I love making Christmas ornaments and today I have a fun one for you – paper tree ornaments with a wood star topper.
It is amazing what you can make from a humble piece of paper. Plus, it’s pretty satisfying to create one or fifty of these.
Not that I got carried away or anything.
The thing that really sets these ornaments over the top is the wood star topper. Every Christmas tree needs a topper and I found the perfect wood star beads for this task.
What I really like about this craft is that it is completely customizable to your Christmas decor colors. You’ll notice from the pictures that I did not use traditional Christmas colors to make my trees. Not a green or red one in sight! Although, those would look great too.
Basically, if you are going to make these ornaments, choose colors that make you happy!
Now, let’s get started making these paper tree ornaments with a wood star topper.
SUPPLIES NEEDED:
Computer Paper or Card Stock cut into squares (I used 8.5 inch, 6 inch, and 4 inch squares.)
Scissors
Cording or Embroidery Floss (this multipack has a great variety of colors)
Wood Star Beads
Ruler
Pencil
Sewing Needle
DIRECTIONS:
Step 1: Fold your paper square into a tree.
I’m not going to go into the step-by-step tutorial on how to do the paper folding because I learned this from an online tutorial from Gathering Beauty and they should get all the credit. No matter if you prefer pictures and words to learn or a video, their blog post has both.
I used 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper as the starting point to make my trees. I was able to make 3 different sized trees using this size of paper.
An 8.5-inch paper square makes an approximately 4.25-inch tree. A 6-inch paper square makes a 3 inch tree. A 4-inch paper square makes a 2-inch tree.
I wouldn’t go smaller than a 4-inch square because it gets difficult to fold.
You can use computer type paper or card stock for this craft. Card stock is a little harder to fold though, so keep that it mind.
Step 2: Make the hanging loop to hang your ornament.
Once your paper tree is folded, it’s time to turn it into an ornament.
I used embroidery floss to hang my ornament partly because it was strong enough to hold the paper tree and partly because it was small enough to thread onto a needle.
Fashion a loop out of embroidery floss and double knot it. You want to make the loop just big enough to easily go over your tree branches when you hang your finished ornament.
Step 3: Attach the hanging loop and wood star to your ornament.
Poke a tiny hole in the top of your tree. Emphasis is on the word tiny. You can use a sewing needle, pencil tip, or even scissors to do this. It was a little awkward but I poked the hole through from inside the tree so that I didn’t mush the top of my tree.
Thread your embroidery floss loop onto a needle. Going from the underside of the tree, pull the needle and thread through the tiny hole you just made in the top of the tree. You want the double knot in your hanging loop to catch on the underside of the tiny hole you poked in the top of the tree. That’s why your hole can’t be too big.
While the needle is still on the thread, add a wood star bead to the needle. Push the wood star down into place on the top of the tree.
Remove the needle from the thread.
Then carefully tie your embroidery floss in a knot on top of the wood star to hold the star in place.
You’ll want to get the knot as close to the star as possible. You’ll be left with a hanging loop to hang your ornament on a tree.
Troubleshooting Tip: If your embroidery floss loop rips out of your paper tree, you can try triple knotting it or add a dab of glue to secure it in place.
There’s one thing to keep in mind about the embroidery floss. If you’re not careful, the individual threads can catch and separate when you’re hanging the ornaments on the tree. If this bothers you and you have a thin twine or cord, you could use that instead.
Step 4: Hang your ornament!
Ta-Da! You just made a paper tree ornament with a wood star topper. Go you! Now just repeat this process until you have enough paper tree ornaments to make your heart happy.
I’m not good at sitting idle, so this was the perfect craft to keep my hands busy while watching tv or listening to a podcast.
The other awesome thing about how these paper trees are folded is that they will stay in their tree shape AND compress flat for storage. Score!
What do you think about how my paper tree ornaments turned out? I’d love to know and if you make any, please be sure to let me know. You can always comment on this blog post, email us here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.
Happy paper folding!
Thanks for being here today. I love sharing ideas with you. Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy.
DIY Mini Silhouette Christmas Ornaments
Pink Christmas Tree Decorations
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