Beautiful Handmade Christmas Ornaments
Adorn your Christmas tree with these beautiful handmade Christmas ornaments. These easy to make ornaments will hang on your tree for generations, or you can wrap them up for personalized, homemade Christmas gifts.
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Use felt and a miniature embroidery hoop to create this cheery snowman ornament. Cut a piece of ivory felt for the background (make it a bit larger than the hoop). Cut a smaller circle of white felt for the snowman's face. Using a fabric pencil, trace a mouth, nose, and eyes. Using a sewing machine or hand needle, stitch around the edges of the snowman's head and to outline the mouth.
Cut small pieces of black felt for the eyes and orange for the nose; stitch or glue in place. Paint the embroidery hoop and dust with glitter; let dry. Position the finished piece inside the hoop; tighten and attach a wide ribbon at the top for hanging.
Add a festive message with this fun-to-make three-dimensional paper star ornament.
Make the cookies of the season last longer by creating a few decorative versions from clay. Soft modeling clay works with your cookie cutters just like dough; use a straw to create a hanging hole and bake according to package directions.
Paint subs for icing, but your favorite cookie-decorating essentials (such as sprinkles) work great as ornament embellishments. Note: If you use edible items, you should not keep the ornaments after the season.
Whip up a batch of these mini ornaments; hang some from the tree and give a few as gifts, too. Simply trace a design onto a small piece of brightly colored linen or cotton. Embroider the design, then place in a miniature embroidery hoop (use hot glue to seal the edges).
It's simple to create your own ornament message for the holiday tree (or a mantel or window). Choose chipboard letters that spell a word or message. Coat with glue and glitter, then string on hemp twine.
Kids can help assemble these miniature ornaments; add a few to your tree or string a garland full to dress up a mantel. Choose tinsel pom-poms in assorted sizes. Cover a small plastic-foam wreath with 1/8-inch-wide ribbon; secure ends with short pins. Make a hanging loop with 1/4-inch-wide ribbon. Hot-glue the pom-poms to the ribbon-covered wreath and fill in gaps with tiny pom-poms.
This adorable character makes a charming addition to your tree or would make a cool present topper. Download the pattern, below, onto felt; cut out. Hand-stitch the facial features to one body piece; add the belly and wings, stitching the inside curves of each wing. Layer the body pieces with wrong sides together; insert the feet between the pieces.
Fold a short length of ribbon in half and insert the ends between the body pieces for a hanging loop. Hand-stitch the body pieces together, catching feet and hanging ribbon as you stitch. Leave a 1-1/2-inch opening in the body; turn and stuff with polyester fiberfill. Stitch the opening closed.
These adorable bird ornaments -- made from almonds and handmade felt caps -- are a simple way to add a natural element to your Christmas tree.
Use beautiful cards or postcards depicting favorite scenes, places, or plants as decorative elements on your tree. Simply punch holes into the tops and string with ribbon.
Do you have small ornaments or figurines that you no longer use but want to display? Try creating a still life with an inexpensive clear dome. Use a small chipboard circle (cut to the size of the dome's base). Arrange small items -- old ornaments or nature figurines, for example -- onto the chipboard, adhere them in place, then add small pieces of tinsel or garland. Glue the dome to the chipboard base.
Transform silver frames and silhouettes (either of your children or grandchildren, or use online clip art) into one-of-a-kind, antique-inspired ornaments. Find inexpensive hammered or decorative frames; cover with layers of brown paint and gently wipe to give an aged effect. Print and cut the silhouette to size; attach a ribbon or hanger at the back using hot glue.
Love the style of ball ornaments stuffed with pretty papers? See our editor walk through step-by-step instructions for this craft and share her tips.
It's easy to assemble a whole garland filled with these happy snowman faces. Start with small foam balls; cover with air-dry clay, adding an extra-small amount to each to shape into a nose if desired. Wet the clay to attach black beads for eyes; use a toothpick to draw mouths. Paint facial details with orange paint, or add a bit of cosmetic blush for rosy cheeks. Add a hanger using an 1-1/2-inch-long piece of florist's wire. Seal with clear gloss gel medium or clear glitter paint.
A clear ornament ball stuffed with cut up pages from an old book and sheet music adds a handmade accent to any bibliophile's Christmas tree.
Display your family's initial with this easy, elegant ornament. Paint a piece of mini artist's canvas black. Using stamps and a gold stamp pad, stamp a gold crown or other image and your family's surname initial, let dry, then rub the surface with chalk. Set the canvas on top of a sturdy tree branch or add a hanging loop to the back.
