You know how much we adore crafting unique ornaments, creating a cherished collection that grows with each passing year. This season, we’re thrilled to share our latest creations – beautifully personalized ornaments that are not only incredibly easy and affordable to make but also packed with sentimental value. Whether you’re a seasoned crafter or just looking for a simple, heartfelt project, these DIY ornaments featuring your little one’s artwork are the perfect way to infuse your home with holiday cheer and create lasting memories.
Cherished Gifts: Easy & Meaningful Holiday Keepsakes
Imagine the delight on a grandparent’s face when they receive a gift as unique and personal as these. Combining the adorable artwork of their favorite little ones with a sweet, custom-made ornament creates a truly unforgettable present – a grandparent gift jackpot, indeed! And let’s be honest, they’re so irresistibly cute that you’ll absolutely want to craft a few for your own Christmas tree too. Beyond being perfect gifts, these ornaments are a wonderful way to celebrate your children’s creativity, preserving their precious artwork in a festive and functional form.
Perhaps one of the most appealing aspects of these DIY ornaments is their incredibly low cost and quick turnaround time. Each ornament can be made for around just one or two dollars and takes roughly ten minutes to assemble. This makes them an absolute lifesaver when the holiday season is in full swing, and Christmas is less than a week away! They offer a stress-free, budget-friendly solution for adding a personal touch to your holiday decor and gift-giving.
Project 1: Charming Wooden Tag Ornaments with Kid’s Art
Let’s dive into creating our first type of ornament: the delightful wooden tags. These offer a rustic charm and a sturdy base for displaying precious artwork.
Gathering Your Materials for Wooden Ornaments
The foundation of these ornaments begins with selecting the right wooden blanks. I initially sought flat ceramic ornaments, similar to those used in a previous DIY project, but discovered they were out of stock at my local craft store. Instead, I found these charming, distressed wooden tags in the woodcraft aisle at Michael’s. They were a steal at just 99 cents each, and with a common online coupon, a set of six cost less than $6 – an incredibly budget-friendly starting point for personalized gifts.
If you can’t find similar wooden tags, or prefer not to drill holes, there are plenty of fantastic alternatives available online. Consider options like these smooth wooden discs, these pre-drilled wooden shapes, or even these simple wooden rectangles. Many of these already come with pre-drilled holes, saving you an extra step. When choosing, think about the size and shape that best complements your child’s artwork.
Preparing the Blanks: Drilling & No-Drill Alternatives
For my chosen wooden tags, a quick drilling step was necessary to create a hanging hole. This is a straightforward process, even for beginners. I used a 3/16th-sized drill bit, which is ideal for threading ribbon. Safety is key when drilling, so always use a scrap piece of wood underneath your ornament to protect your work surface. This also prevents drilling directly into valuable surfaces, saving you from potential wrath from any “shed-obsessed” family members! If you’re hesitant about using a drill, there’s a simple no-drill solution: just tape a loop of ribbon securely to the back of the ornament with strong adhesive tape or hot glue. It will hang perfectly fine and look just as charming.
Transforming Art into Ornaments: The Sticker Magic
Now for the truly magical part: applying your child’s artwork! For this project, we used pre-made stickers from our children’s school fundraiser, Square1Art, which many schools participate in. My son’s delightful caterpillars from preschool and my daughter’s adorable blue birds from first grade were perfect. These fundraisers often send home free stickers of the artwork, offering an easy way to get high-quality reproductions.
If your school doesn’t offer a similar program, don’t worry! You can easily create your own stickers. Simply scan or photograph any cherished piece of kid art, then print it out onto full-sheet sticker paper. Alternatively, you can print the artwork on regular paper, carefully cut it out, and then adhere it to the wooden surface using a decoupage medium like Mod Podge. Both methods are incredibly easy and offer a fantastic way to preserve and display artwork that might otherwise get tucked away in a box or lost over time. This transforms fleeting childhood creations into lasting keepsakes that can be enjoyed year after year.
The Final Flourish: Adding Ribbon
With your artwork firmly in place, the last step for your wooden ornaments is to thread some thin ribbon through the pre-drilled hole (or attached loop). We used a festive red ribbon we had on hand – a testament to my habit of saving every last gift bag, bow, ribbon, and gift box. Seriously, my collection is so vast, I could probably fashion a full-on ball gown à la Cinderella with my surplus! This practice is not only sustainable but also ensures you always have a variety of colors and textures available for your crafting projects. Choose a ribbon color that complements the artwork or matches your holiday decor. Tie it securely with a simple knot or bow, and your beautiful, personalized wooden ornament is complete!
