DIY Projects

November 28, 2012

DIY Letter Ornaments

As some of you know, I do an advent calendar every year with ornaments instead of treats. Here is a shot (an old one, I’m afraid) of my son in action:

Every year I try to include one new special ornament for my son, my husband and myself (each bag has three ornaments so we all get a chance to put one on the tree — and so the ornaments aren’t crowded at the bottom of the tree where Louis inevitably places them).

I’ve been on the hunt for this year’s additions.

Anthropologie always has a great selection of ornaments and I loved these Alphabranch ornaments as soon as I saw them. At $8 a piece, they’re not out of line price-wise. So, being perhaps deluded in my crafting ability, I decided that I would make this year’s ornaments extra extra special by attempting to make something similar myself.

For this project, I used some twigs I found at a park, a paperclip and some embroidery thread I happened to have from my hair-wrap and friendship bracelet making days tucked in the bottom of a box. If you’re not a hoarder like me, I’ve seen packages with several colours for a buck at dollar stores.

Step 1: First I positioned the twigs into my desired shape — an L for Louis, of course!

Step 2: Next I wrapped the paperclip around the connecting pieces. It would have been helpful to have pliers but I used my callused fingers and a quarter.

Step 3: This is where those days of wrapping little braids in my hair proved to be more than a waste of time and a questionable fashion statement. I tied the embroidery thread in a knot around the top of the twig, then started wrapping it, much as I did my hair, only making sure to cover the top of the stick. After about a half and inch, I switched colours.

Step 4: Once the entire L was all wrapped up, I took an extra piece of red embroidery thread and tied it to the top, then tied a knot, leaving a little loop.

And here is the final product!

Okay. So maybe not quite as pretty as the Anthropologie guys… maybe not even in the same ballpark. But it cost next to nothing and was made with love, and that should count for something, right?

For more crafty ideas, see our Editors’ Top Holiday Gift-Wrap Trends photo gallery.

Photo credits:
1, 3-8. Kai Ethier
2. Alphabranch Monogram Ornaments, Anthropologie