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Store-bought Christmas ornaments like these are pretty, but they can be pricey, too. Homemade ornaments can be inexpensive and fun to create. See more pictures of crafts.
It's all too easy to spend a lot of money during the holiday season. There's always some other gift to buy, some last-minute party, some friend who surprises you with a gift and thereby obligates you to reciprocate.
One of the easiest ways to save money during the holidays is on home decorations. That doesn't mean you have to forego having a brilliant, colorful tree. It just means you don't have to cover the tree with store-bought baubles and knickknacks. With a little ingenuity, you can create charming ornaments of your own.
Learning how to create original Christmas ornaments is highly rewarding. You can be confident of having a tree that looks like no other, and you're contributing to -- perhaps even starting -- family traditions. As you get more comfortable with crafting, you may discover that you also have a handy way of creating memorable, one-of-a-kind gifts for your loved ones.
Recycled Crafts |
Plus, when the winter wind is howling, ornament crafting is a fun, cozy way to spend an evening. Get the family together for a craft night. Or invite a few friends over, turn up the holiday music, fire up the glue gun and get creative. Split a bottle of wine, or mull some cider. You could turn your ornament-making party into an annual event.
To craft ornaments, start early. Though homemade ornaments are usually inexpensive, they can take a lot of time to make.
In this article, we'll look at ways to create ornaments from materials you probably already have around the house -- old magazines, paper, cards and envelopes, scraps of ribbon, snapshots, old clothes, even food. You might need to purchase a simple tool or two, but most of these projects require little more than scissors, glue, paint and varnish.
We'll start with a project that not only gives you ornaments -- it also helps you get rid of that outdated stack of magazines. Read on.
