How to Make and Reuse Homemade Holiday Decorations

Transform old and worn Christmas decorations into beautiful new ones.

Recycling doesn't always have to mean reusing trash in a new way, it can also be used to give new life to once-loved items from holidays in the past. Make and reuse homemade holiday decorations inexpensively. Christmas decorations that are worn out and need to be replaced or collections that have overwhelmed your decorated spaces can be refurbished into lovely new accents for your home. Repurpose those decorations that haven't been used in years with a few tweaks of inspiration.

Things You'll Need

• Wire clothes hanger
• Needle-nose pliers
• Glass Christmas balls
• Hot-glue gun
• 2-inch wide Christmas ribbon, 2 yards
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Bleach
• Old rag
• Teaspoon
• Sea salt
• Egg carton
• Tinsel or potpourri
• Old tree skirt
• Old stocking
• Marking pen
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• Lining fabric, 1/3 yard
• Scrap ribbon
• Hand-sewing needle and thread
• Iron

Instructions

Glass Ball Wreath

1. Shape a wire clothes hanger into a circle. Use needle-nose pliers to untwist the wire at the neck of the hanger.

2. Remove the metal cap from an old glass Christmas ball. Apply hot glue to the inside of the cap and replace it on the ball. Repeat this for all the balls used on the wreath.

3. Thread one end of the wire hanger through the wire loop of a Christmas ball. Continue to add more balls until the hanger is filled. The amount of balls needed will depend on the size of the hanger and the size of the Christmas balls used.

4. Retwist the wire at the neck of the hanger to close the wreath. Bend the hook of the hanger down to form a hanging loop.

5. Cut a 2-yard length of 2-inch-wide Christmas ribbon. Wrap the ribbon around the hanging loop and tie it into a bow.

Glass Ball Ornaments

1. Pour bleach onto an old rag and gently wipe off the scratched or chipped paint from the outside of old glass Christmas balls.

2. Remove the metal cap of the ball. Pour a small amount of bleach into the ball and add a teaspoon of sea salt. Cover the opening with your finger and shake. The bleach will soften the inside paint and the salt will scour it off the ball. Pour out the mixture. The ornament is now a clear ball.

3. Rinse the ball with running tap water. Place the ball upside down in an egg carton to drain and dry.

4. Insert tinsel or potpourri in the ball to decorate. Replace the metal cap.

Stockings From Tree Skirts

1. Fold an old tree skirt in half. This will create two layers of the skirt. Place an old stocking on the skirt and trace around it. Pin the layers of the traced stocking together. Cut out the shape with a 1/4 inch extra around the traced line. Sew along the traced line of the stocking. Do not sew the top edge.

2. Fold the lining fabric into two layers with the outsides facing. Place the old stocking on the lining and trace around it. Pin the layers of the stocking. Cut out the stocking with a 1/4 inch extra fabric around the traced line. Sew along the traced line, leaving a 3-inch opening in the center of one long edge. Do not sew the top edge.

3. Trim the seam allowance on the stocking and the lining 1/8 inch from the stitch line. Turn the outer stocking right side out.

4. Cut a 5-inch length of scrap ribbon. Fold the ribbon in half, matching the short ends. Turn the ribbon with the loop end pointing down. Pin the short ends to the back seam of the outer stocking, along the top edge. Note: The back seam is the seam that would run up the back of the leg if it was a wearable stocking.

5. Insert the right-side-out outer stocking into the wrong-side-out lining. Line up the top edge and the seams. Pin the top edge. The ribbon loop will be sandwiched in between the stockings. Sew around the top edge using a 1/4-inch seam allowance. Turn the stocking right side out through the opening in the lining side edge. Hand sew the opening closed and iron the stocking.