Christmas is a great time to get crafty and creative, and what better way to display your new handiwork than pride of place on your Christmas tree? Hanging tree ornaments are one of our favourite DIY projects at this time of year, and they are great fun for children to get involved in too. The decorations you create are unique and personal, remaining special keepsakes for years to come. Here are some of our favourites.
You will need: 1 cup of plain flour / 1 cup of salt / 1 cup of water / cookie cutters in festive shapes / glitter / PVA glue / ribbon
Instructions:
Mix the flour, salt and water together in a bowl until a firm dough forms. The mixture shouldn’t be sticky, so add more flour or water as necessary.
Roll the dough out onto a flat surface, and cut out shapes using a cookie cutter. Think stars, Christmas trees, gingerbread men and reindeer.
Using a pencil or skewer, make a hole at the top of the shape for threading ribbon through later.
Place shapes on a baking sheet and cook on a low heat - 90-100 degrees for 2 hours. Take out of the oven and leave to cool completely.
Now the fun! Get creative and paint your shapes as you like. Glue on sequins, beads or glitter with the PVA glue and thread a lovely ribbon through the hole at the top.
You will need: orange slices / cloves / ribbon
Instructions:
Begin by drying out your oranges. Slice into 2cm thick pieces and lay out on a baking tray. Place in a cool oven, 90-100 degrees, for 2 hours or until dry. Leave to cool in the oven.
Once cool, place cloves around the orange segments in any pattern you like.
You will need: dry, crunchy leaves / PVA glue or mod podge & paintbrush / glitter / wax paper
Instructions:
You will need: pine cones / gold or silver spray paint / mask / white paint / paintbrush
Instructions for metallic pine cones:
Lay everything out on some newspaper in an open, outdoor space.
Put the mask on, and slowly spray paint each pine cone until completely covered.
Leave to dry
Instructions for snowy pine cones:
Take your white paint and slowly paint around the edges of the pine cone, being careful not to paint the inside of it. Start from the top and work your way down.
You’ll end up with a festive pine cone that looks like it’s covered in snow!
If you want to hang from your tree, simply dot a bit of superglue or PVA glue to the bottom of the pine cone and glue on some ribbon.
