DIY Holiday Decor

Decorating for the holidays is a tradition that families around the world all share. For many, it represents the season of giving, celebrating religion, and spending time with loved ones. I personally don’t have a lot of space in my apartment to decorate, and my two cats have proved that they are keen to destroy any new object that comes into their space. So this year, I decided to create a hanging holiday decoration. I am so happy with how it came out, and it was fun to combine a couple different DIY craft ideas I have seen floating around the internet.

The beauty of making your own decorations is that you often get to use up random items you have lying around your home! Anything I didn’t have, like the twine, I got from my local Buy Nothing Facebook group. I swear my neighbors are taking care of me at this point. 🙂 Take a short walk outside

I hope that this article inspires you to create your own homemade holiday decoration. As always, I would love to see your fun and unique creations. Share them with us on Instagram, @keep-cuttingthecrap !

Materials:

-Toilet paper/paper towel rolls.

-Green paint

-Glue

-Optional: berries (I used rose hips)

Instructions:

• Cut up the tubes into ovals of your desired size. I cut mine in about 1″ strips, because I didn’t want the wreath to be too 3D. (See image below for visual representation)
• Paint the strips your desired color. I chose green, and happened to have some green watercolor paint laying around. I painted both the inside and outside of the oval so no brown was visible.

• Glue together five ovals with all of them connecting from a central point. It should look like a flower! You can mix up how many ovals to do, but I found five gave the best result and made the wreath more stable.
• Attach your individual “wreaths” together in a circle. I created two layers, and then tied them together with twine. This allowed me to avoid using more superglue, as well as have a way to attach it to the rest of my decoration.

These are one of my favorite easy holiday decorations to make each year! I am obsessed with natural aromatics that these bring to my home. They naturally sparkle in the light, and glow in the candle and fire light.

Materials:

-Oranges

-Twine/String/Ribbon

Instructions:

• Set oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Slice oranges as thin and even as possible.
• Lay them flat on a sheet tray.
• Poke holes in the top of orange for your twine/ribbon/etc.
• Bake in the oven for 3-4 hours, until hard and dry.
• String your orange decorations and hang for some delicious smelling and beautiful holiday decor. Add cinnamon sticks for extra aromatics!

I have experimented with making salt dough ornaments in the past, but I found them to not be very sturdy or easy to paint. I tried making clay ornaments instead with common kitchen staples, and finally found a recipe that created ornaments that were sturdy and easy to decorate.

Materials:

-1/2 cup cornstarch

-1 cup baking soda

-3/4 cup cold water

-Cookie cutters or excellent knife skills

Instructions:

• Combine all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat over a low-medium burner, stirring constantly.
• Once the mixture begins to look like mashed potatoes, remove it from the pan and let it cool in a bowl. Place a damp cloth over the bowl to help retain the moisture.

• Roll out the dough, cut out shapes, poke a hole in the top, and choose your drying method.

• For the oven, bake for one hour at 175 degrees F. Alternatively, you can air dry the ornaments overnight.

Nature is beautiful, so why not decorate with it directly! If I could fill my home with plants and trees, I 100% would. However, my cats have decided that any plant material is their favorite thing to chew on. My chances to decorate with real outdoor materials are limited, so I was so excited when I realized I could just hang them out of reach from my furry children/demon spawns.

Items that make good decorations are branches, pine cones, berries, and leaves! I usually dry out anything I find outside in the oven for 30 minutes at 175 degrees F. This takes out the moisture, and also takes care of any bugs that may have traveled inside. I always give foraged objects a really good shake to try and let any critters stay in their environment.