The 12 Posts of Christmas, Day 6: Simple Wreath Ornaments

Inside: These simple wreath ornaments are adorable and so easy to make they can be whipped up in a couple of hours. Hang them from trees or garlands or put them on packages for an extra little gift for the recipient.

We’re on a wreath kick lately, so it only stands to reason that we’d choose these adorable mini wreaths for making ornaments this year. Our trio runs the gamut from rustic to cute to elegant. Mom made the latter selection with thick burgundy-colored yarn as a base and followed up with a more delicate, lacy ribbon. She chose wire for a loop to hang her ornament, which works well with the color and design.

A couple of weeks ago when I was pulling twine off a square bale, it occurred to me the green twine might make a rustic-looking wreath, and after using it, I was even more pleased. Believe it or not, I used an entire string off one side of the bale–minus the knot I had to remove. I then tried a few different ribbons, and they looked nice, but the raffia seemed tailor-made to pair with it. I liked it at that point, but adding a button made it pop. Perfect!

The cream-colored yarn and red ribbon went well together–very cute! I had so much fun making these and had ideas for more but ran out of time. Oh well. Ornaments for another day.

But back to the crafting. . . Chances are you have most of the supplies on hand to make these, even if you’re just a rainy-day crafter. And if not, you can easily find what you need at Walmart.

So let’s make some ornaments!

Simple wreath ornaments hanging on a tree in winter. — Oh apple tree, oh apple tree, how bare are your branches–until I hung the ornaments, anyway!

You will need:

regular-sized canning jar lids (actually, they’re called screw bands, but most people don’t use that term)
jute, yarn, or twine
various ribbons, 3/8 inch and 1/8 inch wide
raffia
button
wire (optional)
glue gun

Directions:

Hot glue one end of the jute, twine, or yarn into the inside of the lid.

Wind the twine tightly around the entire lid and glue the other end in place, also on the inside.

Make a loop for hanging the ornament with the thinner ribbon or a strand of raffia. (Or wire if you prefer.) Hot glue the knot on the underneath side at the top.

Fashion a bow from the wider ribbon or raffia and hot glue it in place. Glue over the area where the twine or yarn ends meet to cover up any rough spots. If making the elegant wreath, like Mom did, you’ll want to wind a strand of the ribbon around the perimeter before putting on the bow.

Add a button on the rustic wreath. (Or, really, any of the wreaths if you’d like.)

The great thing about these ornaments is that you really can make them your own. If you have tiny beads or favors or different ribbons, go ahead and get creative. Have fun with it!