Christmas is a festival of joy and sharing. As the festival nears, you start buying gifts, decorations and splurge on other expensive stuff. There are ways around to lessen the burden on the pocket, the simplest being beautiful and aesthetic homemade decorations, which will hardly prove to be expensive. Homemade Christmas ornaments not only give you a warm feeling but also ignite your dormant creativity. There is always a personal touch to the creation and you value it more for the efforts invested in it. You naturally have a great appreciation for the things and crafts your kid makes instead of the stuff picked up off the shelf of a shop. It obviously kindles people's memories and emotions. Make this Christmas a cheerful one by making handmade Christmas ornaments. Involve your family, lead the gang of kids, bring on the glue and craft material and get going. There would be many things lying around your house and backyard that are happy to get your attention for Christmas decorations. Below are some ideas for homemade Christmas decorations to help brighten up your Christmas.
Handmade Christmas Ornaments
Button Wreath Ornament
Materials required:
This Christmas make your decorations simple, elegant and inexpensive. Read on for homemade Christmas ornaments ideas and get creative with some for your own décor.
Homemade Christmas ornaments
- 72 Satin ribbon buttons for each wreath
- Satin ribbon 6 inches long and I/8th of an inch wide
- Scissors
- Seam binding for decorative bow
- Wire cutters or pliers with needle nose
- Copper wire (16 gauge), or green floral wire (22 gauge), 9 inches in length (available at the hardware shop)
How To Make:
- Make a small loop at one end of the wire using pliers.
- Put buttons onto the wire until you have enough to form the size of the wreath you want.
- Use pliers to bend the plain end of the wire around the looped end. This will be your wreath.
- Take a satin ribbon and form a loop for hanging the wreath. Tie the knot of the ribbon about 3 inches above the wreath.
- Make a bow of the seam binding to decorate the wreath.
Cinnamon Bird Ornaments
- 1 cup ground cinnamon
- 2 medium bowls
- ¼ cup applesauce
- Rolling pin
- Craft glue
- Wire rack
- Bird templates
- Card Stock
- Paper towels
- Baking sheet
- One straw
- Tissue paper, for storing
- Glitter and beads
- Utility knife or bird-shaped cookie cutters
- Length of thin ribbon for each ornament
- Bottle with applicator tip
How To Make:
- To prepare dough, take a medium bowl and mix 1 cup ground cinnamon and ¼ cup applesauce using a rubber spatula.
- Mix in ½ cup of glue used for craft. Blend the dough until the consistency is smooth and dry. Keep it for an hour to become firm.
- Take out one quarter of dough on a flat surface, and flatten it with your hands.
- Flatten the dough with a rolling pin to a ¼ inch of thickness. If the dough becomes too thick, sprinkle some water to make it pliable.
- Photocopy templates of birds on to the card stock. Cut them out and lay them over the dough. Cut the shape out with a cutter or a utility knife. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
- Take a straw and poke a hole in the dough on the template, for hanging. Air dry the ornaments on a rack lined with paper towels for 24 hours, turning them every 6 hours. Alternatively, preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Transfer the ornaments to a baking sheet until dry, for about 2 hours.
- Once the dough is dried completely, decorate it with embellishments, glitter, beads and other fancy items. As you decorate, start from the finest to the coarsest fancy items.
- Spread glue over the area you want to decorate. Use a bottle with an applicator tip.
- While the glue is still wet, sprinkle with beads and glitter, tap off the excess.
- Let the first area dry completely and then repeat the process of applying glue on the other side, sprinkling the glitter and beads on it.
- Thread a length of ribbon through a hole made in the ornaments and tie a knot. Trim the ends. Once the celebrations are over, store them in a cool dry place.