New Holiday Traditions

Host an Ornament Party!

Making homemade ornaments is a great way to spend some time with the kids and also create memories for years to come!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Santa Hat Ornament

Materials:

STYROFOAM™ Brand Foam:

Balls, 1-1/2", three

Cones, 6" x 3", two

Wool roving: red; green; natural

Serrated knife

Red embroidery floss

Candle stub or paraffin

Scissors

Felting needle

Fine-line black permanent marker

Ruler or measuring tape

Embroidery needle

Low-temp glue gun and glue sticks

Thick, white craft glue

Steps:

Wax serrated knife with candle stub or paraffin. Cut 2"-thick slice from bottom of each foam cone; set aside. Cut remaining portion of each cone in half lengthwise; flat side forms ornament back. Press foam balls against work surface to flatten bottoms slightly.

 

For pom poms, loosely cover each ball with one color of wool roving. Follow felting needle manufacturer's instructions to felt roving into place. Note: Keep fingers safely out of the way when felting; needles are extremely sharp. Continue needlefelting until roving is tight against foam surface.

 

Loosely cover one half-cone with natural roving and two more half-cones with green. Felt roving into place.

 

For polka dot hat, roll and needlefelt eight small red balls to green hat. Pull 1" x 8" natural strip and loosely needlefelt around bottom for trim.

 

For striped hat, pull seven 1/2" x 8" red strips and wrap evenly spaced around green hat; needlefelt to hat. Pull 1" x 8" green strip and loosely needlefelt around bottom for trim. Roll and needlefelt 10 small natural balls to trim and green pom pom.

 

For plaid hat, pull three 1/2" x 5" red strips. Needlefelt one strip down center of hat and other two evenly spaced on each side. Pull six 1/2" x 9" roving strips, three red and three green. Refer to photo to felt red strips horizontally around hat and green strips diagonally. Pull 1" x 8" red strip and loosely needlefelt around bottom for trim. Roll and needlefelt three small green balls to center red line as shown.

 

Glue pom poms to hats as shown. Cut three 8" floss lengths. Stitch one length through top of each pom pom; knot ends to create hanging loop.

Reindeer Ornament

Materials:

Paint

 Bright White

 Real Red

 Burnt Sienna

 Coal Black

Foam plate

1" wood split ball, industrial strength craft glue

Lo-temp glue gun and glue sticks

Craft foam in beige, brown

Small sharp scissors

1/2" flat brush

Liner brush

Regular-mouth metal canning jar lid

Pattern

 

Instructions:

Use flat brush and Burnt Sienna to paint top of lid.

 

Mix one part Bright White with one part Burnt Sienna. Use mixture to paint split ball.

 

Refer to photo for placement of muzzle and glue flat side of ball to jar lid.

 

Use end of brush handle dipped in Bright White to paint ovals for eyes.

 

Use end of brush handle dipped in Real Red to dot nose on muzzle.

 

Use liner brush and Coal Black to paint line for mouth and dots for pupils of eyes.

 

Trace and cut two ear patterns from brown foam; cut two antler patterns from beige foam.

 

Refer to photo for placement and use glue gun to attach ears to back edge of lid; glue antlers behind ears on back of lid.

 

Finish item as desired to create ornament, gift tag, pin, or magnet.

Pin: Attach self-adhesive pin back to upper center at back of completed lid;

Magnet: Attach 1" piece of self-adhesive magnetic strip to back center of completed lid;

Ornament or gift tag: Form loop from 10" length of 3/8" wide ribbon and glue between ribbon ends, aligning edges; glue ends to upper center back of lid.

Note: Let dry after each step.

Helpful Tip: We used a new lid with silver finish and minimal lettering. Using lids with printing or colors may require basecoat of Bright White.