Being the most popular holiday of the year, Christmas draws more and more attention in terms of preparation, with people getting ready as early as October these days. While most people used to wait for Halloween before preparing for Christmas, the truth is, you can find Advent calendars and Christmas decorations as soon as the fall season kicks in. In theory, Christmas decorations should last for years, especially if you opt for artificial stuff.
However, trends change year by year. And with every New Year, some of your decorations will inevitably break, mainly while you put everything back in boxes. Everyone’s careful when it comes to unboxing, but no one cares after the Christmas holidays
pass. Whether you like the idea of saving money or you’re a savvy DIY enthusiast, learning how to make Christmas decor is an excellent activity. Save money, come up with unique ideas, decorate as per preferences in the smallest detail and enjoy a fun activity with your family. With this idea in mind, let’s see some of the best ideas to make your own Christmas decor in a simple and efficient way, without requiring too many tools or materials.
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Paint Pinecones
Pinecones are synonymous with Christmas. Whenever you see them, you inevitably associate them with winter holidays. Unsurprisingly, many of the decorations you can find in commerce today are based on pinecones. They’re just part of Christmas, simple as that.
The best part about pine cones is that they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Each of them is different. Besides, you can find them pretty much everywhere. Take a nice walk in a park or a local forest and you can easily fill a few bags. Give them a quick rinse, let them dry and get to work. You can use pinecones in more ways.
Here are a few creative ideas to express your imagination.
- Get a beautiful wooden box and put a few cones inside it. Place the box on a table for decoration, where it can act as a subtle yet elegant centerpiece.
- Instead of a wooden box, you can use a tray, such as a glass tray.
- Get a glass cloche and stack a bunch of pinecones in different sizes inside it. A glass jar would be just as attractive. If you’re after something more traditional or rustic, start by slicing some fruits. Oranges are
When you’re not sure how to make Christmas decor, you can leave the pinecones as they are if you have a warm, wooden brown theme, but you can also paint the cones. Should you choose to paint them, make sure you don’t exaggerate. A bit of color on the sides will do, but the brown should be visible too.
Silver is the most popular colour, but gold is also accepted. Green will do too. Just try to focus on glitter colours, as they’re more festive and suitable for creating an eye catching effect.
Create Your Own Garland with Lights
If you’re after something bigger and more attractive, a garland would make an excellent project. Not only is it simple to make, but you also have the freedom to customize it. Plus, if you have some lights as well, the overall effect will be much better. Great, but limes or lemons are just as useful, not to mention apples. Get a few slices and let them dry. You could place them on the radiators. They’ll dry faster, but they’ll also release a warm Christmassy aroma that fills your home with inviting scents.
Grab a few pinecones as well to add a natural element. Next, find a fairy light garland. It will look good anyway, especially if you choose warm colors for this design. Then, use the dry slices and pinecones to enhance it. Thread all the dried decorations onto a string, but also get the garland and string mixed for a fuller and more balanced look. Once the lights are on, the effect will be astonishing.
Accessorise Current Accessories
If you think your decorations are outdated, simply accessorise them with different things. For example, an artificial hanging Christmas myrtle can be used for years, especially if you invest in a quality item that looks natural and holds up well over time. If you’re not sure how to make Christmas decor look more actual and inviting, find a few accessories that would match both the theme and the myrtle style. Add some more pinecones. Maybe add a fairy light garland around it too for some ambient lighting.
No matter what it is, adding a few Christmassy items to existing decor is a brilliant idea to engage into a few DIY projects without spending too much. On top of all these, accessorising old decor will refresh it as well.
Rustic Napkin Roles
There’s something rustic and traditional when it comes to learning how to make Christmas decor. While you can certainly make Christmas modern as well, it feels like a traditional approach is more suitable for winter holidays. From this point of view, you can create decorations to match every aspect of your home, including the Christmas dinner. Get some old toilet roll tubes and cut them in half. You can also get more pieces out of each tube, depending on the width you want. Get a piece of string in the color you require. You can also leave it colourless.
Glue one end to the inside of the roll, then wrap the string around it. Make sure the roll isn’t visible at all as the string should completely cover and transform the plain tube into a rustic accessory. The process is a bit slow and tedious, but the reward is worth it. Once the roll is fully covered, glue the other end, but do it on the inside as well. This way, no one can see it. This will impress your guests and enhance the festive atmosphere.
