What are some creative ideas for homemade ornaments for an exchange group?

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Discussion Overview

This thread explores various creative ideas for homemade ornaments suitable for an ornament exchange group. Participants share their personal experiences and suggestions for crafting unique ornaments, considering the time constraints and challenges of the upcoming holiday season.

Discussion Character

  • Anecdotal
  • Opinion-based
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a consultant, mentions needing to create 20 homemade ornaments by early December and seeks ideas due to a busy schedule.
  • Another participant shares an experience of making ornaments with buttons and glitter, emphasizing that they can be made to look elegant.
  • One user describes a method using clear glass ball ornaments and craft paint to create marbled effects, noting the importance of not using too much paint.
  • Several participants suggest using strips of paper to create balloon-like ornaments, with some expressing enthusiasm about trying this method.
  • One participant lists various ornament ideas from previous years, including noodle angels and stuffed bells, highlighting the diversity of homemade ornaments.
  • Another participant mentions the challenge of finding a unique ornament idea that balances aesthetics and effort, especially in a group with experienced crafters.
  • One user discusses using wooden blanks for painting and suggests capturing group photos as a personalized ornament idea for future exchanges.
  • Another participant notes that some ornaments are easy to make but may not store well, sharing their experiences with different materials and techniques.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ on the complexity and durability of various ornament ideas, with some participants expressing concerns about the longevity of certain crafts while others focus on the creative process.

Contextual Notes

Participants share a range of experiences and ideas, reflecting on past ornament exchanges and the creative challenges they face in making unique, homemade items.

Who May Find This Useful

Consultants looking for inspiration for homemade ornaments or those participating in similar ornament exchange groups may find the shared ideas and experiences valuable.

babywings76
babywings76
Gold Member
Messages
7,266
I'm in an ornament exchange group. The ornaments are supposed to be homemade and of original quality. I have to have 20 made for the first Friday in December. Yeah, my November is going to be crazy with, so far, 7 PC shows and 2 kids birthdays and a family birthday party, so I need to get going on this as soon as possible. Anyone have any ideas?
 
We did something like this with my child's class (I know this is for adults, but you can make them so they are nice and don't look like a 5y/o did it). On our we used shite buttons of various sizes then sprayed them with aerosol glue and covered them with clear glitter. They are really pretty on the tree.

I also like the poem they have to attach to them.

Ramblings of a Crazy Woman: Popsicle Stick Snowflake and Poem
 
Do they have to be entirely homemade? Awhile back, our Sunday School class made ornaments by taking clear glass ball ornaments (they have them at Hobby Lobby). Remove the metal cap, squirt a little craft paint inside , hold your finger over the opening and shake hard to "splatter" the paint inside. Add a couple of colors and it looks "marbled". Add some glitter too if you want. When it looks the way you want it, put the ornament in an egg carton, with the hole down so as to drain the extra paint and let it dry. Don't use too much paint or it takes forever to dry and the balls for some reason are much more fragile with a lot of paint in them. Put the metal cap/hanger back on them and tie a beautiful ribbon on the hanger. They turn our beautiful. Sparkle paint is awesome too.
 
babywings76 said:
I'm in an ornament exchange group. The ornaments are supposed to be homemade and of original quality. I have to have 20 made for the first Friday in December. Yeah, my November is going to be crazy with, so far, 7 PC shows and 2 kids birthdays and a family birthday party, so I need to get going on this as soon as possible. Anyone have any ideas?
Click to expand...

Well since your November is so busy.... If any of those shows are catalog show I will be the nice one and take that extra work off your load and add those shows to my bookings!! LOL LOL LOL I mean isn't that sweet of me to offer that for you?
 
What about taking like 20 strips of paper, hole punching each end, then put a piece of string through the ends. If you push the paper down it balloons out and then you fan them into a circle. Put a fun bead at the top and bottom, make a loop and you have an ornament. I probably didn't make much sense, so here's a picture...
 

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pamperedlinda said:
We did something like this with my child's class (I know this is for adults, but you can make them so they are nice and don't look like a 5y/o did it). On our we used shite buttons of various sizes then sprayed them with aerosol glue and covered them with clear glitter. They are really pretty on the tree.

I also like the poem they have to attach to them.

Ramblings of a Crazy Woman: Popsicle Stick Snowflake and Poem
Click to expand...


Linda, were the buttons REALLY that bad? LOL, sorry couldn't resist! :D
 
  • Thread starter
  • #7
GourmetGirl said:
What about taking like 20 strips of paper, hole punching each end, then put a piece of string through the ends. If you push the paper down it balloons out and then you fan them into a circle. Put a fun bead at the top and bottom, make a loop and you have an ornament. I probably didn't make much sense, so here's a picture...
Click to expand...

