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When I was a kid, I always wanted a themed Christmas tree like you see in stores or in the movies. We had the kind of tree with mismatched ornaments that had been handed down or picked up secondhand. No one can really afford to have all their ornaments match, right?
I was making ornaments out of air-dry clay, and putting the date on them with markers, when I had an idea I thought I would try.
I live at the beach and constantly pick up interesting shells and rocks. I have been wanting to use them in an interesting craft and decided I would start looking for very tiny shells and very tiny rocks.
Take old scraps of quilting if you have some or your favorite fabrics and cut out a few hearts and sew up leaving a small place to stuff them and then whip stitch them shut. Then hot glue green and red antique or old buttons on them for extra charm.
About 30 years ago I needed to make some items for our school PTA fundraiser. I bought some wooden curtain rings and some little angels at a craft store and glued the angels into the rings.
Little drum is made from frozen juice can, ribbon, toothpicks and cord. Cut can in two about an inch and a half from one end, or as deep as the ribbon is wide
To make this bead ornament, all you need are strings of beads from the Dollar store, bits of ribbon, and a tiny rose or holly sprig. Let your imagination flow.
Decorating a Christmas tree is a fun event that can involve the entire family. By creating homemade decorations, it can involve the family even more. A night spent making ornaments could be the moment when an heirloom is created, or at least a family memory.
This is simple but children love it. Decorate silver or gold store bought jingle bells with a sparkling ribbon and ring accordingly!
Few can resist these tiny ornaments - cheerful ladies with red head kerchiefs and hazelnut skirts dancing on an evergreen bough.
These darling ornaments are easy for children to make and can also be used for last minute gift ideas or for Christmas tags. They are inexpensive and quick and easy to make. I had most of the supplies on hand.
You will need a number of metal (or other heat-safe) cookie cutters for this recipe. It yields 12-16 small (around 2 inch) shapes, or 8-12 large ornaments. The exact yield will depend on the size of your cookie cutters.
Reusing Baby Mobiles As Christmas Ornaments. Each of my baby girls had their own infant/crib mobile. When the baby outgrew her infant/crib mobile, I took the mobile apart and made Christmas tree ornaments out of the pieces by attaching some silk holly and a pretty ribbon.
I am a library director and we no longer use book pockets, but I notice scrapbooking companies sell them and people use them for photos, mementos, etc. I have used this idea for a versatile, quick ornament that most any age group would enjoy.
You will need red or green puff paper (I get it at the dollar store), cotton balls, glue, a small pic of the kid that is doing the ornament, black gel pen, silver gel pen, and scissors.
Here are Christmas ornaments that I made at different items. For the icicle, take a white or silver pipe cleaner as long as you want. Take the crystal beads and start with the smaller ones on the bottom.
Drill hole first if you need to do that, paint shapes if you want, let dry. Take ice cream stick and apply snow to look like cookie frosting.
Intricate wooden snowflakes are painted white and hung on the tree with silver thread. An optional touch of glitter provides extra pizzazz for those who like their holidays to sparkle!
Put breast bone down and glue holly on top. Place a short piece of wire on back to hang.
Using a Styrofoam ball (I'd start with a med. size one), take medicine cups and put a small hole in the bottom of the cup burning the end of a needle.
This is a tip for wind chimes that can't endure wind and don't have too much chime. Such as ones that are constructed of plastic, nylon string, and thin aluminum tubes.
Very easy and cute ornaments :-) Have made dozens of these over the past quarter of a century and love seeing them on the trees of friends and family's homes who have kept them and still hang them :-)
As you know, young children tend to lose things. My son recently lost a mitten and I just didn't want to throw away the remaining one. So I decided to turn it into a Christmas tree ornament.
Almonds and walnuts painted gold or silver with a small bow attached are simple and lovely hung from the tree. Add a touch of glitter for extra pizzazz!
To make a Christmas elf sitting on the spool, wind some knitting wool on the spool. Glue it at start of winding, wrap around and glue a tab at the end to hold it. Leave a little piece dangling down.
Get or use some red ball ornaments, a little ribbon, mini muffin paper and a popsicle stick to put together a cute little candy apple ornament.
Here are two easy homemade ornaments. The snowman was made from a shotgun shell. Empty of course. It has a little felt cowboy hat that was purchased.
Rub yarn in glitter to make it sparkle. Great to use for kids' craft Christmas ornaments.
You can make beads to string on thread or thin elastic for bracelets or necklaces or Christmas ornaments by punching holes with a hole punch in Styrofoam egg cartons and meat trays.
To make these cute Christmas tree ornaments, an adult should cut across the bottom of an empty juice box to open it up. Rinse well and dry. Tape the slit back up. For a Bible, have your child cover the box with black construction or tissue paper. Wrap it like a little gift.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I want to make some Christmas ornaments. Does anyone have any good, thrifty ideas?
