Recycled Christmas Tree Ornaments
Are you trying to pinch some pennies this year so that you can spend more on gifts instead? Maybe you would just like to use more recycled materials around the house. Here are some great Christmas ornament crafts that you can make from recycled materials.
Tree Garland
When I was little, we used to make recycled Christmas tree garlands by stringing Styrofoam packing peanuts onto long strings of thread using a needle. These can be saved and used year after year. You can even take the packing peanuts off and reused them to ship fragile items in the future.
Juice Can Frame
A very pretty ornament can be made from a frozen metal juice can lid. You can cut and glue a photo or Christmas-themed magazine clipping to fit the inside of the lid or you can fill the inside of the lid with glitter glue. If you don’t have glitter glue, fill the lid with glue and then sprinkle with glitter. Hot glue a ribbon and bow to the top to hang on the tree.
Glass Bulb Ornaments
Old glass incandescent light bulbs can’t be recycled, but they do make great tree ornaments. Turn one upside down and hand paint a Christmas scene on it. Not very artistic? Paint a striking peppermint stripe pattern or spray paint with a metallic paint. Hot glue a ribbon with a bow to the top and hang on the tree. Burned out exterior Christmas light bulbs can be used the same way and are great ornaments for mini trees.
Cloth and Corn Dollies
Bits of old Christmas colored cloth can be made into little rag doll angels. Bits of lace and paper doilies make wonderful wings. In the old days, people made angels out of corn husks for decorating their trees.
Collage
Simple collage paper ornaments can be made by cutting out Christmas images from magazines and old Christmas cards. Punch a hole in the top and hang with ribbon, string, or wire.
Sparkling Mirrored Ornaments
Ornaments can be made from shards of broken mirror or from mirrors salvaged from empty makeup compacts. Glue ribbon along the edge to make it safe or coat the edges in hot glue and dip into glitter. Glue string to the top for hanging.
Tea Time
Chipped or cracked teacups make very pretty ornaments. If you are crafty, you can create a little winter shadow box scene inside using cotton balls for snow and an upturned pinecone painted green for a Christmas tree. Small glued-on beads make excellent ornaments for your mini shadow box tree.
Eggs as Ornaments
If you blow out your eggs and save the whole eggshells, they can be painted or dyed to make very pretty and delicate ornaments which also make beautiful gifts. I enjoy making my eggshells in to Pysanky. Eggs can be mouth-blown, but if you plan on making a lot, see if you can get your hands on a Blas-Fix egg blower.
Lid Frames
Glass jars can be recycled, but not their lids. Instead of throwing them away, make them into ornaments by gluing a photograph or Christmas scene cut from a magazine to the inside of the lid. You can paint the back a solid color if you like. Glue ribbon, lace, or garland around the edge and glue a loop to the top for hanging on the tree.
Frosted Silhouettes
Plastic gallon milk jugs can be turned into some surprisingly beautiful ornaments. You can cut out a snowman shape and dress him in glued-on felt clothes. Frost reindeer are also very pretty. Lay a perfectly flat piece of the plastic over a drawn outline of a reindeer. Use a permanent marker to trace the shape on to the plastic. Cut the shape out of the plastic using an Xacto blade or very sharp scissors. Tie a ribbon through a hole punched in the back. You can even decorate him by wrapping ribbon with a bell around his neck.
Cloth Scrap Ornaments
Old stained or torn clothing is always useful for things. Instead of getting rid of them, I remove and save the buttons and zippers and cut the cloth into scraps to reuse to make things like quilts, baby clothes, and Christmas ornaments. Check your local library for books on how to make cloth ornaments with your scraps.
Gingerbread Men
Cut gingerbread man shapes from pieces of cardboard or used paperboard and decorated them with beads, rick-rack, and ribbon. The brown cardboard is the perfect color for gingerbread. If you are a bit more creative, you can use cardboard to build a tiny ornament-sized gingerbread house. Use beads and hard candy for decoration.
Foil Base
You can use a crumpled ball of aluminum foil in place of a Styrofoam ball for ornament crafts that call for one. Roll the aluminum ball well to make it fairly smooth and press out any lumps. One popular craft is to use pins pressed through the center of sequins to cover the entire ball. You can also hot glue cloth or other items onto the ball.
