Have you ever looked through those boxes of Christmas ornaments of yours either before or after Christmas, and wondered how in the world you might be able to add some sparkle to them, yet still keep it traditional with your Christmas theme?  Taking a few of your plain ornaments every new Holiday season and adorning them with easy to find scrapbooking items to make personalized Christmas ornaments will add some new life to your selection in a custom way, and leave your guests thinking that you spent a fortune on your ornaments.  

For this project we decided to just use a large plastic satin finished ornament.  As was previously mentioned, you can also look through your existing collection and find some of your plain solid color ornaments to use.  It is important to stick to solid color ornaments because of the designs you will be adorning them with.  You don’t want to take away from the design. 

Apply peel and stick crystal stickers typically used for scrapbooking to the ornament. Stickers can be applied to cover the entire ornament, or you may want to apply them vertically, horizontally, or diagonally to create a pattern. Next, tie a satin ribbon , ¾ inch or smaller works best, to the top of the ornament creating a bow.  Try using a plaid ribbon with colors that compliment the color of your ornaments.  Simple!  You have a new personalized Christmas ornament.

Supplies:

I love handmade Christmas ornaments. Throughout the years I have collected a number of them, made by myself and several family members. These ornaments will make great keepsakes for our children and grandchildren.I have been looking for a creative way to store these keepsake ornaments. In the past I have stored them with all my other tree ornaments, but I wanted a special place to store them, especially my daughter’s ornaments that we have been collecting for her throughout the years. After purchasing about $20 in supplies and spending a couple of hours working on the project, I ended up with a beautiful keepsake ornament box that I hope my daughter will cherish for years to come.

To complete this project, you will need:

- Unfinished wooden box with lid – Modge Podge (for decoupaging) – Christmas – Scissors – Paint brushes – Craft paint (optional) – Acrylic sealer/finisher spray

All of the above items can be purchased at a craft store. The craft store I went to had a variety of boxes to choose from. I chose a small box that was $12.99. It was just what I was looking for!

The box I chose has a raised border around the edges that looked like it would be difficult to work around with decoupaging, so I chose to paint it instead. I painted all the borders with several coats of red acrylic paint.

Next I went through a big pile of old Christmas cards to find suitable images to decoupage onto the box. This was the fun part! Not only can you cut out pictures, you can also cut out holiday sentiments from friends and family members. Just in the past couple of years, several members of our extended family have passed away, and projects such as this keepsake ornament box are a great way to remember lost loved ones. Cut the cards into a variety of sizes and shapes.

Using a paintbrush, apply Modge Podge or a similar decoupage medium to the back of your cut out, then place the cut out on the box. Paint a coating of Modge Podge over the cut out. Continue pasting cut outs to the side of the box until it is covered, then go over the entire side again with another coating of Modge Podge. After the box is completely dry, you can apply another coating for good measure.

After the box is complete (and dry), you can spray an acrylic sealer/finisher spray over the entire box to protect the artwork and eliminate the tackiness of the decoupage.

That’s it! There is no limit to the possibilities of decorating this beautiful ornament box. I haven’t tried it yet, but I plan to line the inside of the box with felt to give it a more finished look.

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. People are surrounded by happiness, generosity, peace and kind feelings and everyone is thinking about how to make this holiday even more special. No Christmas is ever complete without the beautiful, sparkling decorations and naturally there is a huge rush for picking up the perfect Christmas ornaments.

A lot of people enjoy making handmade Christmas decorations. This is especially fun for kids because the decorations can be easily made from regular paper or any other type of material. By going online, one can find a lot of websites specialized in Christmas craft projects for kids. Also, there a lot of Christmas ornaments cutouts and guides at the local craft stores. The child can paint plain Christmas ornaments shaped in different forms such as a start or a cross. Also he can make his own drawings or paintings and table centerpieces. Regardless of which type of Christmas decorations you choose to make with your kid, the most important thing is to enjoy the whole experience and give into the holiday spirit.

