How to make Christmas ornaments out of toy wooden blocks

Every year my children and I search for new ornaments to make to put on our tree. It’s a very anticipated part of our holiday traditions. Years ago we made up some ornaments from old wooden blocks they still had laying around and they are still some of the most durable and well enjoyed ornaments on my tree.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• paint/markers/ink pad
• wooden blocks
• colored thread or embroidery thread
• flat buttons
• hot glue gun
• glitter (optional)
• Old holiday cards (optional)

1. 

   First you need to decide how elaborate or simple you want your blocks to be. If you have very interesting old blocks or bright cheerful new ones you may prefer to leave them as they are and skip to Step 4.

2. 

   If your blocks are unattractive or will not show up well you can color them. The easiest was to color them is to use a stamp pad and press the flat sides of the block into the pad repeatedly until you reach the desired color. You can also paint the flat sides or color them with markers.

3. 

   Next, you will want to color the raised part of the other sides of the block. You can press it into the ink pad, but that can be dangerous. You might end up with ink where you don’t want it. You can use a paint brush to brush the ink exactly where it needs to be. Set aside and let dry completely.

4. 

   Take a 4-5 inch long piece of colored thread and run it through two holes in a flat button. It will look better if you choose your thread and button to compliment the block you are decorating. Tie the two ends of the thread in a knot on the back side of the button.

5. 

   Pull string towards front of button and place a dab of hot glue on the knot and surrounding button. Press firmly to top of black.

6. 

   This block was spray painted and allowed to dry. Then I cut up an old Christmas card and glued pieces of it to the block. I sprayed a thin layer of polyurethane over the block and paper to preserve it and sprinkled clear glitter on the top in a “snow” fashion. Then topped it with button and thread.

Tips & Warnings

• While paint or ink is wet you can sprinkle glitter over the top or parts of the block to make the light bounce off of them better from within the tree.
• You can glue or tie bows to the top of the button for added accent.

[TxLady]

on 8/22/2008 Very unique idea! Thanks