Report Cover Christmas Ornaments

It took 3 generations to make today’s ornament. My mom is visiting from Oregon for the holidays and we made an ornament together that we thought was awesome but when my son saw it – he said, “that’s not dynamic enough”.

Now it’s dynamic! This ornament is made using report covers. I really like how the light plays with the overlapping colors. 

 

Cut the one rectangle (A) that measures 3.50” by 4”.

Make a .75” border inside and cut the inner rectangle out- discard (or save for another project).

Make two .25” slits in opposite corners.
Cut a second rectangle (B) that is 4.25” by 3.75”.

Make a .75” border inside and cut the inner rectangle out- discard.
Cut a 2.5” diameter circle.

Make two .25” slits on opposite sides of the circle.

Slip the circle into the the first rectangle (A) and fit the slits into the sides.
Slip the rectangle/circle combo inside the second rectangle (B) and fit the long sides into the corner slits.
Add a hole for hanging in one corner.

Christmas Tree Ornaments

A tree for a tree! Or maybe an alternative to the mini bottle brush trees that are so popular right now.  I’m still trying to use only what I have on hand (sorry Joann's and Michael’s) and I made a beautiful mini garland last fall for a job and have a LOT of left over tulle. The key to these trees is tying, twisting and trimming the tulle.

Materials:

Tulle on a roll (10 yards)-I used 3” wide tulle from Joann Fabrics but you could also use 6“ wide

Pipe Cleaner- sparkly is harder to work with than regular pipe cleaners-but not impossible

Wooden bead

Decorations- Adhesive jewels, glitter, sequins etc.

Wrap all the tulle around a book or folder – I used a 12” wide folder but anything that’s around that width will work.

Cut along both edges to make 6" long strips of tulle.

Tie an open knot with the length of tulle.

Slip the loop over the pipe cleaner about 2 inches up the pipe cleaner length then tighten the loop.

Some people (like me) tie the knot directly onto the pipe cleaner and other people (like my mom) make the knot before. Your choice.

Repeat the tulle knots with rest of the tulle lengths and push the knots together every so often.

Trim the top off the pipe cleaner and make a little loop around a marker or pencil and trim off the extra.

Now have fun trimming the tree with scissors- it’s like giving a poodle a hair cut (I have a poodle).

Trim the tulle shorter on the top and wider on the bottom.
Start slowly and turn the tree around as it is trimmed.
 

When the trimming is finished, trim the pipe cleaner bottom about 2 inches long and bend it until it fits in the hole of the bead (or trim it more if necessary).

Add adhesive jewels or sequins etc.

Here are the mini pompom tulle garlands- they were never published but I love them.

 

Pine Cone Ornaments

You saw this coming right?
In keeping with my own self imposed rules of using only what I have on hand, I’m making another plastic Easter egg ornament. But it’s one that I’ve wanted to try for a while and it’s really fast and easy- and it has GLITTER! I love glitter!
 

Materials:
Plastic Easter egg
Adhesive backed felt
Fine glitter
Clear tape
“Craft” toothbrush (doesn’t everyone have a Batman toothbrush hanging around?)
Spoon
Paper plate
Push pin (rolled under the tape in the picture)
Needle
String or ribbon 

Cut the egg apart and snip off the little hinge.

Poke a hole in the top of the plastic egg, and then widen it with a thicker needle or a toothpick

(this plastic egg had 2 off-center holes all ready in it).

Loop and knot a 9” long piece of string or ribbon and thread the loop through the needle.
Push the needle through the inside and out the top of the plastic egg and remove the needle.

Secure the egg shut with clear tape.
 
Cut a small circle of adhesive felt, then add a slit to the center, remove the paper backing and thread it around the string on the top of the egg.

Cut three and one half 12” long by 1” wide strips of adhesive backed felt.

Draw a .25” line on one edge of the paper backing on each strip.
Cut scalloped “petals” on each strip but stop at the .25 line so there is a section completely uncut.

Use small scissors-medium and larger ones are harder to maneuver.

Consider cutting one strip with slightly smaller scallops to start with at the top of the pine cone.

Peel off the paper backing.

Start at the top of the egg and add the felt strip with the scallops pointing up, slowly pressing the bottom felt edge as it moves around and down the side.
Line the uncut edge up with the bottom of the previous row.

Trim the end at the bottom.

Peel back the petals a little and spoon glitter on the sticky surfaces over a paper/plastic plate.

Be enthusiastic with the glitter!

Flip the cone over and tap the bottom with handle of the craft toothbrush.
Brush the sides to encourage all the extra glitter to go back onto the plate.

So fast and pretty-try other colors too!

 

Recycled Plastic and Washi Tape Ornaments

If you didn’t know – I’m a big recycler- makes my family a little crazy. I also use a lot of recyclables in my crafts and clear plastic salad containers are one of my favorites. I use vegetable oil (soak then wash with hot water and detergent, dry and use rubbing alcohol on the residue) to get the labels off but I’ve read that a lot of people use a combination of coconut oil and baking soda (Google it)…or in a pinch there’s always Goo Be Gone.
 

AND I love washi tape and have an embarrassingly large collection that I never do anything with but look at…it‘s like candy for the eyes. So today’s ornament is a win-win!

Materials:
Clear clean light weight plastic – salad containers, clear cookie containers – lids on the candy containers from Trader Joes etc.
Washi tape
Push pin for making a hole for hanging (maybe an eye)
 

Cut the plastic out of the container- or the edges off the lid so that the plastic will lay flat.
Lay down strips of washi tape on the dry clean plastic. 
Make a paper template of the shape that will be cut out if it’s more complicated than just a circle (trace around a jar or can).
Transfer the shape to the tape covered plastic.
Cut out the shape and poke a hole to hang the ornament. 
Add a little sparkly tape to the top of the circle as the ornament hanger.

Paper Clip Christmas Ornaments

Paper clips today! I’m hooked on office supplies right now.

Materials:

Paper clips (large or small)

Wood beads

Filament

First, make sure the bead hole is clear of any little wood chips. I stuck the tips of my scissors in the hole and twisted it- an X-Acto knife would work too.

Open 5-7 paper clip (big or small) arms and gently push them into triangle shapes.

Put one side of the paper clip into the center hole then the other side– add as many paper clips as will fit then spread them out.

Loop and tie a length of filament then slip it over one the paper clips to hang the ornament.

Add glitter glue or adhesive jewels to add a little detail.