DIY Christmas Ornament 18: Paint Dipped Pinecones

I’m not sure why I leaved my favorite ornaments for last, but this is by far one of my favorites. The greatest thing about dipping pinecones in paint is that they aren’t limited to being Christmas ornaments. I can actually keep these out year round since I’ve used soft natural colors. I expect these will end up in vases and bowls throughout the house for the next 12 months.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• Pinecones
• Push Pin
• Basic Wire Ornament Hanger
• Various Cans of House Paint
• Paint Stir Sticks
• Nail/Hammer
• Paint Tray
• Ribbon

Step 2:

Using a push pin, make a hole in the pinecone.

Thread a wire ornament hanger through the hole you just made.

Step 3:

Set up a paint station.

Using a nail and hammer, put several holes near the sides of the paint sticks. Balance them across the paint cans. Set a paint tray underneath the paint stick to catch any paint that drips from the pinecones.

Step 4:

Hold onto the wire hanger and dip the pinecone into the can of paint.

Tip: Use a soft brush or towel to brush any dirt off the pinecone before dipping it. This will minimize any stray dirt that gets into the can of paint.

Be sure to dip the pinecone slowly, holding it over the paint can for a few moments to let it drain a bit.

Step 5:

Hang the pinecone from the holes you put in the stir stick.

Step 6:

Continue dipping all the pinecones in the paint and hang to dry.

Step 7:

Allow the pinecones to drain/dry for at least 24 hours.

Step 8:

For those that you want to hang from the tree, use the hanger that is already hooked into the pinecone. For decoration, add a bow or ribbon around the hanger.

For all the rest, remove the hanger and decorate anywhere you like. The possibilities are endless.

Project Cost Breakdown (per Ornament):

Pinecones (Found – Already Owned) = $0

Push Pin (Already Owned) = $0

Basic Wire Ornament Hanger (Already Owned) = $0

Various Cans of House Paint (Already Owned) = $0

Paint Stir Sticks (Already Owned/Free from Lowes) = $0

Nail/Hammer (Already Owned) = $0

Paint Tray (Already Owned) = $0

Ribbon (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $0

 

I know that I originally said I would complete 20 ornaments; however this will be the last one of the series for this year. I have more ornaments than my little 3 foot tree will hold; and that least two will not be dry enough to share over the next few days. I hope you enjoyed the series, it’s been a blast to share it with you. If you missed any of the DIY Ornaments this year, you can see a full collection recap here.

DIY Christmas Ornament 17: Bells

Finally a bells ornament, right? No? Ok…well you get one anyway.

I’ve always had a fascination for bells around Christmas time. I think it’s the sound of bells that ignites the Christmas Spirit so it’s a shame it took me this long to come up with something for the bells.

Warning: I didn’t have a tripod while taking these pictures and the low light recorded every shake. I apologize that they are more than a bit blurry.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• 8 medium sized bells
• 1 thin, sturdy twig
• Ribbon or holiday bow
• Hot Glue/Gun
• Scissors

Step 2:

Thread the bells onto the twig, leaving some of the twig exposed at the bottom.

Step 3:

Using hot glue to secure the bottom bell to the twig.

Cut off the excess twig at the bottom.

Step 4:

Choose a holiday bow in which to top your bell ornament.

Wrap the adhesive strip from the bow around the twig at the top of the ornament. You may need to cut the adhesive to make it fit.

(sorry so blurry) Must. Find. Tripod. Now.

Step 5:

Using scissors, trim the ribbon to show the ornament or wrap the pieces around the bells.

Attach another piece of ribbon on the top of the ornament as a hanger. I used a small piece of white ribbon and secured it with hot glue.

Project Cost Breakdown (per Ornament):

Holiday Bells (Already Owned – Originally purchased from Michaels for another project) = $0

Twig (Found Object) = $0

Holiday Ribbon (Already Owned) = $0

Hot Glue/Gun (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $0

DIY Christmas Ornament 16: Marbling

I know I’ve said it before, but this one is just too cool. With all the great holiday colors out there, the possibilities are endless. My only suggestion is to NOT use anything paint with glitter. The glitter will eventually drift to the bottom and the end result won’t look as great as you think it will. Trust me on this. Those paints also tend to be thicker which will be much harder to work with.

