10 Homemade Christmas Tree Ornaments
Before the holiday arrives, consider crafting one or several of these 10 homemade Christmas tree ornaments.
It’s fulfilling to make something out of nothing much. That’s always been one of my phrases.
It doesn’t cost much of anything to create frugal ornaments for your tree. You may already have the supplies you need.
1. Upcycled Sweater Ornament:
Don’t toss that sweater. If it’s too worn out or torn to donate, you can make Christmas ornaments with it.
It’s a good feeling to recycle and repurpose things and not add to the trash in the landfill.
You will need:
- Clear plastic ornaments
- Sweaters
- Hot glue gun/glue sticks
- Sharpie
- Raffia or ribbon
- Scissors
- Embellishments of your choice
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2. Popsicle Sled Ornaments:
Do you remember those holiday elementary school crafts where Popsicle sticks were made into Christmas ornaments?
It seems like one or both of my girls brought them home to hang on our tree.
These DIY sleds are fast and easy to make.
You will need:
- Miniature craft sticks
- Standard craft sticks
- Twine
- Tacky craft glue or hot glue
- Red paint
- Silver paint
- Antiquing medium
- Paper towels
- Paintbrushes
- Wax paper
- Scissors
Click here for instructions.
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3. Rustic White Tree:
This elegant little tree is spun with glittery gold thread that is just barely there.
It’s both rustic and chic.
You will need:
- Kraft paper cones
- Small wood stars
- Wool Roving or Chunky wool yarn
- Gold thread (optional)
- Twine
- Hot glue
- Sticks found in the yard
Click here for instructions.
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4. Easy Coffee Filter Angel Ornament:
Coffee filters can be repurposed to make ornaments. And they’re cheap to come by. You may already have them in your kitchen.
Wouldn’t you love to have this sweet angel hanging on your tree?
You will need:
- Coffee filters
- Twine
- Wooden bead
- White pipe cleaner
- Hot glue gun
- Gold paint
- Paint brush
Click here for instructions:
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5. Cinnamon Applesauce Ornaments:
It just takes a few simple ingredients to make these cute little ornaments. Dress them up with velvet ribbon; dress them down with twine or jute.
You will need:
- Applesauce
- Cinnamon
- Twine, jute, or ribbon
Click here for instructions:
You may also like:
- Rolling Pin Engraved Cinnamon Ornament
- Apple Cinnamon Snowflake Ornament
- No Bake Cinnamon Applesauce Ornament
Embroidery Hoop Ornament:
Embroidery hoops used to be just for embroidering. Now you can find them in small sizes that are perfect to make ornaments for the Christmas tree.
You can decorate embroidery hoops in a myriad of ways and hang them by ribbon, twine, or jute.
This gingham ribbon is awfully nice and reminds me of cottage curtains. I’ve actually made quite a few curtains with gingham fabric over the years.
I once covered four windows in a garage apartment with four different colors of gingham curtains.
You will need:
- Assortment of miniature craft bottle brush trees
- 4″ embroidery hoop rings
- Elmer’s Glue
- Faux Snow
- Ribbon
- Optional – greenery and red berries for embellishment
Click here for instructions.
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6. Gingerbread Salt Dough Ornaments:
This is an old-fashioned way to craft ornaments for the tree. You will love both the look and smell of them.
You will need:
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup ground cloves
- 1 cup salt
- 1 1/5-2 cups water
- 15 drops essential oils
Click here for instructions.
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8. Mushroom Christmas Ornaments:
Anything including mushrooms is very popular right now. So I’m not surprised to see them pop up as Christmas crafts.
You will need:
- Wooden mushrooms from Amazon
- Mod Podge
- Small paint brush
- Imitation gold leaf sheets
- Hot glue gun
- Moss
- Small dried flowers
- String
Click here for instructions.
You may also like:
- Clay Mushroom Ornament
- Walnut Shell With Mushroom Christmas Ornament
- Velvet + Felt Mushroom Ornament
9. Sheet Music Ornament:
Card stock is cheap to buy, and you can use it to make all kinds of adorable ornaments.
You will need:
- Sheet Music Image
Cardstock or Photo Paper
Circle Die (2″, 2-1/2″, 2-3/4, 3″ circle die)
Die Cutting Machine
Scoring Tool and Mat
White Glue or Any Glue for Paper
Strong Adhesive
Long Head Pins and Stick Pins
Beads – I used pearls and pearl teardrop
Small Clamps or Clothespins
Thin Ribbon, Bakers Twine
Click here for instructions:
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10. Drop Cloth Ornaments:
These drop cloth ornaments are awfully cute and homespun. And they’re easy to make as well.
You will need:
- Drop cloth
- 3 inch Styrofoam ball
- Jute
- Hot glue gun
- Glue sticks
Click here for instructions.
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You’ve probably purchased a good number of ornaments over the years. But wouldn’t it be fun to sit down and DIY your own?
I crafted ornaments with my girls when they were young and we had so much fun. It was a yearly tradition.
Making homemade ornaments is so much more rewarding than buying them from the store.
I made cinnamon/applesauce ornaments 25-30 years ago. They still smell great, but when I was making them I had to take them outside, since the cinnamon smell was so strong it gave me a migraine.
Hi All,
My little Precious dog, my baby girl passed away 3 weeks ago. I miss her so very much. She was my best friend. Thank God for memories, photos and videos, Hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving. Hugs, hugs, hugs………………….
Oh, wow, Brenda! I love all of these ideas and web sites. It makes me miss my teaching days when I would choose certain decorations to make and they became lessons in following directions as well as creativity. Thank you!
Every year I make a lot of variations of one ornament to decorate the garland in my kitchen and then when people come over I invite them to choose one – kind of like a Christmas favor. This year I made elves with faces cut from vintage card images and pipe cleaner bodies.
I love watching videos on Youtube of clever and crafty and very patient people making their own Christmas ornaments and low price “hacks” of high end Christmas decor and decorations. Fia Garcia is one of my favorites. I watched one of her videos yesterday and she went through at least 20 different projects of how to dupe high-end looks, including making her own Christmas ornaments. I love watching those videos, but that kind of thing is not for me. I like instant results, no patience when it comes to crafting. I admire people who have that patience though! On the other hand, I’ve given away tons of Christmas (and other holiday) decorations gathered between 1986 to about 2000 over the years, and just accumulated more since about 2001. I have one storage room in my basement that it tucked away underneath the stairs just loaded with boxes containing years’ worth of decorations and decor. And I’m still buying more – but only if they’re 50% off or more 🙂 Time to get back to watching those Youtube videos.
I’ve always loved home made ornaments the best! The ones my kids made for me at school when they were little will always be my favorites. I’ve made many myself over the years, mostly using styrofoam balls, sequins and faux crystal beads and pretty ribbons. And it always makes for such thoughtful gifts. This was a fun post.