Another way to use aluminum balls is to lay them inside of a scrap of cloth. Gather up the cloth around the ball and tie up the top with Christmas ribbon. Use a pair of scissors to straighten up the ends. Add a loop of ribbon for hanging.
Styrofoam Snowflakes
If you have flat pieces of white Styrofoam such as the type used for take-out meals or meat trays, you can make pretty snowflake-shaped ornaments. Cut snowflakes from paper and lay them onto a piece of flat Styrofoam. Trace the shape lightly with a pen and cut the shape out using an Xacto blade. Thread string or a ribbon through one of the snowflake’s holes and hang on the tree. If you have silver glitter, you can squeeze glue along the edges of the snowflake and dip them into the glitter.
Hangers
You can make hangers for your ornaments from any number of recycled items. Try craft wire, twine, thread, string, yarn, ribbon, or you can cut the paper or plastic coating off of twist ties and use the wire inside.
Toy Ornaments
Toys are a popular theme for Christmas, so use small broken toys or dollhouse furniture to decorate the tree. You can even use toys that are not broken and the kids can have them back to play with once the tree is taken down.
Origami Ornaments
Any paper that is blank on at least one side can be cut into squares and folded origami style into paper cranes and other animals. I have even seen an origami nativity set.
Photographs
Trying to figure out what to do with some of those old photo doubles? Cut some out to make ornaments! A smooth-edged can lid is the perfect frame. You can also tape six squares of cut-out paperboard together to make a cube. Glue a photo onto each side and hang the ornament from one of its corners.
Santa’s List
An old pencil that has been sharpened too short to use can be glued to a piece of paper to make a cute ornament. On the piece of paper, write “Santa’s List,” then write the name of everyone in the family underneath with a checked box next to each name.
Baby Shoes
Baby’s first pair of shoes make an adorable ornament. You can hang them together or separately. Be sure to write the child’s name and birth date on the bottom of each shoe.
Keys
Old keys can make festive ornaments. Leave them gold or silver or paint them green or red. A peppermint stick paint job also looks nice. Tie a bow at the top of the key with ribbon and add a loop for hanging.
Bottles
Small glass bottles such as perfume bottles, vanilla extract bottles, and essential oil bottles can be used as ornaments. Fill one half full of glitter, glue the cap on well, and tie a tag around the neck of the bottle that reads “Santa’s Sleeping Dust,” or “Reindeer Flying Powder.” Dark colored bottles need no glitter. You can write something else on the bottle such as “Santa’s Special Sleeping Syrup” or “Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice.” You can also glue beads or sequins onto a bottle to create a character such as a snowman or a reindeer face.
Jeweled Ornaments
Old or broken jewelry makes wonderful ornaments. Often, the gaudier the better! String beads onto loops of wire and tie a ribbon bow at the bottom to make a mini wreath. Mismatched items can be used to embellish other ornaments or glue several pieces together into one ornament.
Gardener’s Delight
Do you like gardening? Old seed packets can make cute ornaments or you can create new ones from used paper. Draw Christmas flowers on the front and embellish the seed packet. Pour a few grains of dry rice inside and glue the top closed. Hang up several for a garden-themed tree.
Frosty the Snowman
Any sturdy material such as paperboard or plastic milk carton is the perfect backing for a snowman ornament. Cut out a snowman shape. Use cotton balls or the cotton from the inside of vitamin and pill bottles to make the body. Fluff each piece a little and glue in place. Glue on beads or felt pieces for eyes, buttons, and a carrot nose. Glue small twigs on for arms. A ribbon or strip of cloth wrapped and glued around his neck and frayed at the ends makes a scarf. If you have some fine iridescent glitter, give him a light dusting for a frosty look.
Vintage Ornaments
Scour old magazines for pretty images. Sometimes you will see an amazing find such as a photo of an old Victorian drawing. Snip them out, glue to a piece of paperboard, and cut around the edge. Trim with lace or ribbon and embellish with beads or buttons for an old fashioned looking ornament.
Icicles
You can even make icicles from recycled trash. Save the clear plastic cellophane wrapping from the outside of food packages. Cut them thinly with a pair of scissors or put them through a paper shredder to make long strips. Sprinkle them over your tree for a dripping effect.