For this project, use a basic, inexpensive crafty paint. You could also use leftover interior paint if you have some on hand.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• Clear Ornament
• Craft Paint
• Toilet Paper Tube

Use the tube anytime you need to balance the ornament (especially important when you are taking pictures).

Remove ornament cap.

Step 2:

Start by dripping a drop of one color into the ornament and let it drip down the side.

Continue doing this with any additional colors you have.

As the paint drips down the edge you want to swirl it so there are no clear parts of the ornament left. Once half the ornament is done squeeze a few drops of each color into the bottom of the ornament then swirl them around to cover the rest of the ornament.

Step 3:

Once all clear spots are covered tip the ornament upside down on the toilet paper to let any excess paint drain. Make sure to put a few paper towels under the toilet paper roll to catch the paint.

Step 4:

Replace the ornament cap and enjoy!

This would also be a great craft to give new life to any old clear ornaments that you have. Even if they have color or designs on them, the marbling could look really awesome.

Project Cost Breakdown (per Ornament):

Clear Ornament (Already Owned) = $0

Craft Paint (Already Owned) = $0

Toilet Paper Roll/Paper Towel (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $0

DIY Christmas Ornament 15: Paper Art

I’ll be honest, this ornament is going to be difficult to explain. It’s a play off some paper quilling art I used to do in junior high and while it isn’t hard, it is a little time intensive…and that doesn’t include the time I had to take after nearly slicing my finger off with an X-acto blade.

This is also a huge ornament that would probably work better sitting on a mantle or as wall art. Of course, you could make it smaller simply by using shorter strips, but after cutting my finger, I didn’t want to start over. Actually the original plan was to make a full flower, but the end piece was so big that I stopped it halfway, and I think it worked out pretty well.

Also, please bear with any typos. The bandage on my hand keeps hitting the ‘y’ key.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• 2 pieces of computer paper
• X-acto blade
• Ruler
• Tacky Glue or White Glue
• Spray Adhesive/Glitter (optional)

Step 2:

Using the X-acto blade and ruler, cut the computer paper into 1/2 inch thick strips.

Step 3:

Then cut a 3 of those pieces in half.

Put a dab of tacky glue at one end and roll, securing with another dab of glue at the other end.

You will need one of these for each petal of your flower. If you choose to do more or less petals than mine, keep this in mind. Also, you can use white glue (such as Elmer’s) but it takes a bit longer to dry and the tacky will shave quite a bit of time off the project and you shouldn’t need to clamp anything for drying.

Step 4:

Take 3 strips of full length paper (not the ones you cut in half) and fold them in half.

Line them in a way you like, and then glue the sides toether.

Add the the circle you created earlier, and figure out your spacing.

Apple a little glue to the circle and then squeeze the sides in, attached the circle to the sides.

At this point it should look like this.

Cut off the excess and add any glue if any of your pieces come loose.

Make 5 of these petals.

Step 5:

Using Tacky Glue, attach all the petals together at the base as well as in between each petal.

Tip: If your flower is a little flimsy on the bottom, use a few of the remaining strips. Fold them in half and glue them along the bottom of the flower. You won’t see them, but they’ll keep the base of the flower sturdy.

Step 6:

Optional: spray with adhesive and sprinkle with glitter.

Step 7:

Add a bit of ribbon to the top and hang from the tree.

Project Cost Breakdown (per Ornament):

Computer Paper (Already Owned) = $0 [You could also use vintage pages from books, sheet music would look pretty cool too]

Tacky Glue (Already Owned) = $0

Spray Adhesive/Glitter (Already Owned) = $0

Ruler/X-Acto Blade (…bandages) (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $0

DIY Christmas Ornament 14: Raised Words

Whoa,where did the day go? Even though today was incredibly busy, it was also completely productive. I feel like I knocked out most of my to do list for this week and it feels so good.

The best news of all…my Christmas shopping is DONE!

I even finished up the ornament for today; although, I’m barely getting it posted in time.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• Clear Ornament
• Puffy Paint
• White Spray Paint
• Twine/Ribbon

Step 2:

Using the puffy paint, write a holiday message on the ornament. I learned pretty quick that I’m not great at writing with puffy paint so I chose a short word.

