Homemade Christmas Ornaments
I wish there was a way to tell people you love Christmas but not in a weird judging that you don’t love it as much as I do kind of way. Is there? If so please tell me because I love Christmas but not in a weird judging that you don’t love it as much as I do way! I don’t think there are many things I love more than sitting in front of a Christmas tree with my family eating a cheese platter. My mom still decorates our tree with ornaments I made when I was 5. She hangs up enough of my junky ornaments its about time I make her a nice one. These homemade Christmas ornaments are for sure an upgrade. Also easy enough to make in the mad dash rush before Christmas.
For the first one, the material you’ll need are air drying clay (You can buy this for around $6-$10 dollars from Walmart or any craft store) and some leaves. To make making it easier you should also have wax paper, a knife, and a felt tip pen lid (Or something similar) to punch out a whole.
Working with the clay is hella easier if you dampen your hands and your work surface. Eyeball measure out the clay you need for one leaf.
Flatten the clay out with your hands and press the leaf firmly into the clay. Trim the excess clay off. Before you peel the leaf off smooth the edges. The first attempts I tried leaving a stem on but it was flimsy and didn’t look all the great.
Cut out your leaves! The process can get a little difficult with the pointy leaves. I think they look way better and are still really make-able.
With the stem s no longer in the picture I needed a way to hang these guys on the tree. Moment of honesty I wandered through my house looking confused and lost. THEN I found my secret weapon: A felt tip pen! The lid worked perfectly for punching out a whole to string a ribbon through.
Put these guys somewhere out of the way and leave them to dry! The clay really lightens as it dries but if it’s not your jam they can be painted. I want to try some gold paint or gold leaf.
I had some velvet ribbon from a gift set I got last year sitting in my craft box but obviously, any ribbon will work. In hindsight, I might choose a thinner ribbon but I love the velvet.
For the second one, you just need paper, a pen, green felt, white embroidery thread, and a needle. I bought all the materials at the dollar store so all together they came to under $5.
Draw out a template and realize you suck at drawing cacti. Send help.
Once you FINALLY have a template that resembles an actual cactus trace it out onto the green felt. Cut them all out!
Thread the needle and start stitching the little cactus spikes into the felt. Start to stitch the front and back together.
I found it was easiest to stitch it up in parts and stuff with cotton balls as I went along. You could also just stitch it most of the way up and stuff it all at the same time. Or just forego the stuffing part altogether and just stitch the two pieces together. That’ll be cute too!
I really love buying gifts for people. Then overthinking them and convincing myself they are stupid but let’s not focus on that part. The price tag on Christmas can really start to add up and make the holiday more filled with stress than cheer. Let’s just be real, this is Vancouver and we’re all broke AF. The amount I want to spend on people and the amount I have in my bank account are not compatible. But Christmas doesn’t have to break the bank. These ornaments can make really great gifts for friends or family or other. They look lovely and don’t make your wallet cry. Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned homemade gift? Spoiler alert Mom! I’m updating the tree!
-Hannah
