Bring On The Gold Trees.....

Ok I have a super easy, inexpensive and FUN DIY project for you today.  Its so easy that it will amaze you...prepare to be amazed...hahahaha! Just joshin' with you a bit, but it is very easy to do and it's a fun project that kids can help with too (minus the epoxy part).

These gold napkin rings literally takes less than 30 mins and costs between $12-18 to make 6 or more, depending on what you may already have on hand.

Supplies:

Wood Ornaments

Acrylic Paint

Glitter Paint (optional)

Gold Floral wire (12 gauge)

5 Minute Epoxy

I bought these wooden ornaments at Michaels...they are usually a $1 each but I got them for $0.59 each..BARGAIN!  I got 12 of them but only made 6 napkin rings...I always have extras if I need them right?  They had lots of pretty options for ornaments but I loved these swirly trees and knew they'd be beautiful on the table.

I had gold paint and gold-glitter paint already but you can usually buy them for under $3 at most craft stores.  And in any color you want to match your decor or holiday table.  I didn't end up using the glitter paint but it would be a fun option to add on top of your painted ornaments if you wanted more sparkle...sparkle is always a good thing!

I like to paint things like this on wax paper as the wood ornaments won't stick when they dry. I just squirt a blob of paint onto the side of the paper and paint away.  I painted both sides with 2 coats so they'd look nice from any angle..they dry quickly.

Now I didn't take a photo at this point....I was caught up in watching "When Harry Met Sally" and totally forgot...forgive me!  This gold floral wire can be found at most craft stores and online...it also comes in lots of other bold colors too depending on what you want.  But it's 12 gauge & easily snipped with wire snips.  I wrapped the wire around the paint bottle (clever yes haha) 3 times and then snipped.  This gives you a nice mold for the wire rings.  It retails for around $5-10 depending on how big the spools are...use a coupon if shopping at Michaels, AC Moore or Hobby Lobby.  My motto is "NEVER PAY FULL PRICE" :)

Then you need some 5 minute Epoxy which most home improvement stores have and some craft stores do as well.  You don't need anything stronger than this since the ornaments are super light.  This part I think an adult should do if you are making these with your kids...just for safety's sake ok? Add a bit of epoxy to the backside of your ornament in a couple of places, then press on your wire ring and hold for a few seconds until the glue takes hold.  Put to the side and let them dry.

TA-DA!

And you end up with these beauties for your holiday table.  Pretty easy right?  You could make so many different versions, in pretty colors to mix and match as well.....lots of fun options for not a lot of money.  I think a set of these wrapped prettily in a box would make a great hostess or holiday gift as well.

I set up an impromptu holiday table in my kitchen for photo reasons only...usually we eat holiday meals in the dining room.  But I loved the way they turned out & am already thinking of making another set so I can mix-n-match them myself.

Nothing better than an easy & inexpensive DIY craft in my opinion!

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Entering into these Linky Parties:

Monday FunDay

Get Your DIY On December

The DIY Dreamer

Hit Me With Your Best Shot!

Wow Us Wednesdays!

DIY Vintage Photo Ornaments!

I'm gonna tell y'all something ok?  Its BIG...BIG...BIG!

CHRISTMAS IS COMING IN 5.5 WEEKS!

 Not too much longer eek!

And the first Christmas tree in the Dean house is already up..but I'm adding to it this year so I can't share yet.  And we hunt for our 12-13 foot real tree for the family room the first week of December. Then I will get the other 6-8 trees up as well.  And I'm always looking to add ornaments to my trees each year. And nothing better than homemade ornaments with meaning!  

So these photo ornaments fit the bill!  I saw similar ones on Pinterest over a year ago but never had time to make any (story of MY life).  I did mine a bit differently, went vintage and embellished them my way.  And I made a tongue-in-cheek fun one for my mom heehee!  They are great for gifts, place-setting favors during the holiday season or just for your own trees.

