Handmade Coastal Christmas – Ornaments

9 Nov

Christmas already? Well, if you’re anything like me, you start thinking about Christmas the second November rolls around. For the past few years I’ve done a gingerbread theme for my Christmas decorations, but this year I decided to go in a totally different direction. Since I’m not about to pay full price for Christmas decor, I’m going to be making most of it myself.

First up, ornaments! I made five different styles, for a total of twenty-two ornaments. Using Meg’s method of calculating cost from her $20 Crafty Christmas Tree Challenge, my total was $13.74. Plus, I still have materials left over to make more. :)

I started simple with these toilet paper roll starfish. Just cut your roll into slices – however thick or think you like – glue them together, then paint them and tie a ribbon on! Tip – use clothespins to hold your starfish together while the glue dries.

Next I whipped up a batch of salt dough (1 cup flour, 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup water – bake at 250 for 2 hours) and made these seashells and one lone starfish (his buddies broke). My dough was too sticky to roll out raw, so I baked it for 45 minutes, then cut my shapes and finished baking. After the were done and cooled, I used glue and unity sand (found in the wedding section of Michaels) to detail the shapes.

I bought a six-pack of these icicle ornaments at the Dollar Tree for 75% off a few months ago, knowing I would find some use for them! I filled two each with my different colors of unity sand, and left two empty. I love how they look like those spiral seashells.

I saw these fabric wrapped ornaments on Dollar Store Crafts yesterday and had to make some for myself! I used some ornaments that I got in the Dollar Spot at Target last year and wrapped them with fabric scraps, then tied them off with ribbon. I think they look like little packages, and will be adorable on the tree!

Finally, you know I just had to do something with felt! I cut out some basic shapes, did a little bit of freehand embroidery, then sewed them shut with a blanket stitch and the tiniest bit of stuffing. I think the whale is my favorite. ;) I’m probably going to make more of these, if only because I love doing a mindless blanket stitch while I watch TV.

So there you have it – twenty-two ornaments in five styles for less than $14! If you’re wondering about the breakdown, here it is:

Toilet Paper Starfish
* toilet paper rolls – on hand
* paint – on hand, left over from other projects
* ribbon – $0.50

Salt Dough Ornaments
* flour, salt, water – on hand
* glue – on hand
* unity sand – $4.99 each (These bottles are 25oz each and I have TONS left over.)

Icicles
* icicle ornaments – $0.25
* unity sand – from above

Fabric Wrapped Ornaments
* ornaments – $1
* fabric scraps – on hand
* ribbon – from above

Felt Ornaments
* felt – $0.34 per sheet, three sheets used
* embroidery floss – $0.99 for three
* stuffing – on hand, left over from another project (you could also use felt or fabric scraps)

Weekend Bloggy Reading Tip Junkie handmade projects

25 Responses to “Handmade Coastal Christmas – Ornaments”

  1. Heather - Dollar Store Crafts November 9, 2011 at 11:16 pm #

    Lots of fun ideas! I love how they are all color coordinated!
    Heather – Dollar Store Crafts recently posted..Man Crafts: office supply grappling gunMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 9, 2011 at 11:30 pm #

      Thanks so much, Heather! :)

      Reply
  2. Jackie November 12, 2011 at 2:07 am #

    So cute. Love the filled icicles!!! I found you on Tater Tots and Jello
    Jackie recently posted..Captains Mirror GalleryMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 12, 2011 at 3:52 am #

      Thanks, Jackie!

      Reply
  3. Ivalex November 12, 2011 at 4:57 pm #

    Many nice things for the holidays. Thanks for the idea.
    Ivalex recently posted..Усещане за зима и ангелски крила – Feeling of winter end angel wingsMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 14, 2011 at 9:03 pm #

      Thanks so much!