LINK
Tree Garland
When I was little, we used to make recycled Christmas tree garlands by stringing Styrofoam packing peanuts onto long strings of thread using a needle. These can be saved and used year after year. You can even take the packing peanuts off and reused them to ship fragile items in the future.
Juice Can Frame
A very pretty ornament can be made from a frozen metal juice can lid. You can cut and glue a photo or Christmas-themed magazine clipping to fit the inside of the lid or you can fill the inside of the lid with glitter glue. If you don’t have glitter glue, fill the lid with glue and then sprinkle with glitter. Hot glue a ribbon and bow to the top to hang on the tree.
Glass Bulb Ornaments
Old glass incandescent light bulbs can’t be recycled, but they do make great tree ornaments. Turn one upside down and hand paint a Christmas scene on it. Not very artistic? Paint a striking peppermint stripe pattern or spray paint with a metallic paint. Hot glue a ribbon with a bow to the top and hang on the tree. Burned out exterior Christmas light bulbs can be used the same way and are great ornaments for mini trees.
Cloth and Corn Dollies
Bits of old Christmas colored cloth can be made into little rag doll angels. Bits of lace and paper doilies make wonderful wings. In the old days, people made angels out of corn husks for decorating their trees.
Collage
Simple collage paper ornaments can be made by cutting out Christmas images from magazines and old Christmas cards. Punch a hole in the top and hang with ribbon, string, or wire.
Sparkling Mirrored Ornaments
Ornaments can be made from shards of broken mirror or from mirrors salvaged from empty makeup compacts. Glue ribbon along the edge to make it safe or coat the edges in hot glue and dip into glitter. Glue string to the top for hanging.
Tea Time
Chipped or cracked teacups make very pretty ornaments. If you are crafty, you can create a little winter shadow box scene inside using cotton balls for snow and an upturned pinecone painted green for a Christmas tree. Small glued-on beads make excellent ornaments for your mini shadow box tree.
Eggs as Ornaments
If you blow out your eggs and save the whole eggshells, they can be painted or dyed to make very pretty and delicate ornaments which also make beautiful gifts. I enjoy making my eggshells in to Pysanky. Eggs can be mouth-blown, but if you plan on making a lot, see if you can get your hands on a Blas-Fix egg blower.
Lid Frames
Glass jars can be recycled, but not their lids. Instead of throwing them away, make them into ornaments by gluing a photograph or Christmas scene cut from a magazine to the inside of the lid. You can paint the back a solid color if you like. Glue ribbon, lace, or garland around the edge and glue a loop to the top for hanging on the tree.
Frosted Silhouettes
Plastic gallon milk jugs can be turned into some surprisingly beautiful ornaments. You can cut out a snowman shape and dress him in glued-on felt clothes. Frost reindeer are also very pretty. Lay a perfectly flat piece of the plastic over a drawn outline of a reindeer. Use a permanent marker to trace the shape on to the plastic. Cut the shape out of the plastic using an Xacto blade or very sharp scissors. Tie a ribbon through a hole punched in the back. You can even decorate him by wrapping ribbon with a bell around his neck.
Cloth Scrap Ornaments
Old stained or torn clothing is always useful for things. Instead of getting rid of them, I remove and save the buttons and zippers and cut the cloth into scraps to reuse to make things like quilts, baby clothes, and Christmas ornaments. Check your local library for books on how to make cloth ornaments with your scraps.
Gingerbread Men
Cut gingerbread man shapes from pieces of cardboard or used paperboard and decorated them with beads, rick-rack, and ribbon. The brown cardboard is the perfect color for gingerbread. If you are a bit more creative, you can use cardboard to build a tiny ornament-sized gingerbread house. Use beads and hard candy for decoration.
Foil Base
You can use a crumpled ball of aluminum foil in place of a Styrofoam ball for ornament crafts that call for one. Roll the aluminum ball well to make it fairly smooth and press out any lumps. One popular craft is to use pins pressed through the center of sequins to cover the entire ball. You can also hot glue cloth or other items onto the ball.
