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The holidays make me think of peppermint candies, really, candy in general! These cute DIY ornaments transform that whimsical element of candy stripes into a totally chic decoration worthy of gift-giving! Everyone loves something that’s personalized just for them, and these shimmery ornaments will put a smile on any recipient’s face.
I’ve used simple materials, including recycled cardboard (from an old shoebox!) to create these sparkly tree DIY decorations. What’s best is that you can choose your own colors to reflect your personality, and these whip up in no time at all!
Create these DIY ornaments in any shape and style you want – you could even do Greek letters for your fav sorority sister or bestie! Instead of friendship bracelets, it’s friendship ornaments this year.
The technique involves a simple wrapping motion, and using hot glue to help keep the string in place. Finish your handmade ornaments off with little sparkle tassels to complete the look. If you’d like, then feel free to glue on even more sparkle by using crystal flat backs! The choice is yours.
Let’s start!
Step 1: Gather materials. First, you will need an assortment of plain acrylic yarn (any color! – don’t use textured or real thick yarn, it will be hard to wrap), glitter tape (grab this at JoAnn fabrics or other major craft stores), baker’s twine (you can also get this at any craft store), hot glue and satin ribbon.
You will also need cardboard (recycle by using an old shoebox!!), a sharpie and scissors. You’ll be wrapping over the cardboard to completely cover it.
Use the sharpie to draw letters on the cardboard, and cut out with scissors. Take strips of your tape, and use to form stripes along the letters. Wrap all the way around. If wrapping on a curve or diagonal, then cut small slits in the tape at the junctions so that it lays flat! Make sure the stripes have space in-between, for wrapping yarn.
Stripe up all your letters, spacing each stripe out evenly. To add yarn, start wrapping in-between stripes, using small dots of hot glue to keep your wraps adhered, if needed. Do the same with the baker’s twine, adding a wrapped stripe of baker’s twine above your yarn wraps. Be careful on diagonals because you will have to use some hot glue to keep the yarn from slipping. Wrap all the way to each edge to cover it. I will admit, some letters are trickier than others!
To finish, create small tassels out of yarn. Wrap the yarn about 9 times around the tines of a fork, then remove bundle. Tie a small yarn piece around the top of bundle, and then cut off excess. Cut horizontally at the bottom through the bundle to create your tassel and release ends. I created another tassel out of the twine as well, and then wrapped small pieces of glitter tape at joints to bring in a sparkly element. Use satin or organza ribbon to create hangers for the tassel and alphabet piece. Tie in overhand knots at top to secure!
Pretty simple, right? These DIY ornaments are great because they are super lightweight, so they can hang from any branch. If you make these for your friends, then don’t forget to make one for yourself as well.
The satin ribbon hangers give a very upscale vibe to these pieces, but you could also use organza ribbon for the same effect.
You could even create these to spell out someone’s entire name or nickname, and create a garland! The possibilities are endless!
You can view all my other tutorials on my blog, quietlioncreations.com
Thanks and happy holidays!
Allison Cooling
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Delightfully pretty!! AND, I absolutely love that you upcycled cast-off cardboard. All the better. Really simple too. 🙂
Hi Julie,
Thanks! We also love to craft with recycled materials like cardboard. Glad you like the tutorial!
I’ll be giving this a try. What a great use for yarn bits! (and I’ve got plenty)
These are very cute ornaments, and who says ornaments are only for Christmas trees? I might make a few of these just to hang around my apartment.
Wowza! These Candy Stripe Alphabet DIY Ornaments are so versatile! You could make one for each infant in the family and make it a gender neutral color with their name and birth year on it. You could make larger ones to use to decorate a nursery or in a toddler’s or preschooler’s room it would help them recognize the alphabet before they learn to read! Thanks for sharing this idea!!!