Wrap a Rainbow Colored Wreath for Your Tree

A rainbow colored wreath made from an old-fashioned curtain ring, a turned wooden ornament and yarn.

      This rainbow colored Christmas wreath is so easy to make, even the kids will enjoy putting it together.

      Variegated yarns come in a wide selection of color combinations so, you can customize this ornament to match virtually any color scheme that you choose.

      I chose a bright pinks, yellows, blues and red to match the painted colors of my angelic skier. The wooden figure really dresses up this simple craft.

wooden curtain ring

Supply List:

• old wooden curtain ring
• some variegated rainbow yarn
• white glue
• hot glue (adult use only)
• colorful ribbon
• scissors
• a tiny wooden figure 

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Spread white glue over small portions of the ring's surface as you wrap the variegated yarn around and through the wooden curtain ring. Cover the surface completely. Let the project dry.
2. An adult can hot glue the figure at the top and/or bottom of the inside of your yarn covered wreath.
3. Tie a bright bow and how glue this to the top of the curtain ring near the metal hook.
4. I also added a bit of white glue to the edges of my bow to prevent it from further unraveling over time.

25 More Cute Curtain Ring Christmas Wreaths:

1. Sparkly curtain ring wreath ornaments by Tuula
2. Mini wreath tutorial by Katie Brown
3. Red and white mini Christmas wreaths by Mellywood's Mansion
4. Divine Twine Christmas Wreath Garland
5. Curtain Ring Ornaments at the Little Pink Studio
6. Simple Statement Ornament by Lisa Gutierrez
7. DIY/ Do it yourself crochet curtain ring ornaments
8. Homemade Christmas Ornaments made from Curtain Rings
9. Christmas in September
10. Curtain Ring Snowman Ornament
11. Bobble Wheel Ornament Pattern by Made In K-Town
12. Peppermint Snowflake Ring Ornament by Doni Speigle
13. Tulle covered curtain ring ornament
14. Curtain ring covered with buttons, beads, and things
15. Curtain rings wrapped in yarn by Wee Wonderfuls
16. Christmas ornament star by Zita de Wilde 
17. Christmas Ball Ring Ornament by Whiskers and Wool and Rudolph the Red Nose Ring
18. Star Christmas Ring Ornament by Doni Speigle
19. Dorset Button Christmas Decoration
20. Peppermint Candy Ring Ornament
21. Small Angel Girl 'Jackie'
22. mini wreaths with sequins and Santas
23. Mini Monogram Wreaths
24. A tape dispenser ring Christmas Tree Ornament!
25. Easy ornamental mobile

DIY Sea Shell Star Ornament

This sea shell ornament is as light as a feather, no really!

Supply List:

• metallic beads
• quilter's thread (white)
• plastic chocolate shell mold
• sheet of cotton batting (quilt liner)
• paper clay
• light weight beading wire
• star shaped cookie cutter
• white tacky glue

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1.  String metallic beads on a thin wire.
   
2.  Shape the length of this beaded wire around a star shaped cookie cutter and twist together the joined ends.
3. Thread your needle with quilter's thread.
4.  Position your beaded star on top of a sheet of cotton batting used for lining quilts. Now whip stitch together the beaded wire and batting. Follow the entire outline of the beaded star.
5.  Cut out your cotton star shape and repeat the process again with an additional layer of cotton batting liner. Cut around the second layer again.
6.  Now whip stitch around the parameter of of the star attaching a random selection of metallic silver and gold beads.
7.  Open your paper clay and quickly mold shells from your plastic chocolate mold. Let these light weight shell shapes dry.
8. You can trim the edges of the paper clay if you need to after the shells dry.
9. Use super tacky glue to attach the paper clay shells to the cotton batting star ornament.

More Textile Sea Shell Ornaments:

• Fabric Christmas Ornaments - Make Shells, Sand Dollars and Starfish
• Crochet Sea Shells and Star Fish
• ...from the deepest ocean

Children's Alphabet Block Ornaments

A toy soldier, sailboat and wooden zebra will make an adorable menagerie on my Christmas tree this year!

A flocked cat with bright green eyes plays with a
ball on top of the letter K alphabet block.

       There are so many tiny toys that small chubby hands have stuffed into drawers here and there throughout my home. These little creatures are too charming to throw away and yet they are of little to no use to anyone since our children have grown. So, I decided to glue them to a set of children's alphabet blocks I purchased for pennies from a resale shop.

