Christmas Ornament Series

Are you ready for Christmas? It's right around the corner. Why not start by making some Christmas ornaments? Starting today, I will post five ornament tutorials before Christmas. The post dates will coincide with my new endeavor as a creative writer with Off-The-Deep-End.

The first ornament is going to be a Micro-Mini Clipboard Ornament. With a few simple adjustments, this ornament can be changed for any occasion. It can be incorporated into your home décor or used as a gift tag.

You’ll want to start by gathering up a few supplies – micro mini clipboard (made by Nicole Craft; I found mine in the wood department at A.C. Moore), adhesive, Tim Holtz paper stack with clip art (or any clip art or a photo), scissors, acrylic paint or ink pad, and embellishments.

Cut out a piece of clip art or a photo to fit your clipboard board. A slightly larger image works best. You can trim it once it’s glued to your clipboard.

Glue your image to your clipboard and use acrylic paint or an ink pad to ink your edges. It gives your ornament more depth and a finished look. Here I am using Ranger's Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber in Espresso.

Add some Stickles (another Ranger product found at your local scrapbook or big box craft store) for some bling.

Here I am using my Big Shot and Sizzix/Tim Holtz's Rosette Die. If you don't have a die cutting machine, no worries. I will share with you an “old school” technique to make this same adorable adornment.

Up-cycling is a great way to make embellishments for your craft projects. I bought this pin at a yard sale this summer for $1. Watch how many uses I got out of it.

Notice the big bling on the rosette? It’s part of the up-cycled pin. I tore the pin apart and found that it had three layers to it. I used all three layers on my ornaments.

More clipboard ornaments.

Now, for your OLD SCHOOL TECHNIQUE.

Cut a strip of pattern paper to 1” x 9.25”. Fold it accordion style (you remember, back and forth, and back and forth) at .25”. Once you are done, glue the two ends together, to create a cylinder. On a flat surface, press down, to flatten into the rosette shape. To hold it together, glue a paper circle to both the front and the back. Snip the folds in an inverted “v” shape and there you have it – an old school rosette.

Did you notice the three places I used the pin? The ever-so-blingy center is on the first mini clipboard, the second layer with stems and rectangle crystals are behind the flower of the birthday clipboard, and the last layer is a bow and it's directly above. I just added a big crystal to the center bow. It was a lot of bling for just $1.