Use a photo editing program (free ones like Pic Monkey will work too) to make a 4x6 size blank page.  Then pick out the headshots/photos you want to use - you could also have these photos made online or at Target or another photo printing place if you don't have access to a laptop or computer.  I made duplicate photo files in Photoshop and then turned each of my photos into black & white versions.  Size them so you have 5-6 pics evenly spaced across...then duplicate and make 3 more rows of pictures like I have above.  Then you need to cut them into long strips.  I used pics of my family and did two each of the teens.  I want to do an animal version as well since I have 8 animals...they're worthy of their own :)

I wanted mine to be more vintage feeling so I inked them with Tim Holtz Distress Ink (antique linen) and my Inkssentials Blending tool.  You could print them in sepia tones if you wanted too...I did it this way because I wanted more ink on some of the strips then others for a more random, aged feel.

You will also need to cut more strips of paper from decorative scrapbooking/crafting paper the same length as your photo strips (however I varied the width of my strips for a different look).

Cut as many as you like...I cut more than I originally thought I would.  I cut strips of scrapbook paper  and then stamped sentiments on some in black ink...one says "Merry Christmas", one says "Peace" and the other says "Baby Its Cold Outside".  They all got inked as well for that vintage look.
I cut 9 strips from various papers along with my 4 photo strips...total of 13 strips to use on the ornaments.

Then I started laying them in a star pattern, pattern side UP, to space them as I liked.  Make sure the matching strip (twin) for each is across from itself like I did above.

As I added a few strips of paper where I wanted them, I pierced them with my paper piecer .

That way I could easily add the other strips on and have them evenly spaced and pierced for the brad I'm using to keep them together when I finish.

If you need a larger hole or don't have a paper piercer you can use a paper punch too.  I used a Crop-a-dile to make my pierced hole just a wee bit bigger.  Then I used a fun nail-look brad to insert and keep all those strips together.  This is the BOTTOM of the ornament.

Then you need to bring each strip and its twin up to create a ball shape and tape or staple them as you go.  I used low-stick tape for this because I found that I needed to adjust some strips as I went along.  The tape came off cleanly and allowed me to do that easily.  Once I was done I pierced the top again and put another brad in the top but you could staple or add some stronger tape if you chose.  

THIS IS THE TOP OF THE ORNAMENT!

Then you get to decorate and embellish the top of your ornaments.

I used ribbon (in black satin and gingham), a die cut from black cardstock and some burlap and paper-print flowers to layer.  I use Scor-Tape to tape my embellishments together and add to the top of each ornament...super strong stuff and no cutting, you just rip it!

This ornament above is a bit different from the other one I made with pics of my family.  This one is for my mother...she's a wee bit crazy for Kip Moore the country singer.  Kinda like how I am for Luke Bryan & Tim McGraw..obviously it runs in the family heehee.  So I used pictures I had snapped when we saw Kip in September and created photo strips of him and a sentiment that says "I {heart} Kip Moore" LOL!  A little tongue in cheek humor for the holiday is ALWAYS appropriate I think!  I used some music note scrapbook paper on this one too seeing that its a bit more musical.  The "Baby Its Cold Outside" I stamped onto paper to make strips too...I like the mix of different prints and words along with your photos on these.

So there you go...some unique, personalized ornaments for your tree.  Inexpensive to make, not much time involved and looks lovely on your Christmas tree this season.

You of course could make these in ANY COLOR or STYLE...that's up to you!

And if you don't want to use photos you don't have to.

If you give it a try, let me know....I'd love to see your version!

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Entering these into the following fab Linky Parties:

Thirty Handmade Days - Party Bunch
Making Home Base
Savvy Southern Style
Making Monday
Give Me The Goods
All Things Christmas Linky Party
That's What {Che} Said - Monday Funday
Home Stories A to Z
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Awesome Things Tuesday
Best of the Weekend Party
Get Your DIY On (holiday ornaments)
Hi Sugarplum/ Holiday Cheer