Twelve Ways Of Christmas With Stylish Handmade Decorations

Hello Friends! Thank you for finding a moment to stop by today, especially during such a busy time of the year!

Are you ready for Christmas? I'm almost there. Just a few final things to organise and we'll be ready to celebrate.

As always when the house is so beautiful with all the Christmas decorations, warm twinkling lights and pressies waiting under the tree, I'm getting all emotional and grateful for what we have. 

Initially when I was thinking about this post, I was just going to take a couple of photos of our Christmas tree and some of the festive garlands I've put together (I have a soft spot for garlands lol).

Then, when I started photographing the tree, I had this warm fuzzy feeling flooding in. And no, it wasn't (just) the mulled wine :). I just felt this overwhelming pride and joy seeing how special our Christmas tree is - all because it has so many unique handmade ornaments.

I've recently heard some (unkind) people saying that handmade ornaments usually look 'handmade' for a reason (in other words 'cheap') and they fall apart after the first season. I hope this post will prove them wrong. I know I'm bias but I love my decorations and I think they are beautiful and stylish. Most of my ornaments are now a few years old which proves that handmade decorations can last just as long as shop bought ones. 

So here are my twelve (handmade) ways of Christmas, some of these projects have been blogged before, some have never been shared. I hope you will enjoy looking at them just as much as I do :).

1. Shabby chic sparkly hearts - these paper mache hearts were painted and covered with sparkly wallpaper off cuts and finished with glitter glue and sparkly gems.

2. Gold bauble ornament using Creative Photo Corners - you'd never believe this ornament started its life as a simple Styrofoam ball and a couple of packs of gold Creative Photo Corners.

3. White rose tree ornament - grab a mulberry paper rose, die cut leaves from vintage music sheets, glitter glue and a crocodile clip to create a beautiful shabby chic decoration.

4. Sparkly bauble ornament with white sequins - after painting a Styrofoam ball with vintage white paint simply adhere white sequins, one by one, to fill the entire space. I buy packs of assorted sequins in varying sizes and colours from £1 shops. These packs are great value for money. The ornament was really easy to make but it took ages so it's best tackled during a girls' night in with your BFF and a bottle of wine. Or two. Friends that is. Or wine bottles - depending on your preference :).

5. Glitter Styrofoam star ornament - another easy make where with a sprinkle of glitter, a selection of pre-cut adhesive foam star shapes, rustic ribbon and a metal charm you can create a truly unique ornament.

6. Handmade Styrofoam star ornament with sequins - another example of a star ornament, this time embellished with glass glitter, a die cut paper star and a handful of unusual sequins.

7. Disco ball bauble ornament with sequins - this is one of my favourites. It was made in the same way as the sparkly white bauble (see 4 above) but this time I used gold, silver and holographic sequins. To secure larger sequins I used short dress maker pins. The metallic and holographic surfaces on the bauble beautifully reflect the lights from the tree and if you tap it gently, it will shine like a super disco ball!

8. Silver pinecone ornament using Creative Photo Corners -  this is a slight different take on the technique I used to make the gold bauble (see 2 above). This time instead of a Styrofoam ball I used a Styrofoam egg. After adding some die cut pine branches I got a smart pinecone ornament. This very decoration was featured on the cover of the Winter 2014 CardMarker Magazine and for a limited time you can download for free a full step-by-step tutorial for this pinecone ornament.

9. Easy DIY Star ornament with snow-ice sprinkles - oh, this one is so much fun to make and it could not be easier. Cover your Styrofoam shape with adhesive, sprinkle with Shaved Ice and watch it glow in the light. 

10. White Christmas birdhouse ornament - this is my most recent make. It started its life as a plain paper mache birdhouse and with a little of mixed-media magic it because a sparkly home for winter loving birdies. Hop over to check out my full photo tutorial for this DIY winter birdhouse ornament.

11. Simple ribbon bow tree ornament - to wrap up my handmade ornaments collection, a couple of easy and quick ideas for trimming the tree. First up - a simple bow tied using a sparkly ribbon that will compliment your colour scheme. Decorating a Christmas tree with simple ribbon bows? Why not?! :)

12. Florist hessian mesh bow ornament - this one is for all rustic look lovers. Cut a length of plain wide weave burlap mesh, tie it into a bow, add a simple rose brad and attach to the tree with a black wire, crocodile clip or even a paper clip will do! 

And here is our tree this year in its full glory.

And here are a few more photos of our decorations. First - Altered Christmas Candles with beautiful vintage hand-stamped images from Stempelglede.

And here is one of my DIY garlands. To make my garlands I buy 'blanks' (long plain garland branches) in after-Christmas sales and then collect glittered flower sprays, embellishments and small ornaments throughout the year in promotions, car boot sales or from charity shops.

Then with a touch of paint and (even more) glitter it's really easy to alter them to create an elegant uniform look. As for assembly itself - cable ties are your best friend! Easy, affordable, discrete and indestructible! :)

So what do you think? Are my decorations Kirstie's Handmade Christmas - worthy? I truly hope so. 

Thank you for stopping by and for surviving till the end of the post :). If you'd like to hang around a little longer, feel free to browse through my other Christmas craft projects. Or go totally crazy and subscribe to my blog to stay up to date with my future projects!

Big crafty hugs from me

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