Many holiday shoppers focus on buying the perfect Christmas ornaments. They enjoy purchasing beautiful, symmetrical fir shimmering with blinking lights, gleaming bells, stars, garlands and of course, toys. The fact that there are so many Christmas decorations to choose from (religious, traditional, addorned with gold or silver) only adds up more fun to preparing for the holidays.

Christmas decorations can be traced back to distant times in the 1500s, when a fir tree associated with the Virgin Mary was adorned with roses. Since then, Christmas decorations have undergone a lot of changes. In some corners of the world, Christmas trees were decorated with nuts, cookies, raisins and pretzels. Some of the most famous Christmas ornaments were made by germans and they were the famous glass pickle ornaments. Today, Christmas decorations are made from a wide variety of materials: glass, paper and especially plastic.

Nowadays, kids have a fun time decorating their tree with little snowmen, Santa Claus ornaments, crystal balls, small toys, candy canes and many other chic decorations. Some parents prefer ornaments with educational value so that kids can learn even while having fun.

Traditional holiday decorations center round the Christmas tree and there are a lot of ornament choices. People are especially attracted by the special pine fragrance and they prefer to start decorating for the holidays with the evergreen. Still, there are a lot of other places to decorate in or outside the house. The outside lightning in various shapes and colors are a wonderful idea of Christmas decorations. Some communities even participate in competitions for the best light displays.

One may even make centerpieces for the festive table by anchoring pieces of fir, holly or pine and then add accents to complement the design: berries, cones and even tree Christmas ornaments. A lot people enjoy decorating their doorway with a garland of pine roping and trimming it with complementary colors and shapes: bows or ribbons, dried fruits and whole spices.

Hanging a wreath on the front door can be a welcoming Christmas decoration for carolers. The wide variety of styles and types can suit anyone’s tastes and integrate easily in the seasonal décor. Even if one buys a standard wreath or garland, there are all kind of possibilities for decorating it in an personal style. The wreath can be personalized with natural or painted cones, berries and jazzy ribbons to contrast colors.

Give a festive touch to your home by decorating it with Christmas ornaments and gifts. You’ll find a variety of decoration items in the market, from fancy lights to musical decors and much more. But the best decor is the one that you create, after all the spirit of Christmas is all about being together, caring and sharing. So get together the entire family and discover great ideas for decorating both the interior and exterior of your home for Christmas.

Rekindle some joyous spirits from Christmas past by re-crafting some of your most precious Christmas ornaments with your loved ones.

What do you do when parents no longer want to do the whole Christmas tree decorating thing and they have chosen to part with such items as ornaments?  Well, faced with going thru my parents boxes of holiday items, and already having several of my own ornaments, I decided to come up with a way to pass on the family traditions by re-crafting such precious ornaments for my Christmas dinner party.  If you are going to be hosting such an event you may want to check this out.

Supplies you will need for this project:

Using your fine tip sharpie pen, label each gift tag by writing the words “Generation to Generation” or you can make your own paper craft gift tags.  Next, using your craft scissors, cut cellophane in to squares large enough to tie a bow at the top of the ornament.  For this project we chose to alternate red cellophane and clear cellophane.  This way the beauty of the ornaments can be viewed through the cellophane.  A pretty candy striped satin ribbon is used to add a decorative touch by tying a bow to secure your cellophane to the ornament.  Now you’re ready to personalize your project.  Peel and stick your labeled gift tag sticker directly on to the cellophane.  Or, if you prefer, you can make your own paper craft gift tag. 

When arranging your wrapped ornaments either in a glass bowl or decorative basket, keep in mind that the heavier large ornaments will need to be placed at the bottom, and the medium sized ornaments in the middle and smaller ornaments on top.  Next, place your bowl or basket next to the front door.  Your family members will truly enjoy sorting through the beautifully wrapped ornaments, but most of all, a “parents” or “grandparents” memory of holiday gatherings will be with them always and now they can pass them down to their next generation and so on and so on.