Thursday, December 1, 2011

Castoff Ornament Swag


I have finally finished my first christmas craft of the season!  I have known for awhile that I wanted to try this, but for some reason putting it up in July didn't seem appropriate :o)  

As usual, it started with pinterest...

Pinned Image

What do you need? 
*a bin of castoff ornaments (your own or from a thrift store.) Ok, they can be all new and shiny if you are into that sort of thing ;o)
*3 pieces of ribbon, equal in size.  Make sure they are long enough to create the swag you want and still be able to tie knots on either end!
*Nails to tie them onto

I started with a $5 bin of castoff ornaments from the thrift store.  I just grabbed all that they had and put them into a box and asked them to make me a deal on them.  At $5, I figured it was worth the risk of this being a major fail.


Step One:
I took a piece of my ribbon and started stringing the ornaments on one by one through the loop at the top of each ornament.  They did the bunching up all by themselves, I was surprised at how easy it was to make it look like this.  I love the traditional colors, but you could use whatever color you like (or have).  I think it would look gorgeous in all silver!


The strands get pretty delicate after awhile due to the weight of the ornaments pushing on each other.  To keep them from popping off their tops, I made 3 separate swags and tied them individually to nails.  They aren't too heavy, so they were very easy to hang!


Step Two:
Tap in nails where you want the top of each swag (if you measure and do this first you won't end up with 3 uneven swags like me :)

Step Three:
Tie up each end of the ribbon to a nail!  That's it!  Super easy, right?

I love the way the balls catch the lights from all over the room.  It is PERFECT for this little banister.  If I could nail into brick this would have hung across my fireplace!!

With all of the plastic ornaments available these days, if I had the money, I would have loved to buy a few of them and gorilla glue on their tops before hand.  There are so many options for this!!

Overall, first christmas craft is a success.  What do you think?

Sharing here:

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43 comments:

  1. That's beautiful! I love how full it is - it looks so much more expensive than just $5!

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  2. Wow! That looks amazing:) I love all the pretty colors!!

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  3. Oh, how pretty! Good job....don't you just love Pinterest?

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  4. This is awesome! I'm tempted to try it myself in silver...or gold...agh I think I'm going to go to the store now. Haha. Love it!

    Bekah
    If Work Permits

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  5. I love this! It's going on Pinterest for sure. ~ Maureen

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  6. So pretty! I attempted a wreath like this a few years back. All I have to say is you were very determined! Thanx foe linking up to THT!

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  7. I am SO pinning this to my Christmas board! I can't believe how stunning this is! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

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  8. This is absolutely adorable...I would love for you to share it at my "Anything Goes" Linky party...

    www.mydailyphotojourney.blogspot.com/2011/11/anything-goes-linky-party.html

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  9. I will be doing this tonight! I LOVE this! I am pinning and stumbling this post. I am a new fb follower visiting from What Allie's Making. Vicky from Mess For Less

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  10. I wouldn't have thought the ornaments would bunch up on their own. I love the miscellaneous mix of ornaments! And for $5, even better!! Thank you for sharing the tutorial.

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  11. I love it!! Such fun and festive colors. And it looks great with the white background of your kitchen.

    Melissa

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  12. What an awesome idea! Love it! I'd love for you to link this up to me Feature Friday Linky Party
    http://blissfulanddomestic.blogspot.com/search/label/feature%20friday

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  13. This is so pretty. I would be absolutely thrilled if you would share this in my Christmas linky party. My readers would totally dig it!

    Jessica
    http://myworldmadebyhand.blogspot.com

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  14. That's awesome! Love it! So pretty!

    I found you on TT&J! I would love for you come by and join me by linking this up at my new "Create and Inspire" linky party! ;)

    http://www.littleinspiration.com/2011/12/create-and-inspire-linky-party.html


    Thanks,
    Angie from A Little Inspiration

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  15. So cute! I think I may need to try this one!

    Ashley
    www.modernmommymagic.blogspot.com

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  16. This looks just beautiful!Thanks so much for linking up at my first ever party and helping make it a big success!

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  17. Love it! Great job :)

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  18. Love this! People are so creative!! Definitely pinning this idea. :)

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  19. Beautiful! I'm going to keep my eye out for ornaments! Huge bang for the buck! Love your blog!

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  20. So beautiful. You did a great job! I'm your newest follower. I found you in naptime crafters link party! I hope you'll follow me back over at www.createdbycori.blogspot.com

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  21. Beautiful! I found you through Think Pink Sundays. Thanks for sharing!

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  22. Pinned! Love this! Please come share with my readers if you have a moment - you are AWESOME! http://www.momontimeout.com/2011/11/taking-timeout-thursday-no-6.html

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  23. I plan on making this because it is GORGEOUS! I read a tip somewhere to hot glue the hanger onto the ornament so it doesn't pop off later.

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  24. Turned out great! All of the colours together look so festive. Would love for you to share this over at Etcetorize. The party starts tonight: http://etcetorize.blogspot.com ~

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  25. Katie--I love your swag! It looks fabulous! thanks for linking up and linking back to Catch as catch can!
    gail
    ps catching your this week.

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  26. It's cute and looks fun to make!

    I would love for you to stop by my blog and enter my giveaway!
    http://the-life-of-faith.blogspot.com/2011/12/jewelry-giveaway.html

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  27. I love it. I have pinned it in my idea book for next year. Well done.

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  28. Wow! This looks fabulous! I just added yours to my pinterest!

    I'd love for you to link up this week at my Friday Favorites party!

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  29. This looks great. Saw it over at Not Just a Housewife. I added a cake on the link party.

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  30. These are beautiful! I am pinning it now. Please stop by and share at my link party. It is open till midnight tonight but a new one opens up Friday morning.

    http://herecomesthesun-
    kelly.blogspot.com/2011/12/fabulous-friday-link-party-2.html

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  31. That is the prettiest swag I've seen in a very long time. I wish I had a staircase or any kind of rail for one of those.

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  32. This is soooo pretty! Did you use all the same size ornaments? I am going to try this tonite.
    Thanks!

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  33. Just featured your incredible garland as one of the Freshest of the Week on Release Me Create!
    http://www.releasemecreations.com/2011/12/fresh-friday-linky-party-7.html

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  34. What a beautiful garland!! GOSH so tempting to make! but boy u need a lot of ornaments!! I just made a fabric garland. come check it out!

    Pearl

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  35. Beautiful!!! Excellent way to use all of those unwanted Christmas balls!

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  36. I wonder if you could ....somehow..weave/add a string of lights into it? Any thoughts on how that might work? Or has anyone tried it?

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  37. Great idea and it looks fairly easy to make! I'll find out in December!

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  38. Lovely idea! I have too many ornaments that I have collected over the years and have been putting them in clear vases the past few years. Really liking this idea. If you are looking for a way to put them up across a brick fireplace, here's your solution. We use them for wreaths outside.
    http://www.leevalley.com/US/garden/page.aspx?p=10437&cat=2,2260,33144,10437

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