Join Our Mailing List

Perpetualplum's Weblog

Northwest Local Event Calendar

Flickr Photos

Victorian Christmas Ornaments

Do you need a free crafting idea for Christmas ornaments or gifts? Here is another free christmas craft idea for ornaments for the holidays or every day. These wonderful ornments are made from vintage looking victorian stickers, wood, glitter and a few doodahs.

Supplies

1 ½ inch turned wood circles (discs)
13/8 inch Circular Color Stickers
Decoupage Glue
Tacky Glue
Antique Gold Acrylic Paint
Gold Cording
Extra Fine Glitter, Stamping Glitter, or Crystal Snow
20 Gauge Brass Wire
Gold Tone and Pearl Christmas Garland (optional)

Tools

Toothpick
2 paintbrushes (one cheap one for glue, another one for paint)
Small wire cutter
Small jewelry chain pliers
Drill and small drill bit if you don't have holes in your wood discs.

Instructions

If your wood circles/discs do not have a hole in them, you will need to drill a small hole for hanging your ornament near the top of the circle. Choose a drill bit that is large enough to accommodate your hook or hanger.

Paint the back, sides and front of the discs. Since the sticker will not completely cover the disc, you will need to at least partially paint the front of the disc. I used Antique Gold (DecoArt Americana) acrylic, but you could choose a different acrylic color. A metallic might look nice.

Next, select your stickers to place on one side of the disc. Even though my images are stickers, I use a decoupage glue to adhere the sticker to the wood disc. The first one is that it easier to move the sticker around and position it just right. The second reason is that it insures the sides of the sticker will not come up when I decide to add the glitter.

You have probably just covered up the hole in your disc. You can take a toothpick, from the back (the side without the image) stick it inside the hole in the ornament, and lightly prick a hole in the front of the image. Then, take the toothpick and poke it through the front of the ornament, so that the raw edges are inside the wood disc. You want to make sure the glue is dry. This usually takes about 20 minutes.

Once the glue is dry it's time to attach the gold cord around the outside of the wood disc. I use a tacky glue to attach the cording. This can be a very frustrating step and may require some patience frequent hand washing and a box to help hold the ends of the cord in place while the glue dries.

First cut the cord to the circumference of the disc. Then put tacky glue all the way around the outside of the disc. I find it's easier to hide the ends of the cord if you put the ends of the cord at the top of the ornament above the hole for the hook. Wrap the cording around the disc. Make sure the cord is sitting inside your glue. Hold the ends of the cord in place while you wipe the glue from the backside of the ornament. Put the disc up against a box, so that the ends of the cord are touching the box. This holds the cord in place until the glue sets up.

Now it's time for the glitter. If your glitter is clear, like a crystal glitter, you can use a cheap paintbrush and brush decoupage glue all over the front of the disc, on top of the image and sprinkle the glitter over the top. You can tap the side of the ornament against the table to remove the excess glitter. If the glitter is not clear, you may want to brush on the glue a little lighter and add the glitter by the pinchful.

At this point, you may choose to put string through the ornaments and your done.

I choose to take apart a garland with wire wrapped faux pearls and crystals. I made hooks from 20-gauge brass wire using a small wire cutter and a pair of chain pliers. When I make any loop in the wire I always start at the end of the wire and wrap. I first made a small circle by wrapping the end of the wire on the smallest end of the chain pliers. I then bent the end with the small loop over a pencil to make my hook end. On the other end I wrapped the wire completely around the pencil. When I connect the piece of the garland, I will close the loop, so the ornament can't slip off. My garland pieces have littler rings attached that can be slipped into the hole on the ornaments.

Now you have a beautiful Victorian ornament for your tree or an easy and inexpensive gift for someone special. Because of the glitter the ornament will change with the light (see the pictures below). For more free christmas crafts, visit the Projects page.

Resources

Grafton, Carol Belanger, Ready-To-Use Victorian Color Stickers, Dover Publishing Inc. Mineola, N.Y. 1983

crafts-are-us eBay Seller sells Wood Discs.