Quick Paper Ornaments You Can Make Tonight!

Last Updated on December 20, 2018 by lydiaf1963

Rick and I bought a little tree this year. It’s a tad more sturdy than Charlie Brown’s tree, but just barely. I decided to make a few quick paper ornaments for decoration. I used either recycled paper or leftover bits from other projects so my costs were minimal, just a new pack of glue sticks! I’m super happy with how they’ve turned out.

I have some decorative papers leftover from my gift box project that were used to make origami cubes and cranes. The cubes look like little presents hanging down. The cranes are pretty perched among the branches.

I’ve only dabbled with origami, but cubes and cranes are fairly simple to make. Check out the video from Origami Expressions to see how to make the cubes (or water bombs as he calls them). For the cranes I found this video to be helpful, but there are tons of videos for origami. Choose a demonstrator who clicks with you and get folding!

The coiled paper ornaments require a bit more prep, but they can still be made in an evening. First cut strips from a recycled magazine or catalog. Mine were about 2 inches wide. Fold the strips in half, then open them up and fold the edges towards the center. Then fold in half again, like bias tape. This gives a folded strip with no raw edges.

After you have some strips ready you can begin coiling them. When you have enough to make the shape glue the coils together. A hot glue gun is probably the way to go, although white glue would work as well, it just takes longer to dry. To make the star and angel, I followed a photo from a Pinterest pin that’s been hanging around on my Homemade Christmas board for a long time. The final size is up to you. I used the guides on my cutting mat to help make the coils a consistent size. To make the tear drop shapes it’s just a matter of pinching one end of the coil. Visit this pin for even more ideas. You can see how she carefully selected different colored pages and used them for creative effect.

For the top of our little tree I folded a five pointed star from some heavy paper that was leftover from last year. This was so much fun to make. Follow the videos at Homemade Gifts Made Easy. First you have to make a pentagon and then you’ll fold the pentagon to make the star shape. The 12″ x 12″ sheet made the perfect sized star for our little tree, but the pattern is lost in the folds and the colors are a bit muted. If I come across different paper I’ll make a new one.

I think one or all of these would be fun projects for older children looking for something crafty to do. Fun for grandmothers, too! Which one appeals to you?