a trio of holiday ornaments

Hi everyone, it is hard to believe that the holiday season is in full swing now.
 Tomorrow will be Thanksgiving in the US which will then lead right into Christmas preparations.
Today I am sharing my trio of holiday ornaments.

These are fairly quick to put together, using multiple sets of the GSLC simple house ornament. The ornament bases are sturdy chipboard house shapes and are sold in sets of two. I used two sets of two and created the thankful ornament with the remaining base.

Select a sheet of your favorite holiday paper and adhere it to one side of each of the ornaments.  I like to use collage medium. When the glue is dry, trim around the edges with an exacto knife to achieve a clean edge. Be sure to poke a hole through the paper where the precut hole is located or it will be difficult to find when both sides of the chipboard are covered. Turn the base over and cover the opposite side in the same manner. The paper I chose had sheets of a beautiful pattern in both a black and a white background. I love the way that the pattern is the same but one side of the ornament is white and the opposite side is black. Really, the possibilities for these ornaments are endless, any styles, colors or themes would work. You could even paint the bases and design from there.

Once the papers have been trimmed completely, the next step involves adding your chosen embellishments. I gather some holiday bits and pieces and decide on a scheme for each ornament. I think these would be a great hostess gift if you were invited to a holiday party, or even used for tying on a package then later hung on the tree. The embellishments would depend on how you anticipate them being used and can be simple or complex.

I prefer the look of a finished edge, especially since I have used two different colored papers on the piece. To achieve a unified look, I coat an edge of the covered base in versamark embossing ink then dip in embossing powder. The embossing powder is heat set; and, when cool, the process is repeated for all edges of each ornament. On one of the ornaments I chose to paint the edges with black soot paint instead of the embossing powder. Each method provides a unique look. Depending on the style that you intend to finish your ornaments, you could treat the edges in a manner that would be complementary.

My first ornament contains a gold embossed edge, and an embossed stamped sentiment also in gold. Beneath the sentiment I added a paper bow and some die cut greenery pieces. The reverse side was left unadorned. This ornament is tied with golden string.

The second ornament is embossed around its edge with spiced candy embossing powder. The focal point on this ornament is a glittered, stag die cut which stands in front of a gathering of die cut evergreen pieces. It hangs from a piece of sheer red ribbon.

The third holiday ornament is more whimsical than the others. Reminiscent of the north pole, strips of red and white striped paper are adhered to each side towards the bottom.  The edges of the ornament base are painted with black soot paint and when dry, a red wired tinsel is adhered to angled roof edges with collage medium. Three red jingle bells hang from the bottom by means of alcohol inked jump rings. An ephemera Santa is raised off the paper background by a piece of trimmed fun foam. He stands atop a "snowy" Christmas quote chip and is  ready for his midnight journey round the world.

 I loved being able to create a few holiday gifts with these Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts simple house ornaments. They are really versatile, I already have ideas for a few more designs.

I hope that you are able to set aside some time to create during this busy holiday season, I always feel that when I give handmade I am giving something of myself; a work of heart.


Wishing you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving.
~Ann


Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:
simple house ornament