Suncatcher Christmas Ornaments

Presenting an easy hands-on "can't wait 'til Christmas"

activity starter for youngsters. 

Use the round or star-shaped hollow frames with 

top hang hole to frame a classic production of

opaque "show-thru" suncatcher as an ornament

made with wax paper, diluted white craft glue

 and pieces of colored tissue paper.  

Display at a window or on the Christmas tree. 

Ornaments measure approx. 4.25” wide (round) 

and 4.75” wide (star).

ASSEMBLY PROCESS:  1. Identify and cut the shapes:

A front and back round ornament frames

B front and back star ornament frames

C optional mini star confetti (quantity as desired)

2. Prepare the decoupage work area. First, trace

(or print) the shape you have selected to make on

a base sheet of type or scrap paper. Next,

cut or tear an oversized sheet of wax paper.

Tape the shape outline on your work board or table,

then center the wax paper over the tracing or copy

and securely tape edges so they won't migrate or

curl and get in the way. Also cut many small random

shapes from 2 or more coordinated colors of

tissue paper. (NOTE these items are often available

for low cost at a "Dollar"-type store.)

3. Pour/squirt the mod podge (diluted glue) into a small

washable or disposable bowl or cup. Use an inexpensive

small paint brush or foam brush to apply a good

coverage layer of "paint glue" over the area of

the shape -- in this image the star -- and a little bit

beyond the outline.

4. Randomly place the tissue paper pieces over

the painted area, shooting for almost complete

coverage of the shape. NOTE that it is ok if there

are uncovered areas.

Use the brush to paint more mod podge over 

the tissue pieces to keep them in place.

5. Once you have covered the shape with glue and

tissue paper pieces to your liking, you may also

position the mini stars on top, and paint over these too.

6. Allow the glue paint to dry thoroughly. This may take

a couple of hours.

7. Position the frame shape over the area you like

best, and trace with pencil or pen the outline where

you will cut out the shape, trimming approx. 1/8"

inside the traced circle. NOTE that you do not need

to trace the hanger tab.

8. Trim as described and discard the surrounding

wax paper waste.

9. Beginning with the FRONT frame, apply glue

to the backside and inner circle edge of the frame,

 and to the outer circle trimmed edge, then . . .

. . . position and glue the layers together.

Check the backside to make sure that the wax

paper edge is within the frame outer edge.

Apply pressure all around to secure.

10. Repeat the gluing process for the back frame . . .

. . . applying glue only to the inward surface of back frame.

Press flat under a heavy, thick book volume or something

like that until glue is thoroughly dried.

11. Add a large "jump ring" through the ornament

hole, if desired and one is available. Then . . .

. . . add a decorative hook at top through jump ring.

Add a twine or ribbon bow at top stem if desired.

Here are the two ornaments from this design file.

Angel Ornament with Twine Robe

 

Angel decoration takes shape by draping DMC perle cotton 

“twine” string over body & wings thickened cut shape. 

A cord or ribbon cinch belt holds the shoulder-draped 

“robe” in place, then the trimming template is positioned 

over assembly and used as guide for 

cutting off excess across hem. 

A punch hole at top accepts a hanging loop to make

this heaven-sent Nativity character ready to hang on a tree,

dangle from a peg, act as accent on a wreath, 

or join an angel choir draped as a swag across a wall. 

Ornament measures approx. 4” wide at wing tips x 

6.75 from wing tip to bottom hem trim line. 

ASSEMBLY: 1. Identify and cut the shapes:

A angel torso/wings (cut 8 to layer and glue together

for thickness and strength)

B full angel silhouette hem trimming guide

C sample of DMC size 5 perle cotton to wrap,

drape and trim for angel's robe

NOT SHOWN: ribbon to tie waist; hang twine

Here is a closer view of the label of

the DMC perle cotton size 5 in ecru used

for this project model. The completed sample

in the thumbnail photo uses ALL of this skein.

The angel will also look fine using around 3/4

of the skein, in case you are making multiples.

NOTE that you can wish to include a name inscription

for personalization. Hand-pen the name, or

enlist the "print & cut" feature of the Silhouette

software tools.

Take care when lifting the torso/wings shapes from

the cutting mat since there are several places where

tearing could easily occur.

2. Layer and glue the torso/wing shapes together,

taking care to align ALL cut edges as precisely

as possible. NOTE that it may be prudent to layer

half of the shapes in a first phase, then immediately . . .

. . . press flat under a heavy object such as the planed

wood plank shown here, possibly with something heavy

placed on top. Allow to dry thoroughly, such as for 2-3

hours, before continuing to add the remaining layers.

Return to the pressing mode for several more hours

or over night. 

3. Prepare the perle cotton or twine by finding something

rigid as a wrapping form where when cut at one end

of loops ONLY the lengths of the twine will measures

around 12". A dvd case such as the one shown works

well. Decide how much of the skein you wish to use,

and wrap that portion. NOTE that the sample angel uses

ALL of one skein, but approx. 3/4 of a skein will also work.