      I used a tacky white glue to adhere the toys to the wooden surfaces. I will wire them on the bottom so that I can attach them to branches differently from hanging ornaments. I like to have several attachment options when it comes to decorating my Christmas trees.

More Alphabet Block Christmas Tree Ornaments:

• How to Create Wooden Alphabet Block Christmas Tree Ornaments
• How to Make an Alphabet Block Elf Christmas Ornament
• Alphabet Block Snowman Tutorial
• Vintage Alphabet Block Christmas Decorations with Bottle Brush Trees

My husband's little dog chewed on these tiny, wooden German toys when he was young. I hadn't the heart to throw them out.

Here I have attached some odd assortment of miniature china animals to a few of the alphabet blocks.

A small wood turned Santa Claus figure along with a bottle brush tree and wool tree skirt finish off the top of my letter G alphabet block.

Paper Pulp, Silver Foil Belznickle Ornaments

These papier-mâché ornaments look much older than they
really are.

Supply List:

• silver foil spray paint
• acrylic paints: red, green, black, blue, white, flesh tone and brown
• masking tape
• paper pulp (Celluclay)
• newspaper, newsprint
• permanent ink marker
• Acrylic varnish

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Crush newsprint into the rough shapes of standing figures. You needn't add any detail as of yet. The details are made with the Celluclay after the newsprint has been covered completely with masking tape.
2. Mask with tape the entire figure.
3. Now take a permanent ink pin and roughly mark on your figures where the face, arms, tree and hoods should be. You can also rough in the features of your Belznickle.
4. Add a wire hook to the backside of each figure with glue and masking tape. Make sure this sticks out a bit after you have added pulp around it.
5. Mix together the Celluclay with a bit of warm water. If the mixture is too loose add more pulp; if the mixture is too dry add more water.
6. Add a couple of Tablespoons of glue to the mixture to make it extra tacky.
7. Shape the features of your Belznickle with the Celluclay. It will stick to the surface of the masking tape quite easily. You will need to let the front side of your Belznickle dry in a warm place for a few days before sculpting on the backside of the figures. As you may have guessed these ornaments are best made during the warmer times of the year.
8. After the Belznickles have dried, you may spray paint them with silver foil paint. Do this in a well ventilated area, like a garage. Also put the figures inside of a large box while you spray. This will prevent the paint from floating onto the surface of something that you do not intend to cover with silver foil paint.
9. When these little guys have dried, paint them with acrylic paints. Let them dry again.
10. Varnish the figures with acrylic varnish and string them with a wire or ribbon for hanging.

This is what Celluclay looks like before and after you mix it with water and a bit of glue.

More Celluclay Ornaments:

• My pine cone Santa Head ornament is also made with Celluclay
• The Kerseys sculpt the Grinch
• Faye Love sculpts a sweet Santa head ornament
• Bunny lumps from Charlotte Lyons

Wrap a Pipe-Cleaner Wreath Ornament

My finished pipe-cleaner wreath ornament.

Supply List:

• tiny red pom poms
• Green chenille stems (pipe cleaners)
• a hexagonal pattern
• cardboard
• scratch paper
• pencil
• scissors
• white glue
• green ribbon

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Cut a hexagon from a then piece of sturdy cardboard. Use a pencil to draw a smaller hexagon on the inside of the shape in the exact center of the cardboard. 
2. Cut out the smaller interior hexagon carefully.
3. Now carefully wrap green chenille stems around the cardboard shaped wreath. You may choose to use a little white glue to help the chenille adhere to the cardboard surface as you work.
4. Let the wreath dry. 
5. Glue on tiny red pom poms to both sides.
6. Tie on a lovely green silk ribbon to hang your ornament on the tree.

Hexagonal shaped wreath ornament. Left, paper template. Center, cardboard cut-out. Right, shape wrapped in chenille stems.

More Chenille Stem Wreath Ornaments:

• Petunia's Christmas and chenille wreaths
• Handmade ornaments from Pioneer woman's blog
• Craft a simple chenille stem Christmas wreath for a doll's house

Christmas Penny Peppermint Ornaments

      I used left over scrap wool for this Christmas ornament project. Little girls used to practice their sewing skills making decorative penny rugs during the mid 1800s for their homes. These little "rugs" as they called them were used to protect the surfaces of trunks, tables and dressers from scratches. 

      Traditional penny rugs use only round wool felt clippings for their designs but modern crafters often incorporate these simple shapes with more complicated motifs in their rug designs.

      I made these penny peppermints using two stitches: the straight stitch and a blanket stitch. However, you may use the embroidery stitches that you prefer to make similar versions.