Tip: You can also use hot glue to do this step if you don’t have puffy paint. Make sure to clean off any glue strings before you spray the ornament. Also BONUS, with hot glue, it will dry much faster and you’ll be able to spray paint much sooner.

Step 3:

After the puffy paint has dried, I sprayed the entire ornament with some satin white spray paint that I had on hand. Since my garage has terrible lighting, I don’t have any pictures. However, it made quick work of the ornament and after letting it dry overnight, I was pleased with how it turned out.

Step 4:

Add a little twine and ribbon for a fun.

 

Project Cost Breakdown (per Ornament):

Clear Ornament (Already Owned) = $0

Puffy Paint (Michaels) = $2

Satin White Spray Paint (Already Owned) = $0

Twine/Ribbon (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $2

DIY Christmas Ornament 13: Felt Tree

While this ornament is a little more time intensive than other ornaments I’ve done, it really is quite easy and BONUS…It turns out the cutest little felt tree I’ve ever seen. I also had an adorable little helper when it was time to take pictures of the finished tree, I’ll introduce you below.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• Felt (1 sheet for each color you want. I used 1 sheet of olive green and 1 sheet of cream)
• 1 Cork
• Thread (I used the crochet thread that I had purchased for thisornament) & large Needle
• 4 Fake Berries or Large Beads
• Tacky Glue & Hot Glue/Gun
• Basic Wire Ornament Hanger
• Scissors

Step 2:

My tree had 4 levels so you’ll need to choose which color will be the bottom level of your tree and cut 3 circles of felt that are the same size. I used a canning lid to make this first layer. These should be the larges of the 4 circles.

Step 3:

Choose the color felt you want to use for the next level and cut 3 circles of that color, slightly smaller than the previous circles.

Tip: I’m sure I’m not alone in cutting shaky circle out of felt. To help me keep the circles consistent I found things around my house to help make the circles. For the 3rd level, I used a TP roll pressed onto an ink pad to create the circle on the felt. Then it was just as easy as cutting along the line. Although if you do this, be light handed with the ink as you don’t want it to show after you cut the circles.

Keep going with the additional levels of your tree.

When you’re done, you will have 4 levels of felt that will create your tree. Each level should be made up of 3 felt circles, giving you a total of 12 circles.

Step 4:

Using tacky glue, glue the 3 layers of felt together for each level. This step is to make sure that each layer of the tree is study enough to actually look like a tree in the end. Depending on how thick your felt is, you may need more or less than 3 layers. I used basic felt sheets purchased from Michael’s and 3 layers worked perfectly.

Now, instead of having 12 pieces of felt, you should have 4 thick pieces of felt.

Step 5: (I really hope this makes sense)

Thread a large needle with the string or crochet thread and make a knot at one end of the thread. You are going to thread each layer of felt onto the thread, separating each level with a bead or fake berry.

Starting with the bottom layer, push the needle up through the bottom level of tree.

I used fake foam berries that I pulled of a plant I had in the house, but you could use big beads as well.

Thread the needle through the berry.

Start making your tree by alternating felt with berry…

…until you have a complete Christmas tree.

At the top of the tree, make a small loop out of the thread and tie a knot, cut off the excess. You can then use a basic wire ornament hanger to hang the ornament.

Tip: Use some homemade mod podge and glitter to give the top berry a little sparkle.

Step 6:

Cut a cork down using a straight edge blade. Using hot glue, apply it to the bottom of the tree.

I think this ranks as the cutest ornament so far, I absolutely love it.

Behind the scenes: My hands always shake when I’m trying to hold the DSLR with only one hand and the ornament in the other for pictures. So I had to enlist a little help in holding the ornament during the photoshoot.

Meet my little balloon dog…He did a great job.

Project Cost Breakdown (per ornament):

• Felt (1 sheet for each color you want) (Already Owned) = $0
• 1 Cork (Already Owned) = $0
• Thread (I used the crochet thread that I had purchased for thisornament) & large Needle  (Already Owned) = $0
• 4 Fake Berries or Large Beads (Already Owned) = $0
• Tacky Glue & Hot Glue/Gun (Already Owned) = $0
• Basic Wire Ornament Hanger (Already Owned) = $0
• Scissors (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $0 FREE!

