Simple Repurposed Bulb Fabric Ornaments DIY

Repurposed bulb ornament with scrap fabric!

Repurpose old and ugly glass or styrofoam  bulb ornaments into something new!  A super easy project using scrap fabric, ribbon and old ornaments.

Upcycle old ornaments

Depending on the size of the bulb, you might start with an 8x8" square piece of scrap fabric. Make sure you have a cord attached for hanging then form the fabric around the bulb and tie a bow!  Carefully trim the excess fabric off without cutting the hanger and you have a super simple upcycled ornament!

Upcycled fabric ornaments

Be sure to see my upcycled jar lid photo ornaments and follow my Pinterest board: Christmas Ornament!

Do you upcycle at Christmas? Comments welcomed!

DIY Upcycled Photo Christmas Ornaments

DIY   Christmas Ornaments, holiday crafts made from upcycled jar lids, scrap ribbon and mini metallic Christmas trim with photos of friends and family. You can also find cool free vintage prints online to download or  recycle old Christmas cards!  I especially like the gingham lids from jam. 

Materials:

jar lids

hot glue 

Mod Podge

glitter or fairy dust

various trims, ribbon and cords

bells or something fun to dangle

tiny ornaments

photos or prints

Tools:

glue gun 

drill

scissors

1) Figure out the diameter you want for the photos using a photo editing program ( I used Mac Pages) I made extra in slightly different sizes just in case they didn't work. Leave enough space for any trim (about 1/4" ) print  and cut out the photo so they are circular and will fit in the lids.

2) Drill holes in lids; one on the top and one on the bottom; thread the cord you are going to use to hang them ( I like the stretchy gold ) add the bell then tie an knot on the inside of the lid and hot glue it. Do the same with the hanger, I tie a knot on the outside too.

3) Using Mod Podge, paint the lid on one side and a trick is to let the Mod Podge slightly dry by blowing on it for a minute or two then place your photo on it....this should keep the paper from crinkling and keep it nice and  smooth. Repeat on the other side and do all your other ornaments. I let mine dry about 1/2 hour before putting a coat of Mod Podge over and dusting with glitter or fairy dust.

4) When dry,  you can add the trim, hot gluing it in place and adding other ornaments like a bow.



Here is one I did for Abby,  from the The Vintage Inspired Passionista Blog made from the last pickle jar lid in my house:

Upcycled ornaments with free vintage printables on the backs

These look even better on a tree! Next year maybe I can save enough lids for my own tree!

Do you like upcycling Christmas ornaments, what do you make for Christmas? Comments welcomed!

DIY Mini Wreath Christmas Ornament Tutorial

 

DIY Mini Wreath Ornament Tutorial

Social Media can be a great place to connect with all sorts of creative people and find inspiration. In November CheyAnneSexton sent me some little pine cones she found. I used to find these alder cones in my old neighborhood but haven't seen any yet in North Seattle.  I thought they would be perfect to use for Christmas ornaments!  I found this great twine at Jo-Anns; it has wire in it so it can bend and hold its shape:

I started with a loop the size I wanted then wrapped more of the twine around it:

I kept wrapping more and hot glued the pine cones randomly:

I  spray painted a couple gold:

 

The rest I left plain; tied a gold cord for hanging and glued on a red ribbon bow. I attached some to gifts also!  This is the first year in a long time I actually had time before Christmas to make decorations! See my paper ornament tutorial for more Christmas craft ideas.

You can check out CheyAnne's watercolors and photography on Etsy:

Easy Christmas Crafts: Ornaments Made with Scalloped Paper Punch

These are simple DIY paper ornaments made with  Fiskar's 2" scalloped paper punch.  I like to upcycle old Christmas cards, catalogs and sheet music.  You can use a regular glue stick but I use Yes glue and you will need a cord to hang them with:

Start by punching out eight scalloped circles; I like to use four sheet music or lighter colors and four contrasting or darker colors but you can do any combination or solid colors. You can do this with only four paper punches and up to about 12-16! Try this with other shaped punches; get creative!

Fold them in half with the good side on the inside:

 Fold them all and cut a 16" piece of cord. Tie a knot at the end leaving a couple inches:

Start gluing; my punch has an odd number of scallops so just make sure to line them up and alternate colors:

When you get to the last one,  add the cord with the knot at the bottom, then glue the last punch (a bead would look cute at the bottom too!) :

 

I just love the look of paper ornaments. Get creative with your gift wrapping; add a couple to your box with a ribbon. You can also make garlands like this for any occasion!

Decorative Foil Balls DIY

I am always searching for ways of reducing static from the dryer and these foil balls are all over Pinterest so I thought I would give it a try! Well, no luck in reducing static but the balls became so smooth and dense; they remind me of mercury glass.

Foil dryer balls on Pinterest

I started with about a 2" ball of foil that I firmly packed.  If I do this again, I would start with even bigger balls because they shrink by one third.  Then I made several more:

Now if you put more than two balls in the dryer, it will be very noisy .... and this takes about two months if you do 4-5 loads a week! After a month your ball will look like the one on the right (below) still kind of like a foil ball. It takes awhile to get the smooth burnished look as the one on the left!

I think these balls will look great for the holidays.  So now,  I see some pins where they say to also put vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser for the rinse!   I am going to have to try this one!

Do you have any laundry tips or have any cool ideas for decorative balls? Do you have any Pinterest fails? I would love your comments here :)

UPDATE: No more balls in the dryer; just 1/4 vinegar in a Downy ball for the rinse cycle and not a bit of static!!!