      Reply
  4. Erin @ His and Hers November 14, 2011 at 8:57 pm #

    I also love the felt whale! And your felt pies in the earlier post? Adorable. I might need you to make my currently non-existent future children some of those for playing with. :)
    Erin @ His and Hers recently posted..Increasing Our Living Room’s Privacy, Sort OfMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 14, 2011 at 9:04 pm #

      Seriously – for someone who has no kids and no plans to have kids, I make an awful lot of kids play food! LOL

      Reply
  5. Jessica November 15, 2011 at 12:01 pm #

    Love the stars out of toilet paper rolls and the bulbs in glitter, so pretty!
    Jessica recently posted..Michelle Duggar EnvyMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 15, 2011 at 10:50 pm #

      Thanks so much, Jessica!

      Reply
  6. Jamie November 15, 2011 at 5:05 pm #

    Beautiful. Love the felt ones.
    Jamie
    http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/
    Jamie recently posted..Craft FAIL!!!My Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 15, 2011 at 10:50 pm #

      Thanks – I think those are my favs. :)

      Reply
  7. Mindy November 15, 2011 at 6:45 pm #

    All of these colors go so well together! I like the different variety of ornaments that you have chosen. I’ve been seeing lots of different craft ideas on how to use toilet paper rolls and I love this one.

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 15, 2011 at 10:51 pm #

      Thanks, Mindy!

      Reply
  8. MegaCrafty November 15, 2011 at 8:53 pm #

    Thanks for the link to my challenge- does this mean you are in for sure? I love the ornaments you made- especially the TP tube starts, those sand filled spirals, and the cute little felt sand dollars. I also try to decorate the tree to a theme each year. That’s part of what got me started on this challenge- not wanting to buy yet another set of ornaments!

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 15, 2011 at 10:53 pm #

      I’m in! But I think I may have already “cheated” – my mom bought me some garland that definitely would have blown the budget! ;) It has been fun though – I keep looking around the house and thinking “ooohhh… I could use *that*!”.

      Reply
  9. Ali Bilello November 17, 2011 at 7:44 pm #

    Appreciate for the insightful post. I was attempting to subscribe to your RSS feed, but I couldn’t seem to get it working with my RSS reader. Is there something wrong, or is it my fault (I’m a bit of a technophobe!)?

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 18, 2011 at 4:12 pm #

      Hi Ali, which reader are you using? You should be able to just hit the “RSS” button and it will take you to a landing page to select your reader. You can also copy the link (annehogan.net/blog) into the “add subscription” feature of your reader.

      Reply
  10. pam November 19, 2011 at 7:53 pm #

    Beautifully done! Love this post, love the colors and i especially love the little felt sand dollar!

    My personal collection of ornaments is very precious to me and i don’t try to do “themed” holiday trees. (Reserve the themes for my year round tree!) I just HAVE to make and add a little felt sand dollar to my collection!
    pam recently posted..It’s Not Too Late to Make An Advent Calendar – But Almost!My Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne November 21, 2011 at 1:27 am #

      Thank you so much! I love the idea of leaving a tree up year-round and changing out the theme for the seasons. :)

      Reply
  11. Letitia Black December 7, 2011 at 7:24 pm #

    I like the different variety of ornaments that you have chosen. Beautifully done! Thanks, Jackie!
    Letitia Black recently posted..Cancer Tattoos TumblrMy Profile

    Reply
    • Lady Anne December 9, 2011 at 8:17 pm #

      Thanks so much! :)

      Reply
  12. Laura Ingalls Gunn December 12, 2011 at 8:58 pm #

    Wow! You are a Christmas crafting genius! So glad I found your project via Centsational Girl.

    Please stop by for a visit to my blog. I am currently in the midst of a Gifts to Make series.

    Be Merry and Bright!

    Reply
  13. Karah @ thespacebetweenblog January 7, 2012 at 1:07 pm #

    Hi Anne! I participated in the Mega Crafty Christmas Tree Challenge with you. I loved the icicles and sand ornaments, so simple, but such a great look!
    A few blog friends and I are collectively presenting a new challenge idea and I wanted to be sure to invite you personally to join. If you have a second, check in at http://www.thespacebetweenblog.wordpress.com on Monday to learn more, and feel free to email me if you have any questions!
    Karah @ thespacebetweenblog

    Reply
    • Lady Anne January 8, 2012 at 3:00 pm #

      Awesome – thanks so much for thinking of me! I’ll be sure to check it out on Monday. :)

      Reply

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