This post for How to Make Your Own Christmas Tree Ornaments was sponsored by Plaid and Blueprint Social. All opinions are 100% my own.
What time of year do you burst out the Christmas music? Before I married my husband, it was December. It absolutely had to be after Thanksgiving because Turkey and Pumpkin Pie are awesome and should be celebrated. But now? My husband can barely wait until after Halloween. He already has half my Christmas shopping done and I have only bought our Christmas pajamas. If you can get me into an art project, though…I’m all over Christmas in November. Like making these beautiful wreath Christmas Tree Ornaments!
I have made a lot of paper tree ornaments because that’s what I excel in. The problem is that paper ornaments don’t last as long as I’d like. My ornaments from last year are gorgeous and a little sturdier, but these polymer clay babies will last forever. Well, I won’t say FOREVER because I have three kids, but they’re super durable and won’t break as easily as glass.
We made a polymer clay advent calendar the first year we got married. The sticky velcro on the backs of our pieces melted off (we live in Arizona…what can I say?) so our kids had never seen them. We decided to fix them this year and add some of the kids’ designs to the calendar. While they did their calendar pieces, I made these.
I love how these look really complicated…looks like they took hours, right? No…not even close. The longest part is waiting for them to bake in the oven or waiting for the paint to dry. The actual crafting time was minutes.
What you’ll need:
- Polymer Clay (you can find it at craft stores or even Walmart)
- Rolling Pin
- 2″-3″ Circle Cookie Cutter
- FolkArt® Multi-Surface Paint in various colors
- Confetti Pieces (I made my own with a hole punch and glitter paper)
- Mod Podge Pearl formula
- Paint brushes
- Ribbon
- Roll the clay out with a rolling pin until it’s a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Flip it over and smooth it out on each side.
- Cut with the cookie cutter. Lift it off your counter to make sure it isn’t sticking to the surface.
- Take another piece of clay and roll it until it’s long and snake like. Should be about 1/8 ” wide and 18 inches long.
- Fold it in half and twist the pieces together.
- Wrap it around the edge of the circle.
- Repeat steps 3-4 and wrap the other twisted clay piece on the circle.
- Poke a hole at the top to wrap the ribbon around (I just used the end of my paint brush).
- Bake according to your polymer clay instructions, then let cool.
- Once it’s cool, you can start painting. I’ve listed all of the effects I used at the bottom of this post.
- Once the paint is dry, place some Modge Podge in the center of the ornament and situate your confetti pieces onto the wet Modge Podge.
- Paint some more Modge Podge on top of the confetti pieces, then let dry for about 15 to 20 minutes.
- Tie a piece of ribbon through the ornament and hang on your tree!
I loved all the paints I recieved from Plaid. I may have squealed when I saw all the shiny options! I especially love the Pearl Mod Podge. It’s the shiny glitter you see in the center of the ornament. I obviously love Mod Podge because I’m a crafter, but I also love that it’s made in the USA and non-toxic. I’m a sucker for the Pearl Formula because GLITTER, but they have a variety of options like Kids’ washable formulas, dishwasher safe formulas and more!
I used FolkArt® Multi-Surface Paint because I know it works on everything. It covered these ornaments BEAUTIFULLY and the colors are amazing. It works on wood, glass, ceramic, metal, terra cotta, rigid plastic, canvas, styrofoam, slate, paper mache and even fabric! Here is a list of the color combos I used for my ornaments:
- Green: Base is 2917 Classic Green, topped with a light coat of 2969 White Pearl then a light coat of 2958 Glam Gold
- Gold: Yellow base is 2913 Yellow Custard, topped with two coats of 2966 Bright Gold, then a light coat of 2958 Glam Gold
- Black: Base is 2968 Charcoal Black, topped with one coat of 2966 Bright Gold, then a light coat of 2958 Glam Gold
Check out Plaid on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram for more inspiration!
Ornament making is a Christmas tradition I look forward to every year! What is your favorite Christmas tradition?
Lisa from Life with Lisa says
They came out great! I love the polka dots!
Erin says
Thanks so much!
Amy Anderson says
These are darling! Love the use of polymer clay – fun!
Erin says
Thanks, Amy! These were so fun to make!