Winter has always been my favorite season—it brings back cozy memories of home and the holidays. Growing up in Ohio, I loved how decorated homes would transform our neighborhood into a bright, festive place. Set against a background of snow, it was like a living Norman Rockwell painting.
To help rekindle that holiday spirit, here is a simple and fun way for you and your family to create ornaments together out of recycled materials from around your home!
Materials:
• Paper (patterned or construction paper, old drawings, book pages, posters, etc.)
• Scissors
• Hole puncher
• Ribbon, string, or yarn
• Stapler and staples
• Rotary trimmer or paper cutter (optional)
Instructions:
1. Using your rotary trimmer, cut the paper into strips; they can be any size you like as long as all the strips are the same (for reference, I used 1”x8” strips). If you don’t have a rotary trimmer cut the strips by hand using your scissors.
2. Stack an odd number of strips on top of each other—I find that seven to nine work best.
3. Find the top of the middle strip and stagger the rest of the strips stacked on top of and underneath it to create a pyramid shape. Staple the stack together to secure it.
4. Repeat the process at the other end of the ornament. The strips of paper will fan out, leaving you with a spire-like shape.
5. To hang your ornament, punch a hole at one end and string a ribbon through it.
Try using different colors combinations when you stack your strips of paper. Also, increasing or decreasing the distance that you stagger the strips will change the shape of your ornament. Experiment with different supplies to further embellish your ornaments such as glitter, paper edgers, or shape punches!
Have fun creating and have a happy holiday season!
JC Bigornia
C3 Program Coordinator
Thank you for this idea, they look really pretty 🙂
I love these ornaments! It’s such a great way to use recycled materials, and they look so cool.
Awesome idea JC! Thanks for sharing!