Well those sure are cute! I wonder if I can do it?! Do you think they'll hold up okay? I know some years people made ornaments that didn't survive more than one season, and they were ticked. :grumpy:

I found this idea but I'm not sure I can do it without a pattern, I'm a lousy artist. :rolleyes:

http://www.tallmouse.com/projects/xmas/corrugatedclaus/corrugatedclaus.jpg
 
kcjodih said:
Linda, were the buttons REALLY that bad? LOL, sorry couldn't resist! :D
Click to expand...

oops - typo! that would be WHITE Buttons.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #9
GourmetGirl said:
What about taking like 20 strips of paper, hole punching each end, then put a piece of string through the ends. If you push the paper down it balloons out and then you fan them into a circle. Put a fun bead at the top and bottom, make a loop and you have an ornament. I probably didn't make much sense, so here's a picture...
Click to expand...

I'm really liking these, the more I think about it. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to make them. Shouldn't be too hard, right? :)
 
You can also find some dough like ornaments and personalize them with the year or the name of your group and it would probably do.. sign your name on the back. I make ornaments every year. .. some examples
1) Puff paint people...get material and cut out say people shapes make clothes/faces on them with puff paint for fabric... puff the paint after it dries and make a stuffed doll out of the ornament. Kids even made cute dolls.. we still have them and laugh every year. Or wreath shape..or bell shape...
2) I made the clear ornaments with paint poured in the middle one year.
3) Stained glass ornaments
4) one year I made angels out of felt.. they were flat
5) one year I made angels out of noodles they were 3D
6) one year I made stuffed bells out of paper grocery sacks.. to be "recycled"
You can look up ormanents on say Good Housekeeping to find great ideas. I don't know what I'll make this year yet. Maybe someone will come up with a great idea.
 
I have made the noodle angels...then painted them with gold and silver craft paint...they are cute.
 
take regular round Christmas ball ornaments, glue one to an ice cream cone and decorate with glitter paint. Childish? Maybe. But easy, and they look pretty cute. :)
 
  • Thread starter
  • #13
It's always hard to decide what to make every year. You should see some of the ornaments these women make. Homemade stained glass angels, antique beaded things, mini-hand quilted stockings, some very Victorian ornaments, then you have the ones who have a wood cutter cut out their pieces basic shape and then they hand paint (looks so professional) things that look so amazing. One lady even hand whittled her ornament! Then you have some more basic ornaments that are nice, just not at the same level of difficulty or time investment. I struggle with finding something that looks great, looks like I spent a lot of time and effort, but isn't ridiculously hard. Some of the ladies in the group have been making ornaments for this exchange group for 10 years! So I try real hard to come up with something unique. I can't believe this is my 5th year in it!
 
You can get wooden blanks in Christmas shapes and paint them. I get mine at Michaels.. an Arts and Crafts store. I see what you are up against. This year.. take you camera and snap photos of everyone.. or of the group as a whole.. and you will have a great start to the next year. (frames of some sort) and it will be personalized. Or give them each a dollar.. the way things are going they may be really special by then lol
 
babywings76 said:
I'm really liking these, the more I think about it. I'll have to see if I can figure out how to make them. Shouldn't be too hard, right? :)
Click to expand...

They are extremely easy to make but they don't store well! They are easily crushed, bent, etc.

If you do want to make them, let me know & I will post step by step directions.

Do you stamp? I've made some adorable ornaments with the clear ornaments, window sheets (transparencies), stamps & fake snow. I've also made really cute ornaments with round coasters (the kind they use at restaurants that are cardboard type material).

Bev
 
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  • #16
I'm not a stamper, although I love stamped projects. We actually have a major stamper in our group, so I try to let that be her domain. ;)
 
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  • #17
Stampaholic1961 said:
They are extremely easy to make but they don't store well! They are easily crushed, bent, etc.

If you do want to make them, let me know & I will post step by step directions.

Do you stamp? I've made some adorable ornaments with the clear ornaments, window sheets (transparencies), stamps & fake snow. I've also made really cute ornaments with round coasters (the kind they use at restaurants that are cardboard type material).

Bev
Click to expand...

Since you said these don't hold up too well, I think I'll do a different project for my group. I think I'll make them for my own family Christmas tree though, since they are so cute! I'd love the directions. And I think my daughter would love to help me make these. :)
 
babywings76 said:
Since you said these don't hold up too well, I think I'll do a different project for my group. I think I'll make them for my own family Christmas tree though, since they are so cute! I'd love the directions. And I think my daughter would love to help me make these. :)
Click to expand...