Project 2: Enchanting Clear Dome Terrarium Ornaments
Moving on to another unique design, let’s talk about the clear domed ornaments, a variation I created last year that offers a completely different aesthetic.
Materials for a Magical Sphere
You can find these special plastic ball ornaments with a cut-out front – almost like a miniature terrarium – at craft stores like Michael’s and JoAnn. They’re often sold individually or in small packs. With a coupon, they typically cost around $1.50 each, making them another affordable option. If you can’t find them locally, similar clear fillable ornaments are readily available online. These dome-shaped ornaments provide a wonderful three-dimensional quality, creating a tiny world within for your child’s art.
Assembling Your Miniature World
The process for these is just as simple. I stuck the child’s art sticker to the inside of the back curve of the ornament. To add a festive touch, I incorporated some fake snow. We happened to have some leftover from our “little glass boxes full of dogs” project, but you can easily find fake snow or glitter at any craft store during the holidays. Using Elmer’s glue, I carefully adhered some snow to the inside base of the dome and also lightly dusted some around the outside top edge for a magical, frosted effect.
A quick tip for placing stickers in curved ornaments: Avoid trying to curve the sticker to hug the back of the ball completely, as this will inevitably lead to wrinkles and warping. Instead, firmly press only the four corners of the sticker to the curved surface where they meet the plastic. This technique keeps the sticker nice and straight, preventing those unsightly wrinkles that can occur from pressing the center too hard. This method still ensures a secure hold; my ornament from last year is still perfectly intact after more than 365 days!
Beyond the Basics: Tips for Your Ornament-Making Journey
One of the joys of these projects is watching your kid-art ornament collection grow each year. To keep things interesting and prevent a “too matched” look, consider experimenting with different objects and materials in future years. Perhaps flat ceramic disks next year, followed by a wooden block the year after. The possibilities are endless, and each new design will add another layer of uniqueness to your holiday decor.
- Involving Children Safely: Depending on their age, children can assist with various steps like selecting their artwork, peeling stickers, choosing ribbons, or even applying fake snow (with supervision). Make it a fun family activity!
- Batch Crafting: If you’re making multiple ornaments for gifts, consider creating them in batches. Drill all the holes at once, then apply all the stickers, and finally add all the ribbons. This streamlines the process and saves time.
- Personalization Beyond Art: Add the child’s name and the year to the back of each ornament with a permanent marker. This adds an extra layer of personalization and helps track the memory over time.
- Durability: For added protection, especially if using Mod Podge or regular paper, consider sealing the finished ornament with a clear, non-yellowing craft sealant or spray varnish. This will protect the artwork from fading or wear.
- Storage: Store your precious handmade ornaments carefully in padded boxes to ensure they last for many Christmases to come.
Embracing the Holiday Spirit (and Cookies!)
As Christmas approaches with its usual fast and furious pace, I hope you’re all having fun and not getting too stressed! My personal recommendation for navigating the holiday rush is to indulge in all the chai and eat all the cookies – it truly helps maintain sanity and joy. On a practical note, I recently treated myself to LED window candles that are battery-operated and don’t need to be plugged in. This provides immense peace of mind, as I no longer worry about them potentially burning the house down (a previous electric one tipped and melted the bottom of our blinds – ack!). The added bonus? They come with a timer, so they automatically turn on and off each day, eliminating the daily chore of manually switching them. It feels like Santa came early with that convenience! And of course, remember: all the cookies. Seriously, all of them.
More DIY Holiday Inspiration from Our Archives
If you’re brimming with creative energy and looking for more holiday projects, dive into our extensive archive of DIYs. We’ve got a fantastic collection of other ornament ideas and small, easy Christmas projects to keep your crafting spirits high:
- 1. Once upon a time, we made a ton of painted homemade ornaments.
- 2. Here’s how to make giant red reindeer (an important life skill, truly!).
- 3. Discover the unique ornaments we crafted with John’s race medals.
- 4. Revisit the silhouette ornaments we made a while back for our kiddos, including adorable handprints.
- 5. Learn how to create snowy boxes full of little trees & puppies – always a good idea for festive decor.
- 6. Explore our collection of antler & animal ornaments, enchanting snow-capped glass balls, & naturally beautiful dried orange slices.
- 7. Get the step-by-step guide on how we made these charming rustic wood ornaments.
We hope these ideas inspire you to embark on your own holiday crafting adventure. There’s nothing quite like the joy of seeing your tree adorned with ornaments made with love, each telling a unique story and holding precious memories. Happy crafting, and may your holidays be filled with creativity, warmth, and lots of cookies!
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