I’m completely in love with the Scandinavian country look this year. It’s cheery red and white is bright and light but also homespun and cozy.
I wanted to add this look to my Christmas tree this year, but without spending a bunch of money. My solution? I got some packs of red, white and silver glass balls from the thrift store, broke out the craft supplies I had on hand, and went to work.
I was able to make several dozen new ornaments in an afternoon with what I had on hand and a few dollars at the local thrift. What gets better than that?
Here’s a quick summary of how I made each of my ornaments:
Folk Cross Ornament
Since a Scandinavian country theme was on my mind when I started this project, the first thing I tried was a folk-style cross.
Instructions
Use a medium-tip white paint pen on a red glass ornament. Start with either a cross or an “x” shape and then embellish with drops, dots and arrows. It takes two coats, which gives the end result a charming hand-made quality. Finish with a wired-on bow of 1/4″ gingham ribbon.
Button Dotted Ornament
I love polka dots, and when I sat looking at a red glass ornament in one hand and a pile of vintage buttons in the other, this was the natural conclusion.
Instructions
Hot glue a random assortment of white or cream buttons onto a red glass ornament. Space them out to make polka dots! To complete, wire on a bow made from hemp twine.
Rag Ball Ornament
This ornament was inspired by Dawn’s fantastic tutorial on rag ball ornaments. Unfortunately, in my area styrofoam balls cost a fortune! so I used extra-cheap thrift store glass balls. I used red fabric for the body, and white ric-rac for the bow.
Instructions
Tear 3/4″ strips of fabric, then cut sections just big enough to fit around the ball. Hot-glue one end of each strip near the neck, then wrap the fabric around the ornament and glue the other end on the opposite side of the neck. Add strips in this fashion until the whole ball is covered. Add a white bow in medium ric-rac.
Pom-pom Trim Ornament
This fun ornament reminds me of some kind of vintage winter faux-fur coat and was one of the easiest to make using simple pom-pom trim.
Instructions
Use hot glue to attach a spiral of white pom-pom trim to a red glass ball ornament, starting at the bottom and continuing toward the top until the entire ball is covered. Then, wire on a 1/4″ grosgrain ribbon in red. Easy peasy.
Lace Skirt Ornament
This cute little thing is one of my favorites of the bunch. Hanging on the tree they almost look like little red berries hanging with a small cap of white eyelet lace leaves, or a dancing girl with red britches peeking out of a white eyelet skirt.
Instructions
Wrap a short length of pre-gathered white eyelet lace trim around the top of a smaller-sized red glass ball ornament, attaching it at the shoulder with hot glue. Hot glue on medium white ric-rac to cover the top edge, then wire on a bow of 1/4″ gingham ribbon.
Cotton Lace Ornament
This ornament was sheer serendipity, as I just happened to have a yard of pretty cotton lace trim wide enough to cover the ornament exactly from top to bottom.
Instructions
Cut a length of wide white cotton lace trim just long enough to encircle the red glass ornament. Gather the edges with with perle cotton. Pull it tight at the top and button of the ornament and tie. Stitch the raw edge together to form a seam in back. For a finishing touch, wire on a 1/4″ red grosgrain ribbon bow.
Large Vintage Button Ornament
I have a collection of vintage buttons and some of them are quite large. I thought it would be nice to feature the most interesting of these on an ornament with a minimum of additions to put the button front-and-center.
Instructions
Hot-glue medium red ric-rac onto a frosted white glass ornament, making an X on both sides. Cover the intersection with a large vintage button on each side, also using hot glue, and tie a simple red ribbon around the neck.
Paved Vintage Button Ornament
You can’t have a jar of vintage buttons without wanting to pave something with them. Usually this would be done with a styrofoam ball, but I used what I had: a white frosted glass ball ornament. An added benefit of using the glass is that any gaps are less noticeable because the frosted glass blends right into the buttons.
Instructions
Pave the surface of the ornament with vintage buttons using hot glue, and finish with a tied-on sheer red ribbon.
Hooray!
Now you’re equipped to make some crafty red & white ornaments of your own, or to use these techniques to make ornaments of any color.
While I used thrifted & found supplies, you could easily purchase all you need for a few dollars at a good craft store. To avoid overspending on expensive trims, test your ideas with string or yarn to get an idea of length before you go.
If you decide to make some ornaments of your own, I hope you share them with me! Leave a comment below or come find me on Instagram or Facebook. See you there!
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