What if you shellac them, though? Do you think that would make them last longer?

My first thought, after reading the original post, was to suggest Mini-Whisks, with pretty ribbon bows, and a loop with which to hang them for the tree. I guess that isn't 'homemade' enough, though!!
 
Last edited:
  • Thread starter
  • #20
pampchefsarah said:
What if you shellac them, though? Do you think that would make them last longer?

My first thought, after reading the original post, was to suggest Mini-Whisks, with pretty ribbon bows, and a loop with which to hang them for the tree. I guess that isn't 'homemade' enough, though!!
Click to expand...

I totally was thinking something like that would be cute...but I'd have to find a way to make it homemade. Like an ornament made to look like a PC product.

A lot of us make something that isn't necessarily a typical Christmas themed ornament. One person made a homemade Hershey Kiss, smiling, and popping up out of the foil by using Sculpey. I made a miniature "Cookies in a Jar" using baby food jars. I had things glued to the inside of the jar to make it look like the layers of flour, sugar, brown sugar, oats, and choc. chips, covered it with mini sized fabric and a mini tag w/ instructions, etc. We have to share a story behind our ornament, so that was the year that my son was a baby and we had a ton of baby food jars. So now, when we all see the ornaments, we think of what people had going on in their lives at the time, based on what story they shared, or what the ornament was crafted from, etc. So trying to come up with something PC related would be super appropriate for me because this is my first year of being a consultant. :)
 
How about an adapted PC recipe?

Cinnamon Clay Ornaments
1 ½ Cups Cinnamon
1 ¼ cups Applesauce (not chunky)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons white school glue

Mix cinnamon, applesauce and glue in bowl. Remove from bowl and knead mixture until firm and clay-like. Refrigerate 30 minutes.
Roll dough onto flat surface to about ¼ inch thick. Cut with various shapes of cookie cutters. Poke hole in top with drinking straw. Place ornaments on cookie sheets and allow to dry, about 5 days. Thread ribbon through hole and tie securely.
Makes 30 ornaments.

I made some a couple of years ago and used the star in the Creative Cutters set. They smell fantastic and are really cute. This year I used a gingerbread man cookie cutter and attached some pretty ribbon.

The original PC recipe can be found on CC under recipe search. It was designed to be used with the stoneware heart molds.
 
I have wanted to do these for years: http://www.debduzscrappin.com/tutorials/paper_rolls_ornament.htm

I have a ton of scrapbook paper laying around... maybe I will do that this year, lol.
 
What about making a cook w/apron out of mini-marshmallows or something? Have you seen those 'Smores ornaments? Maybe too labor intensive though.
 
homemade pretzel wreaths from last year's Homemade For The Holidays
 

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some easy homemade ornament ideas for beginners?

For beginners, simple ideas like salt dough ornaments, painted pinecones, or paper snowflakes are great options. You can create salt dough by mixing flour, salt, and water, then shape it into various designs. Once baked, you can paint them with festive colors. Pinecones can be decorated with glitter or paint, and paper snowflakes can be cut from white paper and hung with string.

How can I personalize homemade ornaments for an exchange group?

Personalizing ornaments can be done by adding names, dates, or special messages. You can use paint pens to write on wooden or ceramic ornaments, or create custom tags with the recipient's name. Another idea is to incorporate photos or small mementos that represent shared memories, making each ornament unique to the recipient.

What materials do I need for making homemade ornaments?

The materials you might need include basic crafting supplies like felt, fabric, paper, glue, scissors, and paint. For more durable ornaments, consider using wood slices, clear glass or plastic baubles, and natural elements like twigs or dried flowers. Don't forget string or ribbon for hanging your creations!

Can I use recycled materials to make ornaments?

Absolutely! Recycled materials can add a unique touch to your ornaments. You can use old CDs, bottle caps, or cardboard to create fun shapes. Old jewelry can be repurposed into decorative elements, and fabric scraps can be sewn into festive shapes. This not only saves money but also promotes sustainability.

What are some themes for homemade ornament exchanges?

Themes can make your ornament exchange more fun and cohesive. Consider themes like "Nature," where participants use natural materials, or "Vintage," where everyone creates ornaments inspired by past decades. Other ideas include "Favorite Holiday Movie," where each ornament represents a beloved film, or "Cultural Traditions," where participants share ornaments that reflect their heritage.

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