Click-and-Print Ornaments

Not enough ideas to decide from? and most of all not enough time? here's another easy one.
***Paola try it and send me a photo, I know you can do it***
 Just follow the steps:
Ornament How-To

Download templates; print onto card stock (or color-photocopy at 130 percent). Using a utility knife, cut out the six squares. (If adding photos, use imaging software to size them to fit windows, which are 1 1/4 inches square. Print onto photo paper; cut out, leaving a 1/8-inch border. Cut out windows on two squares; tape photos to back.)


1. With printed sides faceup, score the four corners of each square with a bone folder. Fold corners up at 90-degree angles. Using a glue stick, attach squares to form ornament.


2. Trim edges with scissors if making rounded-edge cube. Thread a long needle with ribbon; pull through a corner, adding a bead and knotting. Or pull a double strand of ribbon through top and bottom; add two beads and knot.

Digital Photo How-To
If you're savvy with presentation software, use it to import digital images directly into the template: Open a new document in the program; insert template. Insert two photos in document. Drag photos to marked boxes; resize photos. Print document onto photo-quality card stock (matte finish). Proceed with ornament how-to instructions.

Felt Animal Ornaments How-To

Here's another idea for your Christmas tree from Martha Stewart:



1. Print templates. (You can reduce or enlarge the templates to fit your tree. We enlarged the templates at 200 percent and 225 percent.) Cut out two versions of each template, one following the outline and the other omitting the black details (use fine-tip scissors for the interior cutouts).

2. On top of light-colored felt, such as cream or eggshell, pin the outline template, and trace it with a disappearing-ink pen. Remove template, and cut out. On a colored piece of felt, pin and trace the detailed template twice. Cut out: Use fine-tip scissors for interior cutouts and a Japanese hole punch to create the eyes and the hole for hanging.

3. Lightly brush craft glue onto the back sides of colored-felt pieces; sandwich the light-colored piece in between. Let dry flat.

4. Hang from a length of silver thread, knotting at top.
Enjoy!

Button ornaments

I've just found in my parents house a tin of vintage buttons so I went on the net to look for ideas. Here's what I came out with, for Christmas of course.
See more ideas in Martha Stewarts site.

Basic technique explained below:

The basic technique for all the ornaments is the same. Bend a pipe cleaner in half and twist once at the top for a loop. Slide buttons over pipe cleaner ends, slipping one end into each hole (if the button has four holes, use two diagonal ones). Use larger buttons for bellies and hat brims. When finished, twist ends of pipe cleaner to secure, and trim. For reindeer legs and antlers and for Santa's arms, bend 2-inch pieces of pipe cleaner in half, slip on between buttons, and twist. Glue on felt for Santa's beard and the snowman's nose. To hang the reindeer, loop a thread around its middle and tie.

Enjoy!
xxx Jess

Simple Sewn Bird Ornaments

Here's a great idea for your Xmas ornaments if you have fabric scraps. You can use them as door hangers and as place tags too. I've found them on PurlBee.

Download and print bird template here.

Material:

• Nine 1/4- yards of assorted prints.

• A craft size package of high loft cotton batting

• 100% cotton thread

• Valdani Embroidery Thread in Magenta

Cut Fabrics:

Download and print the templates above.

To make 12 birds:

Pick out two fabrics, one for your bird body and one for the wings. Press the fabric and fold each piece right sides together. (In the picture above I am using the Pomegranate Kona Cotton for the bird and the Meadow in Beige Leaves for the wings.)

Using a fabric marker or a pencil to trace the bird template onto the doubled body fabric and trace the wings twice onto the doubled wing fabric. Make sure to transfer the markings from the templates as shown above.

Trace the body template once and the wing template twice onto a single layer of your batting.

Repeat for the remaining 11 birds.

Cut all the pieces out. You will have: One batting body, two batting wings, two fabric bodies, and four fabric wings.

Pin together the fabric body pieces together right sides together. Pin each pair of wings together, also right sides together.

Cut twelve 1/4-inch X 7-inch strips (six from each color) from the wool felt. This will be enough for twelve birds, so you can put eleven of them aside for now.

Saw Fabric:

Staring at one of the transfered marks sew around the body with an 1/8-inch seam allowance stopping at the other mark thus leaving a little opening as shown above. Repeat for wings.

Turn all the pieces right sides out. You can use a small knitting needle to poke out the corners of the beak, the tail and the wings.

Stuff and finish:

Take your wing batting and fold it in half lengthwise and slip it into the wing. Make sure the batting piece is oriented in the same direction as the wing.

The batting should fit snuggly inside the wing.

Repeat for the second wing and close both with a slip stitch.

Slip the body batting inside the fabric body tail first.

You might need to use that small knitting needle again to get the batting in every corner.

Fold a wool strip in half and place the ends into the opening.

Use cotton thread which matches the body fabric to close the opening with a slip stitch. Sew the wool strip into place as you do.

Thread an embroidery needle with the magenta embroidery thread and tie a knot. Pull the thread through the backside of one of the wings at the point where you'd like to attach it to the body.

Place both the wings where you want them on the body and pinch all three pieces together as shown above. Push the needle through the wings and the body as shown above to attach the wings to the body. Sew through all the layers again, making a "X" stitch on either wing and pulling very tight.

Once both wings have these little "X"s pull your needle through a wing but not the body and tie a knot where it will remain hidden in-between the wing and the body.

Repeat for the other eleven birds and you'll have your own beautiful flock!

DIY MODERN PAPERS ORNAMENTS

Holidays make you spend an enormous amount of money!!! But I feel crafty. Here's a great idea from Design Sponge to make a cost free ornament. My suggestion is also to use shades of the same colors for each ornament, it's a pleasant effect.

Here’s what you’ll need:

-Various colors of paper or cardstock, cut into 1″ x 11″ strips. We used 5 colors of cardstock plus silver and gold gift wrap.
-X-acto blade
-Metal ruler
-Cutting Mat
-Stapler
-Thread or monofilament for hanging

Using your X-acto blade and straight edge, cut a few sheets of each color paper into strips that measure 1″ wide by 11″ long.

Lay out your color combinations. We used 3 colors per ornament, repeating the middle color on the outside of each one.

Cut the center strip down to 6″ long. The following concentric layers will consist of 2 pieces, each measuring 7″, 9″ and 11″, respectively.

Make sure the tops of all the strips are flush, and then staple them together. Then line up the bottom edges on the opposite side, so that they are flush, and place a staple on that end. We kept it nice and simple, but there are a bunch of different configurations you can do by playing around with the lengths of the strips and different placement of staples. Now just find a favorite spot to hang them. Ours are clustered above the dining room table.