Supply List:

• red and white threads
• red and white wool scraps
• circle template or coins to trace around
• plastic sandwich bags
• white glue
• wire hooks for hanging
• scissors
• needle

Step-by-Step Instructions:

1. Draw circular shapes to layer on top of each other by tracing around objects like coins or use a circle template if you like.
2. Then alternate red and white penny shaped wool scraps to suggest peppermint candies.
3. Knot the red thread and work from the back to the front all around the wool felt shapes.Sew using a straight stitch the first four layers of penny shapes together.
4. Then blanket stitch the fourth layer on top of the fifth using white thread.
5. Cut two more white felt circles to sandwich between two identical finished penny peppermints to give the wool candies thickness. Blanket stitch around the outside of these layers with red thread.
6. Cut the sandwich bags into rectangles. Wrap the wool peppermints by twisting either end together just like real peppermint candies are packaged. I wound white thread and added a bit of white glue to the threads in order to hold the plastic in place.
7. Twist on a wire hook at one end to hang your wool peppermint candies on the tree.

Left, Steps for layering the peppermint penny ornaments. Right the finished result before wrapping these in plastic candy wrappers.

Penny rug sample

      In the 1800s, starting around the time of the Civil War, thrifty homemakers would use scraps of wool or felted wool from old clothing, blankets and hats to create designs for mats or rugs. Using coins as templates, they created circles and each piece was then stitched in blanket stitch fashion. (Thus, the name "penny" rug). Sometimes, the mats or rugs were backed with old burlap bags or feed sacks. Sometimes a penny was stitched inside the mat to make it lie flat.

      Penny rugs are not actual rugs for the floor, but decorative coverings for beds, tables and dressers and mantles. Sometimes they are used as wall hangings or pillows. Most designs include circles and some include images from everyday life such as cats, flowers, birds and shapes such as stars and hearts.

       Penny rugs are made by selecting good quality 100% wool. It must not be too thick. It may be hand-dyed or overdyed to give the piece dimension. The wool is felted then circles are cut from the wool in varying sizes and then stitched together concentrically using complementary colors. The circles are stitched to a wool backing in a pleasing design. When finished the entire piece should have a backing to cover the stitches and to protect it. The backing may be wool, linen or burlap.

More Penny Rug Inspired Christmas Ornaments:

• Cute blue and white penny rug style ornaments from Old Crow Creations
• How to Stitch a Penny Rug; The "3 stack" with a personal backing"
• Pre-Cut Primitive Ornament Kit from RobinInStitches

Craft a Cotton Batting, Birch Yule Log Ornament

The front and back views of my Birch Yule Log Christmas ornament.

Birch trees click to read more about this species.

Supply List:

• two toilet paper rolls
• scissors
• white school glue
• grey dryer lint
• white cotton balls
• black thread
• holly and berry trims
• tiny mushroom bird
• masking tape
• cotton covered wire

Step-by-Step Directions:

1.  Cut and shape the two toilet paper rolls or any paper tubes to resemble a cut log. I choose to make this birch log shape a little narrower than the original circumference of an average toilet paper roll. I cut my two rolls length wise and curled them tighter before masking them with tape. 
2. I cut down the size of one of the rolls and added a bit of glue to it's edge, then used masking tape to firmly attach the appendage to one end of my log.
3. Mask the entire form with tape before gluing on the dryer lint and cotton batting.
4. Unravel your cotton balls several at a time so that you can work quickly.
5. Apply white glue to sections of the log's surface as you layer the lint and cotton onto the cardboard tubes. 
6. Give your Yule log time to dry between applications. I also layered dryer lint on the end interior surfaces of my log. I left parts of the log open however, in order to insert a letter or small money gift into the ornament later.
7. Once the log looks the way you wish it to, wrap black thread around it randomly to enhance the total realistic look of Birch bark. 
8. Use the tip of your scissors to poke a hole in either end of your finished log and insert a cotton covered wire to shape a handle for the ornament. 
9. I also wrapped a few vintage wired holly leaves/berries around this handle.
10. Glue on a little prefabricated mushroom bird to the top of your Yule log ornament too.
11. Now add a final thin coat of white glue to the finished piece and you are finished.

A few odd angles of the Yule log.

More About Yule Logs:

• The Yule Log in Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria
• Yule Log Gift Packaging and favor boxes from Martha Stewart
• How to Make Yule Log Candles
• Traditional yule log candle holder using Birch
• Craft a Yule Log Cake Candy Container