Tired of the tree decorations that are on the market? Do you want to give your tree a unique look? Or are you looking for a fun Christmas project for the whole family? You are in the right place then! This article will give you great ideas for making low-cost and easy-to-make decorations. Good job!
Steps
Method 1 of 5: Salt Dough Decorations
Step 1. Get everything you need
To make a salt dough decoration, you will need a cup of white flour, half a cup of salt and a half of water. You will also need Christmas cookie cutters (stars, Christmas trees, angels, garlands, etc.) a cookie pan, rolling pin, ribbon, acrylic paint, glue and glitter.
Step 2. Make the salt dough
Mix the flour, water, salt in a bowl and form a dough. Turn it onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. If it is too sticky add a little flour, not too much because otherwise the dough will crack.
Step 3. Use the molds to cut out the decorations
Roll out the dough with a rolling pin to a thickness of 0.5 cm. Use the Christmas-themed cookie cutters and get lots of decorations. Arrange each on a floured surface.
Step 4. Drill holes in each shape
Before baking the decorations, make a small hole at the top so that you can then pass a ribbon to hang them on the tree. Use a toothpick to make the small hole in the top, twisting it a little to widen it.
Step 5. Cook
Place the salt dough on the floured baking tray at medium height, in a preheated oven at 180 °. Bake for two hours, then remove the pan from the oven, place the decorations on a rack and allow to cool completely.
Step 6. Decorate
Once the decorations are cool, you can add acrylic paint or glitter glue. Depending on your preferences, you can use a brush for more complex details or simply pass a solid color coat. You can also glue sequins, buttons, crystals etc.
Step 7. Tie the ribbon
Cut a ribbon - preferably red, green or white and pass it through the hole at the top. Tie with a knot and attach to the tree. If you like, you can write the date you made the ornament on the back!
Method 2 of 5: Felt Snowmen
Step 1. Put together what you need
To make felt snowmen, you will need white, brown, orange and black felt. Also get a white ribbon (about 10 cm long), a needle and a thread (in the colors of the felt), a pen, scissors, some polyester fiberfill and a sheet.
Step 2. Cut out the puppet body
Draw the outline on the paper. Make it the shape you want: two snowballs on top of each other, three, fat, thin … the choice is yours.
Step 3. Cut the template then place it on a piece of white felt
Step 4. Use the pen to trace the shape onto the felt then cut it out with scissors
Step 5. Continue on to another piece of white felt available and cut everything out
Step 6. You should always have two identical parts for each puppet
Step 7. Cut out the arms and facial features
Step 8. Make five circles with black felt
It will be the eyes and the three buttons of a puppet.
- Cut out a triangle from the orange felt. It will be the nose.
- From the brown felt cut two sticks. They are the arms.
Step 9. Sew the eyes, nose and buttons
Take the white silhouettes and sew eyes, nose and buttons by hand. Use a thread of the same color as the felt for each piece i.e. orange for the nose, black for the eyes and buttons, etc.
Step 10. Assemble the puppet
Step 11. Take the two white pieces and line them up, arranging them with the sewn sides facing up
- Take your arms and insert them between the two body pieces, angling them.
- Take the white ribbon, fold it up and insert the final part between the two body shapes on the puppet's head. This way you will have the circle to hang it.
Step 12. Sew everything
Take needle and white thread and sew the two pieces together, leaving a margin of 0.2 cm.
Step 13. As you sew make sure to secure both the arms and the ribbon so they don't slip out
Step 14. Don't finish sewing, leave a gap to fill the puppet at the bottom
Step 15. Fill the puppet
Take the fiberfill and stuff the puppet making it nice plump. Once done, you can finish sewing. Hang it on the tree to admire your work!
Method 3 of 5: Glitter Balls
Step 1. Find some clear glass decorations
They can be of any size as long as they have a cap top.
Step 2. Remove the lid and pour in some floor wax
Carefully remove the top of the decoration without breaking it and pour some floor wax or polish into it.
Step 3. This way the glitter sticks to the surface of the sphere
Make sure the product is acrylic based and easy to dry.
- Move the ball by spreading the wax and thus coating the entire inside of the glass.
- Once done, you can pour the wax back into the bottle. Nothing is wasted!
Step 4. Choose some colored glitter
Pour some glitter into the sphere and shake it in rounded motions until they completely cover the inside of the sphere. Shake off the excess.
Step 5. You can choose your favorite colors - gold, silver, blue, green, purple - whichever fits your tree's color scheme
Step 6. If you really want to make something big, you could mix different colors for a disco ball effect
Step 7. Put the cap back on
Once the glitter is dry, you can put the ball cap back in place. If it seems slow, stop it with a drop of glue.
Step 8. Decorate the exterior
If you like, you can leave the spheres as they are. Otherwise you can also decorate the outside with stickers in the shape of snowflakes, diamonds, beads etc.
Method 4 of 5: Snowflakes with Clothespins
Step 1. Take eight clothespins
To make a snowflake it will take eight of wood. Separate each by removing the center spring.
Step 2. Glue the two halves back together
Take some hot glue or wood glue and stick the two flat sides together. Take a piece of tape, fold it in half and insert it between two pieces of wood before gluing them. This way you will have the ring to hang them.
Step 3. Make the bow
Assemble your snowflake as follows:
Take two pieces glued together and line up the edges at the top to form the right angle. Attach two more pieces to form one X.
Step 4. Take the four remaining pieces and attach one to each corner
You should now have your bow.
Step 5. Paint it
Paint your bow using white or gold spray. With a light touch of glitter it will look beautiful. Attach some beads, sequins, or anything else you like.
Method 5 of 5: Other Simple DIY Decorations
Step 1. Color some pine cones
Collect pine cones, large or small, and paint them gold or silver. Attach a piece of ribbon and hang them on the tree. Alternatively, roll the pinecones in the glue and then in the glitter, et voila!
Step 2. Make a popcorn and blueberry garland. Get a needle and strong thread (nylon or waxed), a bowl of popcorn, and a cup of blueberries. Make six large knots at the bottom of the thread. Start by tucking in the popcorn and blueberries alternating them or using a pattern you like. Tie a knot at the end of the wreath. Hang them on the tree at home or outside for tasty bird food!
Step 3. Lego Gifts
It's easy to make them for kids! Assemble a few large pieces of Lego in a rectangular or square shape to form a gift. Take some colored ribbon and wrap it as if you want to complete the package, making a bow on top. Arrange your gifts under the tree or hang them on branches!
Step 4. Snowflake with gummy candies
Take a large ball-shaped gummy candy and place six toothpicks around it at regular intervals. Choose smaller candies of the color of your choice and insert them into each toothpick until it is full. Attach a ribbon to hang it on the tree or place it on the branches.
Step 5. Make a reindeer out of puzzle pieces
Take five puzzle pieces (two of which fit together) and paint them light brown. Take a puzzle piece to make the base and glue the two interlocking pieces together. This will be the muzzle. Take the two remaining pieces (not attached) and glue them into the top half of the base piece to form the horns. Glue some red felt in the shape of a circle (or gummy candy) to the end of the puzzle to form the nose and two eyes. Place a ribbon on the back and hang.
Step 6. Make bunches of cinnamon
Take five or six cinnamon sticks and form a small group. Tie it with green or red ribbon and with a ribbon on top. Hang it from the branches of the tree for a beautiful scented ornament!
Advice
- Buy everything you need in a DIY store, supermarket and even in shops for one euro.
- If your tree doesn't have built-in lights, pick a few and form a garland.
- You can take fake snow and sprinkle it on the tips of the tree. Hanging candy canes are also a classic.
- Try to make it a family activity and have fun!
