Printable Christmas Ornaments
Hello Graphics Fairy friends! I’m Diana from Dreams Factory and I’m happy to be here again to share another DIY project with you! Today I will show you how to make these gorgeous Printable Christmas ornaments with a vintage vibe, using only a handful of supplies. I used gold glitter to embellish these easy-to-make ornaments so you’ll be able to have them ready in no time!
I actually used a gold glitter glue pen to add these beautiful finishing touches to my ornaments. If you don’t have one, I’ll show you how easy it is to quickly make a DIY version!
Free Printable Christmas Ornaments:
Here is the free printable that I created for this project, I used a stunning Red Bird image with beautiful holly branches to design the ornaments. This is actually a single image from which I used different sections to create a coordinating set of Christmas ornaments that you will hopefully love as much as I do. You will be able to print it and make a total of six Christmas ornaments. I also included some lovely ornament caps that will add dimension to our finished pieces and will allow us to glue some string or gold wire in between the papers. Of course, if you want to make more than six ornaments, you can print this more than once, to make as many ornaments as you want!
—-> Click HERE to Download the Full Size Printable PDF <—-
Supply List:
- white cardstock paper
- home printer
- scissors
- mini distress inks
- blending tool with foams
- gold wire string
- pocket binders (or a silicon mat, a plastic sheet, baking paper or a non absorbent material) to protect your working surface
- glitter glue pen (or use glitter, glue and a fine tip plastic bottle to whip up a batch yourself )
- craft glue or Mod Podge
Step by Step Tutorial:
I kept the supply list to a minimum because I wanted everyone to be able to quickly make and enjoy these.
Start by printing the printable on cardstock paper and use your scissors to cut the ornaments and the caps.
Use distress ink to give the paper even more of a vintage vibe. If you feel like the snow is a little bit too bright for your tastes, you could add some distress ink on top too!
Moving on to the glittery part!
I’m sure you already know that I love adding a touch of gold to my projects whenever I can, but glitter is not often on my list because of the mess that it usually creates. I know it looks amazing and there are tons of options to choose from, but I just don’t like finding it everywhere even days after using it. So today, to avoid all that mess, I thought it would be fun to try making my own DIY glitter glue pen! I had a UHU pen with clear glue lying around and some ultra fine glitter, so I thought why not give it a try? I initially used a small watercolor pan to mix them just to see how they would look together and I just loved them! And then I remembered I also had an empty plastic bottle with a fine tip in my art supply stash so I decided to use it here. I first poured the glue in the bottle and then I gradually added the glitter using a small spatula. I used the spatula to also mix everything right in the bottle. Mix everything well and make small tests until you get to the glue-glitter ratio that you love.
Place the ornaments on a protective surface – I used baking paper this time and use your new glitter glue pen to decorate the edges. Don’t forget to also decorate the small top caps.
Using a fine-tip bottle will allow you to create some amazing glitter leaves here and there, on the top small branches. I included these small branches in both designs, so you can keep the coordinating theme going. As a final touch, add some gold glitter on the feathers of the bird and its head to make it pop even more. Don’t add too much glitter glue though, we don’t want to completely cover the feathers, we still want to see the printed design underneath.
I initially wanted to use crinkle ribbon bows right under the top caps (that’s why you can see the crinkle ribbon in my supply list photo) but I didn’t like how it looked with this project and I decided to leave it out. I used some gold wire string instead which was more delicate and ultimately more appropriate for our beautiful Christmas ornaments. Which we could say are quite delicate too! I added some glue on top of the paper and then I twisted a small piece of thread and placed it there.
I then added more glue on the back of the small cap and I placed it on top of everything. Depending on the glue you are using, you might need to press the paper for a few seconds just to make sure everything stays in place as it should.
Each of your new Christmas ornaments will have so much character and will be truly unique!
I would say that the DIY glitter glue pen was a nice addition to my art supplies, so if you don’t already have one, maybe you could try this DIY version as I did. I love the small details that you can emphasize using it and the lovely 3D gold effect that it can create all around the edges! I bet your first instinct will be to touch it to see if it comes off and you will be so happy to see that it doesn’t! The fact that it doesn’t remain on your fingers afterward is definitely a huge plus, embedding it in glue like this will give you room to further experiment and use it on other creative projects too!
I would suggest using the thickest cardstock your printer can handle to give the final pieces some weight, but you could also just glue them afterward on another piece of cardstock to achieve that. If you plan on actually hanging these beauties on your Christmas tree, you can glue two pieces together, to also decorate the back, or you could glue some scrap piece of paper that you have around – Christmas ephemera, sheet music, Christmas tissue paper, wrapping paper, gold foil or even seasonal paper napkins, all would work here.
One thing that you could try is to use one of the ornaments as a template to trace it on MDF or a lightweight wood (like balsa). You can then decoupage one piece on the front and one on the back to make the most amazing wood Christmas ornaments!
And if you want to take things to a whole new level, you could use some resin on top! Whether you take the paper or the wood route, I have a feeling these would look amazing if coated in resin! I have no experience with resin, but from what I’ve read online, you need to use Mod Podge or some sort of protective coat on top of the paper first, just to make sure the resin doesn’t seep into the paper and ruin your printed design.
These would make the most amazing gift for Christmas! They are really easy to make and not expensive at all, so you can make them in large batches and gift them to all your friends and family!
Don’t forget your neighbors, teachers and coworkers, I’m sure everyone would love receiving them! You could also use them as Christmas gift tags or just as lovely decorative pieces that you can hang in your home to give it a beautiful seasonal vibe. Add them on top of Christmas cards or use them in your junk journals, there are so many possibilities here to use your new (favorite) Christmas ornaments! You might also like these DIY Rosette Ornaments HERE.
Happy crafting,
Diana / Dreams Factory
Deborah Tarleton says
I love this tutorial on these beautiful ornaments just beautiful
Karen Watson says
I hope you get a chance to make Diana’s pretty Ornaments Deborah!
Linda C Greiss says
This is an absolutely amazing project! Thanks for sharing it!
Karen Watson says
I’m happy you enjoyed it Linda! Diana always does such beautiful tutorials.
Pam says
I LOVE THESE. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING
Karen Watson says
Have fun making these Pam!