11 Christmas Ornaments You Can Make

I’ve been a busy little elf this holiday season making a bunch of ornaments!! I didn’t realize how many I made until I started putting together this list. Here are 11 Christmas ornaments you can make to decorate your trees.

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1.Mini Birdhouses

These cute little birdhouses were inspired by ornaments that I saw in the Pottery Barn catalog.

They started out as unfinished $1 wood birdhouses from the craft section of Michael’s. I spray-painted them white.

Then when the white paint was dry I painted the roof with copper metallic acrylic paint and added fine copper glitter (while the paint was wet).

Check out my Christmas Village House tutorial to see pictures of each step of the process…I did the same technique on the houses as I did on the ornaments

2. Red Glitter Snowflakes

This is a super easy ornament that looks really pretty on the tree…plus you can make a bunch to fill in your tree for only a few $$$! I bought a bag of these unfinished wood ornaments from Amazon ($8.99 for 24)

• I painted the ornaments red with a quick coat of acrylic paint and let them dry.
• Once the paint was dry the ornaments got a coat of spray adhesive.
• Then I sprinkled the ornaments with red glitter.

You could use any combo of paint and glitter that goes with your own Christmas tree decor… I’m doing a red & white tree in my kitchen.

3. DIY Mercury Glass

This was a fun DIY ornament to make!! I love how they came out!! You need Krylon Looking Glass Paint, vinegar, clear plastic ornaments, and antique gold metallic acrylic paint to make a set of your own.

Here is the entire Faux Mercury Glass Ornament DIY tutorial. This one has a few steps to follow.

4. Dried Orange Slice Ornaments

Oh, I love how dried orange slices look!! I don’t know what it is about them…I just think they look beautiful mixed in with Christmas decor and ornaments.

How to make orange slice ornaments:

• Slice oranges to about ¼ inch in thickness and spread out on a cookie sheet
• Bake slices in a 200° oven for a few hours ( 3-4 until they are completely dried)
• Use jute twine, hooks, or ribbon to make ornaments or run floral wire though them to add to garlands or wreaths. I love to add cinnamon sticks to the ornaments

5. Distressed Wood Ornaments

These ornaments started out with a package of oversized unfinished wooden snowflakes from Hobby Lobby…but my technique can be used on any unfinished shaped ornament!

My favorite way to stain small things is with this trick…use Rit fabric dye! I poured a few tablespoons into a container of hot water and gave the snowflakes a bath.

It’s so much quicker than trying to stain each one…no muss no fuss!!

After the snowflakes were stained I gave them a quick rinse and let them dry.

A super light brushing of white chalk paint…I barely touching the paintbrush to the ornament creates a distressed effect without the messy sanding afterward.

6. Gingerbread Salt Dough Men

Making this cinnamon-scented salt dough is super easy! This year I made a big batch and used it for 3 different projects.

recipe for cinnamon salt dough

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup salt
• ¼ to ½ cup cinnamon (use the cheap kind)
• 1½ cups very hot water

Mix the dry ingredients together then add the hot water and stir well. Knead the dough until it’s thoroughly combined.

Roll out dough until ¼ inch thick, I rolled it out on a silicone baking mat, you could do it on a floured surface so the dough doesn’t stick.

Use any sized gingerbread man or other holiday cookie cutter to cut out your shapes.

If you would like to make a hole for hanging all you have to do is use a straw and poke it through near the top edge. I hot glued the baker’s twine to the back of the ornaments.

Bake your cutouts for 2 hours in a 250° oven, flip after 1 hour. The dough should be hard.

I decorated them with red and white puffy paint.

7. Botanical Ornaments

This is one of my favorite ornaments that I made this year! I love bringing natural elements into my decorating style…and this includes Christmas! I made a set of these botanical ornaments to hang on my living room Christmas tree. My living room is decorated in a winter woodland theme.

To make botanical ornaments I started with a set of large bulbs (mine are about 4 inches) and layered in a few different botanical elements.

I started with a sprinkling of fake snowflakes on the bottom and then added angel vine, different dried moss, dried flowers, and artificial winter greens.

8. Wood Slice Wreath

I had a bag of wood slices from another project and wanted to find a way to use them. I used a round wooden lid in the center and made a ring of the slices around it.

Then I added a second layer of the slices but this time used wood glue on the back and placed each one between two of the slices on the bottom row,

Once the glue was dried I wrapped jute twine around the top to make a hanger and then tied a pretty green velvet ribbon to the front.

9. Stained Bulb Ornament

When I was making the distressed snowflake ornaments I also dipped a bag of these unfinished bulb-shaped ornaments into the Rit dye bath. I had a bag of assorted snowflake ornaments leftover from my Countdown To Christmas Calendar last year.

While the bulb ornament was drying I painted the wood snowflakes with red acrylic paint.

After everything was dry I put a little glue on the back of the snowflakes and attached 2 to each ornament…on a diagonal.

A red and white chenille ribbon finished off these cute ornaments.

10. Rose Gold Metal Snowflakes

Do you have any galvanized metal ornaments you are kinda over?? This technique will transform them into a total 2021 look!

First I sprayed the galvanized ornaments with rose gold metallic spray paint

Once the paint was dry I brushed Mod Podge over the front of the ornament.

Then I sprinkled rose gold fine glitter over the Mod Podge. You want to use fine glitter for this ornament…the big chunky glitter won’t look as elegant on your tree.

11. Wood Slice w/ Snowflakes

I can’t believe I made 11 ornaments this season…geez, no wonder my hands are so tired!!! This is a super quick one to make so perfect for my last one.

I used a large wood slice round and a large wooden snowflake ornament.

Then spray painted the snowflake with a metallic copper color. When the paint was dry I brushed a coat of Mod Podge onto the back of the snowflake and placed it onto the wood slice…making sure the hanging loop was past the edge of the wood slice so I could hang the ornament.

Have a wonderful holiday season!! – Jennifer

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