DIY Christmas Tree Decorations

Making my own DIY Christmas tree decorations is one of my favorite ways to decorate a Christmas tree! Ready to make some?

I have decorated a lot of trees with DIY Christmas tree decorations, but I think these decorations might be some of my favorites!

Today, I am sharing my hand painted ornaments, paper cut garland and air dry clay ornaments. I also made handmade stenciled Christmas wrapping paper. All of these DIY’s can be done with kids and I hope you will try as many of them as you can.

This tree is outside on our back porch. Tonight we lit the fire and sat out here for at least an hour. We enjoyed the fresh air and the twinkling lights on the tree. I chose a red and white theme because I love the pop that red adds to the neutral palette of my home.

Custom Painted Christmas Bulbs

I know what you are thinking. “Leslie, you can buy red bulbs. You don’t need to paint your own.” 

But here is the thing. I haven’t been able to find red bulbs that are a pink shade of red. So why not paint my own?

I am an artist and color is something I am obsessed with. After looking at tons of (orange) red ornaments I decided to mix my own paint and paint my own. 

There are so many options of clear bulbs that you can use for this project. I used these Clear Christmas ornaments that come in a 12 pack.

I made a few multi-colored and solid red bulbs. And it’s so easy because all you do is pour paint inside the bulbs. And any of the acrylic paint will work.

It’s incredible how easy it is to cover the inside of the ornament.

Once they are dry all you need to do is replace the tops and hang them on the tree.

Paper Garland

I have never made a tree garland and I thought it would be fun to make one out of scrapbook paper. It’s very inexpensive and easy to do.

What You Will Need

Fiskars Two inch Circle Punch or Cricut Cutting Machine

Scrapbook Paper

Bakers twine 

Hot glue gun

The 2″ circle punch made the cutting of the circles a breeze. The punch cuts quickly and easily. It even cut the thick glitter paper.

I cut circles out of six sheets of scrapbook paper. Next, I measured 8″ on a ruler and attached the paper circles to the bakers twine with a hot glue gun. Using a glue gun will help bond the paper and the twine. Garlands can get caught in the tree branches, so it is important that the garland is securely fastened.

The garland circles are two-sided with the different papers randomly paired together. I love how they turned out.

How to Decorate the Tree

I thought it might be fun if I shared how I decorated my tree. Knowing the order of how I decorated the tree and all of the elements I used should be really helpful. 

Step #1 – Add the Lights

Putting the lights on (and taking them off) is by far my least favorite step to decorating a tree. I highly suggest you invest in new lights every few years. Tree lights are very inexpensive (and don’t last too long) so a fresh string of lights is a good investment. When you add the lights just be sure to hide the wires as best as you can.

Next, I added a 5″ wide burlap ribbon. I started at the top and worked my way down and used both of these rolls for the entire tree. I didn’t put the ribbon in the back so you will need more if you decorate all sides of the tree.

Next, I added lots of Christmas berries picks and branches. All I did was place them on top of the branches throughout the tree.

Next, I added the painted red bulbs. And the paper circle garland.

Then I added the white air dry clay ornaments that I made. You can find the DIY to make them here.

And that’s it. The tree is done!

I hope that you make some or all of these DIY Christmas tree decorations. If you do, please let me know and share a photo!

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