Handmade Christmas Gift Ideas - Ball Ornament from Recycled Cards

Once a week in our ongoing series (9/21-12/24) of handmade Christmas gift ideas, I like to include a project for tree or decor ornaments for the holidays. They can be treated as gifts either of two ways.

Some people create one ornament a year to give to everyone on their list. It becomes a tradition.

Or, the ornaments can be packed in sets of 3 or 6, and given to people on our list to be used this season, and then for every season down the line. The recipients remember the giver each year when they bring out the ornaments.

Tonight's project is for a recycled card ornament in the shape of a ball. You can recycle cards from previous years. This is also a good time to pull out those half-full boxes of cards that never get used. You know which ones I mean. Their verses just don't seem to fit anyone you have on your list, but the graphics are great.

The detailed tutorial by Jane Lake is copyrighted and posted on AllFreeCrafts, here.

Most of us have seen these through the years. But without a good set of instructions, they are as confusing to make as a Rubik's Cube is to solve. This tutorial is great. This is the first time I've seen such careful step-by-step instructions.

The photo is from the tutorial.

The look can be varied by the card choices. You could do one with randomly selected graphics. You could group pieces by color. You could choose winter scenes or animal graphics. There are a lot of ways to vary the look.

I would probably do this in several sessions. I'd gather all my cards in one session, then sort them. I'd do my drawing in another session, and my cutting in the next. Then, I'd do my gluing. I can't wait to get out into the shed and grab those half-empty boxes of cards. It will give me a reason to get some new ones this year. Or, the ornament ball might just be my "card" this time around.

One more tip: read the comments at the end of the post. There are over 30 of them, some of which contain even more tips for this versatile gift.

For other projects in my series, just look along the right sidebar for the label "Christmas Gift Projects." I hope to post only tips that do not require knitting, crocheting, machine sewing, tatting, embroidery, or any other skilled technique.

If you are feeling lazy, check my Etsy shop for items for your gift list.