Orange Wreath
This is the type of natural wreath that you can make yourself. You can also use it both indoors and outdoors, depending on your preference. However, since you’ll use natural oranges, chances are it’s better on the inside, since it also smells good and fills the room with citrus aroma. Get a flexible stick and round it up until both ends meet, then use some strings to keep them
together. You can use anything else that’s round and relatively solid as well, like a wire frame or a sturdy vine. Slice a couple of oranges and dry everything on a radiator.
Give slices a few days until they’re completely dry. Stick them around the round support with some glue. However, it might be fragile, so you can also use a string in a similar color to draw it through the slices. Put more slices one on top of the other, so the wreath looks richer and thicker.
Wooden Beaded Ornaments
Wooden beads give you plenty of options when not sure how to make Christmas decor. It makes no difference what kind of shapes or designs you’re after.
Different shapes, different levels of imagination. If you want something solid in good shape, like a star, you can do it with a wooden dowel or perhaps some strong wire. Get beads with a large opening, but make sure they’re in different shapes and sizes. Use your imagination and try out different models from simple chains of beads to more complex shapes and patterns. You can also create less sturdy shapes and designs. In this case, you’ll most likely need a string that is flexible and strong. Apart from decorations to hang around your home, you can also attach some ribbon or wire before hanging everything on the Christmas tree.
Yarn Decorations
This type of ornament will require a bit of skill. If you like yarn and know how to work with it, it’s an excellent option. Here are a few ideas:
- Photo frames. Print some small photos of your family. After all, Christmas is about family. You can also print photos of each family member. Get some cardboard in the same size, stick it to the back of each photo, then use yarn for photo frames by wrapping or gluing the yarn around the edges.
- Baubles. Got some old baubles? Thinking of changing the color this year? No problem! If you think about it, you can change the colour pretty much every year if you use yarn as a covering material. Simply cover each bauble in yarn and pick a unique theme. Forget about buying new baubles year by year. If you think about it, any type of decoration can do with some yarn, so let your creativity go wild.
Canvas Decorations
This is the type of project that will bring the entire family together. Everyone has an inner artist, so this is your opportunity to let yours out and enjoy some creative quality time. You’ll need a few simple ideas and go on from there. Make sure the decorations are relatively small, yet it depends on where you want them.
If you want them above the fireplace, they can be slightly larger. If you want to hang them on your Christmas tree, they need to be small. The project is simple. Get some solid cardboard and cut it into small pieces, such as square pieces. Cover them in canvas and make sure to glue it to the cardboard. Use glue at the back, so it’s not visible.
Grab some acrylic craft paint in different colors, as well as some paint pens. Cover the work area to avoid turning your home into a mess, then get to work. There are quite a few themes you can go for, especially if you do this project with your family:
- Christmas
- Snow
- Abstract
- Mixes of white and red
- Stars
When you pick colors, they should match the overall Christmas theme you pick. This project isn’t only fun, but it also allows you to express your creativity.
Pinecones as the Base
Pinecones are extremely versatile when it comes to Christmas. They’re amazing in a raw shape, but they can also be painted and combined in all sorts of decorations. That’s not everything though, since pinecones can also become the base of further projects.
For instance, if you’re not sure how to make Christmas decor based on pinecones, let your imagination go wild a little. You can add some pieces of cardboard and come up with all kinds of shapes. Here are a few ideas:
- Swans
- Snowmen
- Snowflakes
- Stars
Literally, your imagination is the only limit. Pinecone flowers, for example, make a great idea too. Get some round wooden disks, but don’t paint them to keep a rustic feel. Cut a pinecone in half and stick it to a disk. Attach some ribbon to the wooden disk and your decoration is perfect to go in the Christmas tree.
Cinnamon Stick Decorations
Cinnamon is one of those things we naturally associate with Christmas. The flavor stands out. And since Christmas is usually traditional, the wooden appearance of a cinnamon stick is outstanding. Get a few sticks, put some ribbon around them and hang them in your tree. That’s it. You don’t need to paint or do anything else. It’s a simple craft that won’t take too much time either.
On top of that, the brown appearance of a cinnamon stick works wonders with the green Christmas tree. As a short final conclusion, learning how to make Christmas decor isn’t necessarily about sophisticated projects, skills and experience. Instead, it’s mostly about matching items to a theme, but also about using your creativity and imagination to bring vision to life. Feel free to experiment with your ideas and explore different combinations. And remember, no matter what kind of decorations.
Thanks for taking the time to read this article. I hope this post has given you the information you need. If you have any recommendations, tips or advice, I would love for you to share them in the comment section below!
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