Another way to use aluminum balls is to lay them inside of a scrap of cloth. Gather up the cloth around the ball and tie up the top with Christmas ribbon. Use a pair of scissors to straighten up the ends. Add a loop of ribbon for hanging.
Styrofoam Snowflakes
If you have flat pieces of white Styrofoam such as the type used for take-out meals or meat trays, you can make pretty snowflake-shaped ornaments. Cut snowflakes from paper and lay them onto a piece of flat Styrofoam. Trace the shape lightly with a pen and cut the shape out using an Xacto blade. Thread string or a ribbon through one of the snowflake’s holes and hang on the tree. If you have silver glitter, you can squeeze glue along the edges of the snowflake and dip them into the glitter.
Hangers
You can make hangers for your ornaments from any number of recycled items. Try craft wire, twine, thread, string, yarn, ribbon, or you can cut the paper or plastic coating off of twist ties and use the wire inside.
Toy Ornaments
Toys are a popular theme for Christmas, so use small broken toys or dollhouse furniture to decorate the tree. You can even use toys that are not broken and the kids can have them back to play with once the tree is taken down.
Origami Ornaments
Any paper that is blank on at least one side can be cut into squares and folded origami style into paper cranes and other animals. I have even seen an origami nativity set.
Photographs
Trying to figure out what to do with some of those old photo doubles? Cut some out to make ornaments! A smooth-edged can lid is the perfect frame. You can also tape six squares of cut-out paperboard together to make a cube. Glue a photo onto each side and hang the ornament from one of its corners.
Santa’s List
An old pencil that has been sharpened too short to use can be glued to a piece of paper to make a cute ornament. On the piece of paper, write “Santa’s List,” then write the name of everyone in the family underneath with a checked box next to each name.
Baby Shoes
Baby’s first pair of shoes make an adorable ornament. You can hang them together or separately. Be sure to write the child’s name and birth date on the bottom of each shoe.
Keys
Old keys can make festive ornaments. Leave them gold or silver or paint them green or red. A peppermint stick paint job also looks nice. Tie a bow at the top of the key with ribbon and add a loop for hanging.
Bottles
Small glass bottles such as perfume bottles, vanilla extract bottles, and essential oil bottles can be used as ornaments. Fill one half full of glitter, glue the cap on well, and tie a tag around the neck of the bottle that reads “Santa’s Sleeping Dust,” or “Reindeer Flying Powder.” Dark colored bottles need no glitter. You can write something else on the bottle such as “Santa’s Special Sleeping Syrup” or “Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice.” You can also glue beads or sequins onto a bottle to create a character such as a snowman or a reindeer face.
Jeweled Ornaments
Old or broken jewelry makes wonderful ornaments. Often, the gaudier the better! String beads onto loops of wire and tie a ribbon bow at the bottom to make a mini wreath. Mismatched items can be used to embellish other ornaments or glue several pieces together into one ornament.
Gardener’s Delight
Do you like gardening? Old seed packets can make cute ornaments or you can create new ones from used paper. Draw Christmas flowers on the front and embellish the seed packet. Pour a few grains of dry rice inside and glue the top closed. Hang up several for a garden-themed tree.
Frosty the Snowman
Any sturdy material such as paperboard or plastic milk carton is the perfect backing for a snowman ornament. Cut out a snowman shape. Use cotton balls or the cotton from the inside of vitamin and pill bottles to make the body. Fluff each piece a little and glue in place. Glue on beads or felt pieces for eyes, buttons, and a carrot nose. Glue small twigs on for arms. A ribbon or strip of cloth wrapped and glued around his neck and frayed at the ends makes a scarf. If you have some fine iridescent glitter, give him a light dusting for a frosty look.
Vintage Ornaments
Scour old magazines for pretty images. Sometimes you will see an amazing find such as a photo of an old Victorian drawing. Snip them out, glue to a piece of paperboard, and cut around the edge. Trim with lace or ribbon and embellish with beads or buttons for an old fashioned looking ornament.
Icicles
You can even make icicles from recycled trash. Save the clear plastic cellophane wrapping from the outside of food packages. Cut them thinly with a pair of scissors or put them through a paper shredder to make long strips. Sprinkle them over your tree for a dripping effect.
LINK