I love finding new decorating ideas for Christmas! But, I am busy just like I know you are. So, if I am going to make some Christmas decorations, they need to be inexpensive, quick, and easy!
Here is a Christmas decoration you can make for under $20! If you are looking for some unique homemade Christmas gift ideas, this one is fabulous! I would be over the moon if someone gave this to me!
I love painted letters! I found these large letters at a craft store on sale for $3 each! For the rest of the project, you will need a roll of ribbon, floral wire, acrylic paint, and a few scraps of Christmas sprigs and greenery.
TIP: Never throw any extra snippets of holiday greenery or sprigs away! I keep a large Ziploc bag full of my remnants. You never know where you might use them!
The first thing you need to do is paint your large letters. One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint will be plenty.
I like the look of antiquing; it gives depth to painted items. I always use acrylic paint for antiquing projects. My favorite color is “burnt umber”. You don’t have to add a lot of antiquing paint to get a great effect.
The trick is to water down your antiquing gel a little, then apply with a brush. Wet an old washcloth and rub off the excess before it dries. Don’t worry about being perfect!
The letter “Y” above has been slightly antiqued, and the “O” is waiting in line.
Try keeping the edges of your letters a little darker. You want to give the impression of “old”, so a little goes a long way.
This is actually some burlap ribbon I had left over from my fall decorating. I really liked the black color, as well as the chevron pattern. Now it is time to make your bow. A bow with four loops will be just right.
For hanging my letters, I attached a sliver ring to the bow using floral wire. The wire is thin enough to poke through the burlap. After you have threaded it through your bow, wrap it around the ring several times very tightly.
You will need a staple gun, or small nails to attach your bow to the “J”. Use the tails from the middle knot to staple the bow to the letter.
I just cut small strips of the burlap to attach the rest of the letters together, but you could easily use craft rope.
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Ticky Tack is my favorite little helper.“Make work your favorite. Okay? Work is your new favorite”. ELF Sorry, got side-tracked. Use Ticky Tack to secure your letters wherever you hang them. |
You can leave your project just like it is, or you can “accessorize” your bow with some different greenery.
Cut a few small pieces of greenery, some berries, and if you have some small pine cones, that would be perfect! I have a pine tree that drops these little tiny pine cones and I use them in everything! They are so beautiful.
Remember, a little goes a long way when decorating. In my opinion, creating elegant Christmas decorations is all about embracing simplicity. Decorating ideas for Christmas really don’t have to be expensive in order to be stunning.
The black in the ribbon really brings out the red in the letters. Adding the greenery made this bow sing “Christmas”.
So, give this homemade Christmas decoration as a gift, or keep it for yourself. Or, better yet, do both!