The balloon dog is heavy light pink glass and looks like a balloon dog in every way, he’s adorable. I picked him up for cheap at Homegoods a while back, but I believe you can still find it at retail stores online.

Linking To: Funky Junk Interiors

DIY Christmas Ornament 12: Sequins and Lace

What could possibly be more girly than sequins and lace? Not much, but this ornament is more than just girly…dare I say sexy? This one was inspired by a friend who asked me what to do with all those sequins after completing this ornament. It’s true you’ll have a lot leftover and I wasn’t sure what to do with them either.

So one recommendation is to use them in another ornament.

Yes, I think this is a SEXY ornament.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• Sequins (any color)
• Clear Ornament
• Lace
• Spray Adhesive
• Piece of paper (to make funnel) or use an actual funnel

Step 2:

Remove ornament cap. Create paper funnel by rolling the piece of paper and securing with a piece of tape.

Using the funnel, fill the ornament with the sequins.

Tip: Use a bottle cap or rubber band to keep the ornament stable while you deal with the sequins.

Step 3:

Replace ornament cap. Cut a piece of lace large enough to wrap around the ornament, overlapping slightly.

Step 4:

Spray one side of the lace with spray adhesive and carefully wrap it around the ornament. Press down all the edges so everything is securely attached to the ornament.

That’s it, easy right?

Tip: Usually I would advise to use whatever glue you have on hand to keep costs down, but in this case, spray adhesive is your best option. Mod podge and tacky glue will work but will show on the ornament. The same with hot glue. If you use spray adhesive the lace will hold well and won’t show any unnecessary residue on the ornament.

Project Cost Breakdown (per ornament):

• Sequins (Already owned from this project) = $0
• Clear Ornament (Already Owned) = $0
• Lace (Already Owned) = $0
• Spray Adhesive (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $0

DIY for the Peacock ornament in the background is found here

Linking To: Funky Junk Interiors

DIY Christmas Ornament 11: String

When I was little, every 4th of July, we would host these huge water fights. All the parents and kids on our street would pack up their water balloon and water guns, and take aim. We’d even climb onto part of our roof to get a height advantage. Unfortunately for me, my brother’s room had direct access to this part of the roof and he hit me with a water balloon every time. EVERY TIME!

Why am I telling you this cute little tale in December?

Well I had to break out the water balloons for this ornament.

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• String (I used crochet thread, but I recommend using basic, inexpensive string for this project)
• Water balloons
• Fabric Stiffener or Spray Starch
• Ribbon
• Basic Wire Ornament Hanger (or paperclip)

I may be planning a water balloon attack since I have so many left over…you’ve been warned.

Step 2:

Inflate a few balloons.

Tip: Buy a balloon pump at Target or a Party Store. They only run a couple of dollars and they making blowing up the small balloon a breeze.

Step 3:

Drench the string in fabric stiffener (I used spray fabric starch) and wrap it around the balloon. I did this in several layers, allowing some time for the string to set before wrapping it in an additional layer.

With the spray starch, I find that you need to really coat the string well in order for it to work. So after wrapping it a few times I doused the balloon in A LOT of spray starch. You may not need to do this if you are using another type of fabric stiffener.

Step 4:

Use a basic wire ornament hanger to pierce the balloon (not pop it). You can use the paperclip for this if you don’t have any ornament hangers.

Use this hanger to hang the balloon up in order to dry.

I hung them from my office blinds, in front of an open window. Weird? Maybe…but it worked.

Unfortunately it was raining the day I started this ornament, and it took almost 2 days to fully dry. If the string is not fully dry, when you remove the balloon, it will collapse.

Step 5:

When the string is fully dry, carefully pop the balloon and remove, leaving yourself with a delicate string orb.

Optional: lightly brush with adhesive (white glue and homemade mod podge work well) and sprinkle with glitter. Just don’t get the string too wet with glue or the stiffener will break down and the ornament will collapse.

Step 6:

Tie some ribbon to the top of the ornament to create a hanger.

Enjoy!

