Simple Homemade Christmas Ornaments, Free Recycled Ornaments, Tips, Tutorials and More

Making your own Christmas ornaments is a great way to create a unique Christmas tree design and spend time with your family. Whether you are looking for a way to make homemade Christmas ornaments with your kids, Cinnamon dough ornaments, wooden Christmas ornaments or glass, the Editors at FaveCrafts have put together this guide that is sure to have something for everybody.





Top 5 Homemade Christmas Ornament Ideas: Ornaments to Make with Kids



Kids love to help create something that will be hung on the Christmas tree for all to see.



Cereal Wreaths- Take a box of Shredded Wheat or other cereal of the same texture (especially if some has gone stale before you had a chance to eat it!). Pour glue into a bowl and add green food coloring drops at a time until you have the right color. Let the kids roughly break apart the Shredded Wheat into the bowl. As you stir the wheat into the glue, it will break up further. The kids can do this with their hands! Add more wheat or colored glue to get the consistency right. Take a spoonful and shape into a wreath. While the mixture needs to hold together, do not press too tightly together or you will lose the texture. Place on wax or greased paper to dry. Once they are all on the paper, coat with another layer of glue to hold them together. Once dry, embellish with small red beads and a tiny red bow, and hang with ribbon.



Popsicle or Craft Sticks- You can easily turn craft sticks into a variety of shapes and Christmas characters. Five craft sticks can be glued together, overlapping, for a star. Paint with glow-in-the-dark paint for a fun touch. Or, paint a craft stick white, and make a little black hat out of belt. Paint an orange line for the carrot nose, and black dots for the eyes, mouth, and buttons. Tie and ribbon around the stick for a scarf and you have a cute little snowman. Use the same general idea for making a Santa. Create a "sled" by gluing four or five craft sticks next to one another. I prefer the reindeer!



Felt Trees and Gingerbread Men- Use cookie cutters or download a pattern for your preferred Christmas shape. For Gingerbread Men, use rick rack (the white squiggly stuff!) to make a border around the outside of the felt. Add googly eyes, felt buttons, a little bowtie, and more. For the felt trees, you sequins to create garland and mini-ornaments, and don't forgot the gold star on top!



Puzzle Piece Reindeer/Wreath- Gather up spare puzzle pieces from incomplete or mixed-up puzzles (this always seems to happen with young kids). Paint the puzzle pieces green if you want to make a wreath. Use several different colors for a varied look. Allow to dry and glue together into a circle, layering the pieces. Tie a red bow at the bottom and hang with an ornament hanger or a ribbon. For the reindeer, paint the pieces brown and create a head by layering several together. Glue 1-2 pieces for each antler. Add a red pom pom for the nose and googly eyes.





More Free Homemade Christmas Ornaments



Natural Ornaments: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/15-Homemade-Christmas-Ornaments-Natural-Ornaments



Recycled Paper Ornaments: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/15-Homemade-Christmas-Ornaments-Recycled-Paper-Ornaments



More Recycled Ornaments: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/15-Homemade-Christmas-Ornaments-More-Recycled-Ornaments





Easy Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments



Want an easy Christmas craft project for the children? This is it! And the smell it creates? Heavenly!



Materials:



* Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint

o 65000 White

o 65032 Leaf Green

o 65141 Bright Red

* Aleene's® Original Tacky Glue®

* Tulip® Glam-It-Up!™ Iron-On Crystals™

o TR325 Crystal 4mm

* Ribbon, to Hang Ornaments

* Drinking Straw

* Measuring Spoons

* Cinnamon

* Wax Paper

* Applesauce

* Scissors

* Paper Towels

* Measuring Cup

* Cookie Cutters

* Wire Rack

* Bowl

* Cloves

* Plastic Food Wrap

* Nutmeg

* Rolling Pin



Recipe for Easy Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments:



1 cup cinnamon

1 tablespoon cloves

1 tablespoon nutmeg

¾ cup applesauce, drained

2 tbsp glue



Steps:



1. Combine cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Add applesauce and glue. Mix well with hands until mixture is smooth and well combined.



2. Place wax paper down onto work surface.



3. Roll one quarter of dough between two pieces of wax paper until about ¼" thick.



4. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters, etc.



5. Cut holes for hanging using straw or similar object.



6. Dry on wire rack for several days, turning daily to keep from curling. Option - dry in a 250 degree F oven until hard.



7. For stones, squeeze out a dot of Tulip® 3D Fashion Paint slightly smaller than size of stone. Place stone into paint and gently press so paint comes up and around stone.



8. Refer to photo when decorating ornaments. Start flow of paint on a paper towel, applying an even pressure on bottle for a smooth line. Create polka dots or lines using different colors. Let dry completely.



9. Cut ribbon to desired length. Run through hole and knot at end of ribbon.





Other Homemade Christmas Tree Ornament Ideas



Polymer Clay Angel Ornament: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/Angel-Ornaments



10 Minute Holiday Ornament: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/10MinuteHolidayOrnament



Baby's First Christmas Porcelain Ornament: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/Baby-1st-Christmas-Ornament



Holly Painted Wood Ornament: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/Holly-Painted-Wood-Ornament



Mirrored Swirl Glass Ornaments: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/Mirrored-Swirl-Ornaments



Wooden Reindeer Ornament: http://www.favecrafts.com/Christmas-Crafts/Wooden-Reindeer-Ornament

You can find additional info at the following links:

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