Once the wrapping is done, cut AT ONE END ONLY.

4. Prepare to place the twine robe onto the body/torso by

separating one strand and setting it aside to use as temp cinch.

Divide the trimmed lengths in half at the middle. Then . . .

. . . insert the head through the split, keeping the length

of the cut twine centered front-to-back.

Adjust the length so that ALL the ends align

along where the hem should be.

One good variation is to cross the half-hanks

over the chest area, at least on the front.

5. Use a tool such as the end of a blade tool, 

a knitting needle, or comb pick to straighten

the twine all across both front and back.

6. Use the set-aside strand to surround both

the front and back groups of twine, then

tie an over-hand knot, adjust the knotting loop

to be at the torso area lower body extension,

and cinch in all twine to shape the robe to fit.

Keep the cinch as tight as possible, then tie

strings into a tight double-knot.

7. Continue to straighten all strand ends to make

the grouping as neat and straight as possible.

8. Place the trimming guide over the top of the torso/wings

and match it to align with torso/wings.

9. Hold template in place while using sharp shears

to trim away robe hem edge ends. For a longer skirt,

it is recommended that you trim at least .25" beyond

the hem edge of template.

10. Finish the angel by adding a decorative cord

or ribbon at the cinched waist, to form a neat and

decorative knot and bow. Once it is adjusted,

trim cord/ribbon ends.

Here is the completed Angel Ornament.

Nordic Star Card with Candy Cane

 
Simple 5x5 two-color card with the added magic 

of a 3D miniature candy cane. 

Card front design is created by layering the contrast 

under layer with window cutout layer on top. 

Build the miniature cane, tie with festive twine or ribbon bow, 

then position and glue onto card front. 

Layered card can be used independently 

without dimensional cane. 

Card measures approx. 5x5 when fully assembled 

and folded. Candy cane adds approx. 1/2” in depth. 

A dimensional companion envelope is also available 

to accommodate the cane dimension 

(Env Box for 5x5 3D Card separate design). 

The Nordic Star card is straight forward to assemble.

Simply fold card base, layer contrast middle layer

onto base front panel with even offset edges to expose

narrow contrast border. Next, center and layer the cut out

layer in similar manner. NOTE that separate parallelogram and

dot shapes are included if you wish to cut these separately

and insert into the window recesses as inlays.

For candy cane assembly, follow this LINK,

steps 1 (cutting shapes) and 2-8.

St Lucia Day Candles Head Wreath

 
Amplify the December 13th St. Lucia Day celebrations, 

with two dozen leaves, scattered crumple berries, 

and five miniature 3D lit candles. 

Recommended to be worn by a young girl, 

this delightful “crown” can also be part of 

Christmas decor when set on an accent table 

or draped over a peg, 

or for a springtime May Day festival. 

Pinch-shape and glue rounded end of each leaf, 

bend edges in and crumple the berries, 

form faceted candles and insert slice-form flames at top. 

Arrange and attach these elements onto 

a wrapped purchased headband with several 

narrow ribbon streamers trailing from the ends.

Sample project leaves are cut from hand-made paper. 

Or trace and cut from fiber felt, or experiment with semi-pliable 

cardstock using the alternate “engineered” leaf 

with cut-on glue tab.

ASSEMBLY: 1. Identify and cut or prepare the shapes:

A candle body (5)   B candy insert (5)

C flame point slice (5)  D flame shorter point slice (5)

E leaves (approx. 18-20)

F crumple berry circles (approx. 12)

Also shown: purchased plastic headband

and florist tape to cover band

Not shown: ribbon streamers - 15-16" lengths

of 6 or more varied narrow ribbons, quick grab

or hot melt glue

The sample project used handmade green paper

in two of the three shades shown. One recommended

good source for the paper is Midnight Studios Etsy shop.

For more info, follow this LINK.

Another leaf material alternative is to use regular card stock

and cut them using the engineered leaf shape which

includes the cut-in bottom end glue tab.

Shown here, the cut edges at leaf center are

brought together, then . . .

. . . adhesive added to one "tip" inward face,

and the leaf is shaped by holding those tips together

until fully secure. Engineered leaves are then

positioned and attached to headband in similar manner

to the hand-traced and formed leaves.

2. Hand-made leaf paper is too thick to cut so the alternative

is to cut 2-3 of the plain leaf template shape, glue

together to prepare a sturdy tracing template, then

traced efficiently and hand-cut. The sample project

used two shades of green paper.

3. Handmade paper is wonderful to work with because

it can be dampened (as shown here using a small

bowl with water inside) . . .

. . . and shaped while still wet. Here, the bottom,

rounded end is pinched together, then . . .

