Vintage Music Sheet Ornament

Materials:

• Vintage music sheets or other paper
• Cardstock
• Scissors
• Pen
• Buttons and beads
• Needle and thread
• Glue stick

1. Create a circle template out of cardstock. I traced around the neck of a jar I found in the pantry to make mine. The circumference of my circle is 2.2 inches. Trace around the template on the music sheets and cut out each circle.

2. You will need six paper circles for each decoration. Fold each circle in half. Glue half of a circle and stick it to the half of another circle, lining each half up against each other along the middle fold. Continue with all six circles to form the shape.

Continuing on the theme, I also made a paper chain out of vintage music sheets to string around the tree. I tied little soft gold bows as an accent.

Star Ornament

Materials:

• Sewing machine
• Scissors
• Pen
• Vintage music sheets or other paper
• Fabric(s)
• Buttons and beads
• Needle and thread

1. Create two star templates out of cardstock. The second template should be .39 inches (1 centimeter) larger than the first one around each edge. I found my star template online and made a larger version by hand. Trace around the smaller template on the paper several times and cut out your paper stars. You will need two paper stars for each decoration.

2. Create fabric versions of your star using the larger star template. You will need two fabric stars for each ornament.

3. Lay out each paper star onto a fabric star, right sides facing up, and pin into place. Don't worry if your paper and fabric stars don’t exactly match up; we will correct this later on.

4. Slowly sew 2 millimeters all the way around your paper star. Use the balance wheel of your sewing machine to manually maneuver around the corners. It’s very easy once you get the hang of it.

5. Sew the buttons onto one star.

Once that’s done, place both stars wrong sides together. Don't forget to place a length of twine in between them to hang your decoration up. Pin the pieces together.

Building on the star theme, I added a handful of stars made from wooden skewers snapped in half, bound together at the joints with very thin washi tape. The star at the top of tree was made in the same way, without halving the skewers.

You can also make these out of gathered twigs. That was my original plan, but the weather over here in the Netherlands didn't allow for it. The skewers provide the same look and offer a contemporary alternative.

Personalize your Christmas tree by making a few little gift bags for each member of the family, like the one here. This couldn't be an easier DIY if it tried.

Decorated Mini Gift Bags

Materials:

• Washi tape
• Gift bags and tags
• Scissors

1. Starting at the bottom of the gift bag, arrange strips of washi tape in a graded manner to the top of the bag. Tearing it off the roll rather than cutting it will make for a nice rough edge.

2. Leave a bit of excess washi tape over the edge of the bag so that you can neatly trim all the way down the side to avoid folding the excess washi tape over the side of the bag.

3. Attach a personalized gift tag to one handle of the gift bag with a piece of twine, tie the twine in a bow and secure both with a tiny clothespin. Your gift bag is now ready to be filled with a special trinket and displayed on the tree.