Customize the look of plain glass ornaments for your Christmas tree in a pinch. Remove the top of a glass ornament and swirl around crafts paint diluted with water on the inside of the ornament until it's coated. Let it dry upside down, swirling with another layer of paint if necessary. Replace the top, and add a Christmas message with adhesive scrapbooking letters.
This Christmas ornament threesome transforms plain pinecones into gnome figurines with felted caps and beards crafted from wool roving.
Frame a favorite photo with Christmas paper and trims for a touch of nostalgia. Use a black-and-white photo, which will stand out against the colorful embellishments.
Make the season personal with this idea for photo ornaments.
This pretty bird ornament fashioned from yarn-wrapped pom-poms perches on your Christmas tree like a live bird. Use pom-pom makers and red wool yarn to make one large and one extra-large dense pom-pom; tie each with waxed twine. Trim the large pom-pom with sharp scissors to make the head; create a flat area on the bottom of the head. Shape the extra-large pom-pom for the body, trimming a concave area in the back and the sides flat (refer to photo). Shape a pointed end for the tail, leaving the tail yarns uneven. Trim a flat area at the top of the body; glue the pom-poms together to make the bird. Glue black beads to the head for eyes and glue two tiny peach felt triangles for the beak. Tie a 12-inch length of white satin ribbon around the neck, tie in a bow, and trim the ends. Glue a tiny silk flower to the head for a pretty embellishment. Adhere an ornament clip to the bottom of the bird.
Kids will love to help create these easy, 3-D ornaments. Trace a half-bell shape onto a piece of honeycomb paper; cut out. Unfold and glue the two end pieces together to form a bell (use a paper clip to hold the pieces together until the glue dries). Thread embroidery floss through a 3/4-inch diameter wooden bead with a center hole, knotting one end. Thread the other end through the bell center and tie for a hanging loop.
Upcycle an egg carton to create jingle bell roses for your Christmas tree. Cut off the lid of a cardboard egg carton, then cut around each individual egg cup (use the photo for reference). Cut leaf shapes from the flat cardboard pieces. Paint each egg cup red; paint leaves green. Use a yarn needle to poke a hole through the center of each egg cup and through one end of each leaf. Thread the needle with yarn and string on three leaves. Referring to the photo, poke the needle through the egg cup, thread on a jingle bell, and poke the needle back through the egg cup. Add three more leaves to the yarn, and trim the yarn to desired length. Tie the ends in a knot to create a hanging loop.
Editor's Tip: We love the way red flowers look on a faux white tree. If you have a traditional green tree, paint the egg cups white to create a snowy look.
Hang a few of these neatly gift-wrapped box ornaments in addition to the presents sitting underneath your Christmas tree. Die-cut a box shape from heavyweight patterned paper, then fold and assemble to make a cube. Pierce a small hole at the top of the box. Loop baker's twine through the hole and tie a large knot at the end; thread the loop through the hole in the box top. Adhere two pieces of curling ribbon and a bow; dangle a tag from the ribbon.
These adorable owls, made entirely from wool roving, add a cozy element to your Christmas tree. If you make multiple ornaments, add variety by changing the color of the eye rings and the dots on the body.
Heavy scrapbook papers transform into ornaments to hang on the tree, on gifts, or a banister. Cut patterned cardstock into twelve 1x6-inch-long strips. Loop each strip in half, patterned side out. Glue the ends together. Punch two circles from solid cardstock and attach to the front and back center of the ornament. Add sticker letters and a twine hanging loop to finish.
Follow our step-by-step instructions to replicate this snowy winter scene on a ball ornament.
Acrylic dimensional paint yields extraordinary details with this cleverly decorated clay ornament. Resembling a Christmas sugar cookie, this sweet ornament has pops of red that add Christmas merriment to the long-lasting design.
Add a quaint homespun feel to your Christmas tree with this heart-shape snowman ornament.
A wooden spool makes a beautiful Christmas tree decoration. Easy to assemble, the trim is a perfect symphony of sheet music, pearl beads, glass glitter, and wire.
Use our pattern to create a flock of homemade paper-bird ornaments to decorate a tree. Cut bird and wing shapes from an old book. Glue bird shapes made from the pages to matching cardstock shapes; let dry. Accordion-fold a page, then fold in half to create the bird tail. Glue the tail in place and let dry. Make a hanging loop with string, and glue it to the inside of the wings.
Not all stars have to twinkle to stand out. This understated handmade script star adds instant elegance to any Christmas tree.
