24 Dazzling Ready Made and DIY Paper Ornaments

I'm all for giving readers what they want... last week's post about altered book snowmen proved to be popular so here's a round up of artisan-made tree ornaments that I have a feeling will be equally enjoyed. I wouldn't hesitate to hang one or all of these beauties on my tree!

 

Some can be ordered from website or Etsy links as finished ornaments; others are downloadable patterns/instructions for you to make as many as you like. 

 

If you have a digital cutter, lucky you! You'll be able to craft the elegant ornaments in Tran Thi Muoi's shop, M3DArtCraft. (Over 45,000 sales, so join the crowd and see why it's such a popular shop.) 

 

I was enthralled watching the construction of the nativity scene lantern ornament via the provided YouTube video - it's so clever the way its layers fit together perfectly.

 

 

 

This trio of pop up ornaments is gorgeous too. A video is also available for this style. Reviewers say the designs are a bit fiddly to assemble, but well worth the time spent.

 

The glorious colors of these paper ornaments made by Doris of ImageNThatStudio in New Jersey simply wow me. The way she stitches them with metallic thread and adds a crystal bead as the finishing touch is perfection too. 

 

 

Here are links to all of the color choices.

 

 

Karen Krieger in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania makes wonderful wall art, mirrors, earrings and more - each decorated with specialty paper elements. Her whimsical ornaments are always in demand, for example, these adorable polar bears dressed in chiyogami scarves.

 

Elissa R. Campbell of BlueRoofDesigns in Montpelier, Vermont is a bookbinder who relies on acid-free and archival materials to make handsome photo albums and journals. If your book club is doing an ornament exchange, a handbound leather book ornament would be just the ticket. It's available in various colors.

 

Terry Brumback of FourDogsandaPrincess in Falkville, Alabama makes an assortment of seasonal home decor, but what caught my eye was the variety of decoupage ornaments. Blank baubles are covered with decoupage cocktail napkins, some of which are painted over in the same style/picture as the original napkin. Others utilize rice paper onto which printed clip art is applied. This friendly snowman is pretty darn cute. 

 

Vickey of 10x2PaperStudio in Massachusetts offers five beautiful snowflakes that go together in a jiffy provided you have a Cricut cutter. All you'll need in addition to the SVG & EPS Digital Download are card stock, glue and hanging cord. Make them in any size you like.

 

 

Files are also available for honeycomb ornaments in all sorts of pretty shapes. 

Vickey provides cutting files to make this tree-shaped ornament or perhaps you'd prefer to create a mini forest for a mantel display.

 

 This wreath with bells is attractive too. Make extra bells to hang on the tree.

 

YuleCraftsGalore calls itself a pet supplies shop, but it lists more than a hundred ornaments! Many are animal-themed, but this little 2D booklover tree caught my eye. It is made of wood with vivid color printing. I've added it here because books qualify as paper in my... er... book. It would be another nice contender for a book club ornament exchange.

For those who love the look of vintage quilling, Ada of PaperArtByAda in Bucharest, Romania makes exquisite paper ornaments. At first glance I thought they might be tatted, but no, it's just that Ada's coils are very tiny indeed. Everything in her well-stocked shop is exceptional - for example, these Christmas trees that are lightly sprinkled with silver glitter.

 

Linsey Skelly of TreeTownPaper in Ann Arbor, Michigan makes beautiful paper flowers, but also personalized folded paper pine cone ornaments with the text of your favorite song. New is this version that allows you to designate text for a special point. Just let her know the title, artist, and the song lyrics you would like. She also has a custom sheet music pine cone.

 

Lorie Myers of BuxCorner [2024 edit: the shop has closed] creates stunning ornaments that look like very much like paper cuttings by using a process called sublimation printing. Lorie explained it to me this way: A design is digitally printed onto special transfer paper using sublimation inks. The inks turn into gas when brought under heat, then combine with the material. 

 

The process is almost like a tattoo, but instead of for your skin, it’s for your chosen product. The heat opens the pores of the fabric or substrate - ceramic in this case - then with the applied pressure, the ink cools and returns to a solid form. The result is a permanent, full color image that won’t crack, peel, or wash away from the substrate. Fascinating, right?!

 

There are many elegant designs to choose from... I love the floral and reindeer ones you see here, but all of the choices are stunning. They appear to be a combination of quilling, paper cutting and paper sculpture... not paper per se, but since the process utilizes transfer paper and the result is so special, I couldn't help but include them in this round up.

Anne Louvau of BelgianPaperworks in Graton, California uses watercolor paper to craft a collection of detailed tiny house luminaries and heirloom ornaments. 

 

Each is lovely in its own right, whether it's a Dutch canal house or Cotswold cottage, just to name two.

Dorisse of PaperStatement in Ingolstadt, Germany folds spinner ornaments from discarded books and offers folded book ornament instructions (diagrams and video) so that you can make them too - in six different shapes - lovely. 

 

Last, but certainly not least, Vihra Rowe of ThePaperheartDesign in Sofia, Bulgaria offers a tutorial that includes printable step by step instructions, detailed photos, and templates so you can make this realistic paper fig ornament that she calls a last minute Christmas decoration. How about a pear pair?... there's also an equally fetching paper pomegranate.

 

SO many choices, right? I'm beginning to think I need to get with the program and order a cutting machine. Then again, I do love making ornaments the old fashioned way, by hand. Like many things in this world of creating, there's much to be said for each approach.

 

You might also enjoy 15 Very Special Paper Christmas Ornaments Made by Hand.

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