. . . held in place with a small folio clip until dried,

which only takes 10-15 minutes when placed near

a heater vent, etc.

4. Once the leaves are prepared, formed, and

the bottom tips glued (glue may not be required

with handmade paper), add some dimension by

distress inking the edges and top tip.

You may also choose to trim some of the bottom

tip bulk away at an angle as the assemble attachment

to the head band proceeds.

CANDLES

5. Prepare the candle shaft and insert by bending back

on all vertical perforations and end caps or wedge tabs.

6. Form the candle shaft into a tube to overlap

the plain side edge across the opposite flange tab

to perf line, adjust top and bottom for alignment,

and join the seam.

It may be helpful to insert an appropriately-sized

dowel or equivalent into the tube to provide 

a "press-against" hard surface so that pressure

can be applied all along the seam.

7. At candle top end, bend the wedge tabs inward

to perpendicular, apply glue to outward surfaces of

tabs, then bend top cap down into position to

glue in place; adjust tube shape to match cap.

8. Insert the top end of the reinforcement (punch

circle end) so that . . .

. . . center portion of reinforcement matches to

the widest wall of candle shaft.

Push the reinforcement all the way in (see following

image), pausing to apply liquid adhesive dabs 

at top sides of insert, and to end surfaces, so that . . .

. . . bottom cap can grab and attach to as many

places as possible. Adjust tube shape so that

the bottom of tube matches the bottom cap,

then hold in place until secure.

9. Use distress ink to color the tips (front & back)

of the two flame shapes for each candle unit.

Sample project uses both red and orange ink.

10. Prepare the flame unit by selecting one of each

flame shape, rotating so that the planes of shapes

are perpendicular to each other, then slide together . . .

. . . and push fully together until bottoms align.

11. Insert the '+' end of flame into the equivalent

slot cuts at candle top cap, then carefully push

fully in until bulb of flame shapes stop at cap level.

Pull out slightly to apply glue where the insert stems

of flame can attach to slots, then push back in.

CRUMPLE BERRIES

 For each berry:

12. Bend back at the near-edge arm of perf cuts

all around circle (6 bends).

13. Next, bend circle edges inward to form a cup.

TIP: obtain a glue bottle cap or other equivalent

that can help to shape the center and sides of

the berry as shown here.

Remove from assist-form, then continue to push edges

under and inward . . .

. . . until the desired berry non-uniform ball shape

is obtained.

If the top surface caves in, us a tool handle tip

to insert and gently push back out.

NOTE that "found" berries can be substituted in

place of the crumpleberries.

FINISHING

14. Prepare the plastic headband using your choice

of methods. 

Narrow strips of pliable paper or cardstock can be used

to wrap as with floral tape. Felt strips can be cut wide enough

to be glued to each other at upper and lower edges,

and trimmed to match rounded ends. Even paint can be

used, if it's bond to plastic will hold the elements being

glued sufficiently securely without peeling.

The sample project used brown (or green)

floral tape, beginning at one to wrap around in a spiral

with the first end being covered, then . . .

. . . the slightly-overlapping spirals of tape progressing

around the curve and ending at the opposite end

where the tape covers and completely conceals

the plastic.

15. Identify the wide back face of the candle shaft . . .

. . . then position at the center of band on the outside

curve, with lower edges of candle and band aligned,

and glue it securely in place with quick-grab glue such as

hot-melt or Fabri-Tack, etc.

16. Divide the band length on each side of center

in approximate thirds, then position a candle approx.

one-third back from center candle on each side.

Repeat to position and attach a candle one-third

back from second candles. The band tips will be free.

17. Cut pair lengths of coordinated, varied ribbons approx. 9"

long, stack ends of first set with cut edges even and

glue together or stitch across to join. Repeat for

second set. Select one end to begin attaching leaves from

and position end of first streamer bundle at that end,

 overlapping approx. 1/2", and glue securely.

18. If using floral tape, tear a short length and wrap

over to conceal ribbon ends, and work up toward 

end candle for a few wraps and tear to trim excess.

19.  Position first pair of leaves near band end,

overlapping the ribbon ends. Place one leaf angled

toward band end and slightly down . . .

. . . and one slightly up, side by side

over the band, and glue in place.

20. For the alternating row, position a single leaf

pointing back straight along the band, slightly

overlapping the previous row pair pinched ends.

21. Continue in this same manner, testing where

the next leaves or leaf will be placed before

attaching. Working over the bulky leaf ends and

candles takes some effort and creativity.

22. When the next-to-final leaf or leaves are attached,

position and attach the second ribbon joined ends

as was done with first ribbon streamers end. Wrap

to conceal in a duplicated manner.

23. Position the final leaves (or leaf).

24. Audition which leaves around the band you wish to place

the contrasting crumpleberry leaves in, then position

a berry deeply into the leaf at pinched end hollow

and glue in place at each selected location.

Here is the completed head wreath.