafty our mom is yet?! She really is the inspiration to so many of the things we do. Last year she made the most beautiful old-timey ornaments from dried fruit. Of course I had to give it a try and share! You can literally use any fruit & embellish them anyway you want. We live in a small apartment & our tree is really little, so I chose oranges, limes, & lemons since they're smaller fruits.

Really this is so super easy! Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, slice the fruit to the thickness you want them. A 1/4 inch is perfect, but being a lefty I'm slightly uncoordinated & as you can see mine are all sorts of sizes:) Then place the fruit slices directly on the oven rack & cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours, turning over half way through. If they begin to brown, they are definitely done.

After I pulled them out of the oven I sprinkled both sides with glitter. This is awesome because they're just barely sticky enough to hold the glitter well. Then I spread them on a cooling rack to let them finish drying out for the rest of the day.

When I was finishing these up I didn't realize I had completely ran out of glue & sadly I had no modge podge, but I DID have brads! Yep, I used brads to attach the ribbon:) Then my favorite part....we hung them on the tree. They add such a beautifully nostalgic touch. I love this time of year & am looking forward to all the many ideas & projects coming up. 

Happy Holidays!!!