Project Cost Breakdown (per ornament):

• String (Hobby Lobby) = $2.79
• Water balloons (Target) = $0.99
• Fabric Stiffener or Spray Starch (Already Owned) = $0
• Ribbon (Already Owned) = $0
• Basic Wire Ornament Hanger (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $3.78

This cost is if you were to only make 1 ornament; however, so far, I’ve made 4 and still have plenty of supplies left. So the cost will keep going down with each ornament you make.

DIY Christmas Ornament 10: Cork Ball

I’d like to take this moment to thank my wino friends  & family who supply me with a large collection of corks for crafts just like this. I really appreciate your love for the booze. I kid…I kid…ok, not really. Since I rarely drink wine (I don’t even own a wine opener), I actually really love you for keeping me stocked in cork.

Looking back, the Cork Tree, was one of my favorite ornaments so far. I also like that you could make it very meaningful by using corks from a specific event or holiday. On that note, keep the corks you pop for Christmas/New Years this year and make an ornament out of them. Next year it will be a nice reminder of a past holiday (make sure to date it).

A quick note, this ornament is actually much heavier than it looks. Make sure you are starting with a smaller Styrofoam ball as the corks will make it much larger/heavier than you expect.

Also, don’t limit yourself to using this as an ornament. Skip the ribbon and you have a very cool decorative ball that can fill vases or decorate other areas of your house year round.

 

Step 1:

Collect your supplies.

• About 10 corks (if you are using a small Styrofoam ball)
• Small Styrofoam Ball
• Hot Glue
• Screw Eye
• Ribbon
• Utility Knife or Straight Edge Blade
• Glitter/Homemade Mod Podge (Optional)

Step 2:

Cut down the corks using the knife (I used a Straight Edge Blade which made it very easy). I recommend cutting them down to about 1/2 inch, you should get 3 pieces out of each cork.

Step 3:

Using the hot glue, attach the cork pieces. I was using high heat, black glue, but you can use regular, clear hot glue for this project.

Continue attaching the cork pieces until the entire Styrofoam ball is covered. Keep the knife handy as you may need to cut down some of the cork pieces to fit them on the Styrofoam.

Step 4:

Once your done, pull out the hanging and decorating supplies.

Step 5:

You can easily attach  ribbon hanger by using a small screw eye. It will screw easily into one of the cork pieces.

Attach the ribbon.

Step 6:

This step is optional, but since I used black glue, I found it necessary. I used a small paint brush to apply the homemade mod podge to the glue only, then sprinkled a black/green glitter on top. It may look a little funky, but it helps blend the hot glue in with the ornament and add some sparkle.

Project Cost Breakdown:

Styrofoam Ball (Already Owned) = $0

Corks (Supplied by a wine loving pal) = $0

Hot Glue/Knife/Paint Brush (Already Owned) = $0

Screw Eye/Ribbon (Already Owned) = $0

Homemade Mod Podge/Glitter (Already Owned) = $0

Total Project Cost: $0

DIY Christmas Ornament 9: Felt Flowers

While I like the end product, this ornament bummed me out. I wasn’t able to get a single picture I was happy with, and I considered whether I should even post it. It did end up being cute; however, unlike others, I’m not going to go into detail as to how I created the flower. There are others that have posted much better tutorials on how to create stunning felt flowers.

This is my favorite felt flower tutorial of all time. Although I have yet to make one that looks anywhere as good as these.

Source: notmartha.org via Addison on Pinterest

The link above is to create a felt flower broach. Since I was creating an ornament, I followed the tutorial to make 2 flowers, then instead of adding the pin, I added ribbon and glued them together.

…and queue the terrible picture parade.

Please use the link above for the tutorial. The how to is excellent.

Here’s a little photo journey of my flowers.

Here’s where I’ll step in. To make the ornament, I made 2 felt flowers, exactly the same size.

On the back of one flower I glued both ends of the ribbon to create a hanger. Once dry, I glued the two flowers together, back to back. This creates a double sided ornament which looks like a flower at any angle.

In the end it worked out; and although you can clearly see that I used hot glue in the pictures above, I don’t recommend it. The hot glue did it’s job, but it’s the main reason my flowers don’t look as good as the inspiration flowers.

These ornaments cost me nothing since I had everything on hand. However, I’m not going to do a breakdown of the supplies since I really do recommend following the tutorial above and it requires different supplies than I used.

SHOWING THE LOVE:

Linking To: Get Outta My Head Please