Jane
Long ago we took 2 or 3 inch styrofoam balls and some scraps of material and just place a small piece of material on the ball. With a spoon or nail file press the material in to cover about an inch or so of the ball. Use a different piece and just keep going around until the ball is covered. attach a ribbon with a pin and hang! Merry Christmas! Jean
I have used the lids from juice cans, and made punched tin ornaments. Use a nail and a block of wood, and one large nail hammered into the block of wood to secure it while you work. Certain designs, like a tree, angel, train, NOEL, 2000, star, holly are the most obvious ones.
Anything you can get your hands on is a potential ornament. Think about it.
Last year my daughter (6) and I made ornaments for our tree which are also momentos.
Here's what we did: 1st we took out pictures of all my children, especially when they were younger. We then cut out colored construction paper 1/2 wider than the picture.
We made about 15 of these and my children and everyone else that came to our home last year was thrilled to see something about their happy past on our tree.
We even gave them the ornament as a gift for their tree. My children were so blessed. It will always remind them of their holidays.
Joanne
Clothespin Reindeer
Use the spring type, remove the spring & discard. Paint or stain the clothespins brown (liquid shoe polish works.) Cut a piece of red 1/4" ribbon about 8-1/2" long.
It's real cute. You could also make a pin
by gluing a pin back.
I used this for my nursing home craft class and it was a big hit.
Ms. Syd Barr
When I was young, Mom made ornaments out of 'tin' can lids. She used tin snips to cut out designs such as stars, etc. One really pretty one was a circle than had cuts toward the center evenly spaced around the edge and bent upward. It looked like a mini turbine.
Another ornament that Mom made were beautiful fabric shapes, trees, patchwork squares, stars, stockings, etc. stuffed with batting and closed. She made use of the tinest scraps of material this way.
I have seen woven straw ornaments at garage sales. (I buy Christmas ornaments regularly at garage sales.)
Ornaments can be made out of sewing supplies, old Christmas cards, wrapping paper, ribbon (perfect for bows) and dried flowers and weeds.
You can melt old styrofoam cups in the oven on a cookie sheet. Set the oven at 250 degrees and place used cups, right side up into the oven. Watch them carefully as they will melt down and take on different shapes. When they start to take shape, take them out of the oven, let them cool, and use you creativity to decide if they are hats, or santa bags.
Warning: Do this in a very well ventilated room as the styrofoam will smell as it melts.
I have made these and sold them at church bazaars, and people love to find out that they are recycled!!
I made great ornaments from CD's They are shiny and a good size.I put family photos in the center with evergreen and small oraments around the circle.
I even made a clock. Went to the dollar and got a clock so I could use the mechanism . Attach to back of cd Looks great.
Glue Paper gold doilies around a paper drinking cup that has a point at the end fill with silk flowers or baby breath. Attach a ribbon. Victorian
Decorate an Altoid box punch holes top and bottom put ribbon into holes and hang on tree
Hope these ideas will help Lenore
Save all the colored paper that comes home from the kids school or from junk mail. Cut into strips and then make the strips into loops and make a paper chain.
Any ornament your kids make will always look wonderful on your tree even years from now.
I've seen walnut shell halves decorated and hung from ribbons.
The balls from a sweet gum tree spray painted and hung with a string or ribbon make great ornaments. Try using the seed heads from thistles or other weeds.
Paper snowflakes.
Looking to trade Cracker Box ornament kit instructions. I need "Very Berry" and "Baubles, Bangles and Beads". I have other rare and retired instructions to trade.
I saw ice cream cones with Xmas balls on top as Xmas tree ornaments. The cone was sealed with something to make it hard and sealed. It was clear. Can anyone please tell me what that sealer was? All the crafter would tell me is it is a plastic sealer solution you dip it in. Help! I want to make them for Xmas. Thank you.
By Lois Mathis from Corinth, MS
I am making primitive Xmas ornaments and would like to cut some stages. Can I mix Elmer's glue and instant coffee and brush it on the ornaments? Or can you suggest another easier alternative?
By Janet S from Rock Tavern, NY
I am looking for patterns for Christmas ornaments and decorations from 1900 to 1949. My mother-in-law had a beautiful set of hand made decorations from those years. Unfortunately, her house burned and she died in the fire and all the ornaments were burned. I would like to make ornaments like that and make up packages to give to family members in "Remembrance of Momma".
Thank you for any help you can give me.
Check out these photos.
These are little hand made stuffed chairs I am giving as ornaments. You may be able to see they open. One has a little teddy bear inside.
I like to use bark for crafts. This time I decided to make snowflakes from birch bark. You can hang these snowflakes on Christmas tree or use them to decorate Christmas gifts.
I was given a lot of circular needlepoint canvas shapes and found this quick and simple ornament to make.