How to Make Christmas Wood Slice Ornaments

Making wood slice ornaments is such a fun holiday craft! Not only do they add charm to your tree, but they also make great handmade gifts.

So today, I’m going to show you how to make these cute Christmas, wood-slice ornaments that you can share with your friends and family this holiday season.

Homemade Wood Slice Ornaments

Each year we try to make a new ornament for our tree. It is a fun project to do with the kids and it serves as a nice memory for the year. (Check out our Finger Print Ornaments from last year.)

While these were a little more work upfront, our family agrees that they turned out pretty cute. 

Before we get into the how-to’s, let me say, this project is a little more advanced in that it requires quite a few materials, as well as, the use of a cutting machine (cricut or silhouette).

If you don’t own a Cricut Machine you could purchase ready-made decals, or paint your own design.

Materials Needed for Wood Slice Ornaments

If you are a crafter at heart, you probably have most of the materials needed for these wood slice ornaments in your arsenal of crafting supplies. If not, you can, more than likely, pick these up at your local hobby store or on Amazon.

Materials Needed for Wood Slice Ornaments: (Amazon Affiliate Links Included in this list)

• Pre-drilled Wood Slices
• Acrylic Paint (black and white)
• Paint Brush
• Wood Beads
• Jute String
• Ribbon 
• Cricut Machine (for decal)
• Black and White Permanent Vinyl (for decal)
• Transfer tape
• Ornament Word Cutfiles (for decal)
• A sealant like Mod Podge or Polycrylic

 

How to make Wood Slice Ornaments

Alright, now for the fun part! Let me show you have to put these Christmas wood slice ornaments together! On to step one…

1. Paint Wood Slices and Beads

To begin, paint your wood rounds and beads using the black and white acrylic paint. (This may take a couple of coats depending on the quality and thickness of your acrylic paints.)

For the painting the beads, I painted mine by holding them, but you might find it helpful to put the beads on on a pipe cleaner and hold that while you paint around them. (It also might save you a little extra mess.)

Note: For this project, I purchased a pack of wooden beads that had an assortment of sizes. For these wood slice ornaments, I used the 16mm, 14mm, and 12mm sized ones.

2. Prepare Your Decals

To prep your decals: First, download the digital ornament svgs. Second, in Design Space (Cricut), size them to fit the rounds. Thirdly, cut the decals using the Cricut. Fourth, weed the excess vinyl from each design. Lastly, using transfer tape, transfer your design to the wood slice.

I know that sounds like a ton of steps in one, but I’m assuming you know how to use your cutting machine.

If you need a little extra help, here’s a tutorial on how to upload an SVG file into Cricut Design Space.) Another tutorial on how to open and cut an SVG file in Cricut Design Space. And lastly, one more tutorial on how to weed a vinyl decal.

3. Seal Your Decals

Once your decal is placed right where you want it on your wood slice ornament, it’s time to seal that decal in place. To seal your decal, put a layer of Mod Podge or Polycrylic over the decal, then let it dry. (I used a foam brush to do this step.)

4. String Your Ornament

Once your sealant has dried, you can put your string hanger in place. To string the jute, fold the string in half and put the loop through the back hole. Then take the other two pieces and put them through the front loop and pull tight. 

5. Add the Beads

Next, string the beads with both of the jute ends, then tie a knot right above them to keep them secure. Lastly, tie off the ends to create a loop to hang the ornament from.

6. Tie the Ribbon

Lastly, take your ribbon and tie a cute, little bow under the beads.

AND…Voila! 

 

How Kids can Help Make the Wood Slice Ornaments

My kids love crafting me with. I’m always looking for little jobs they can do so they feel a part of the process. Depending on the age and skill of your kids here are a few jobs they can do:

• Paint the rounds and beads (since acrylic paint can stain and is toxic if consumed–leave this for the big kids)
• Weed the decals (removing the excess vinyl)
• Placing the decal on the wood slice
• Stringing the ornament and beads
• Tying the ribbon

 

Wood Slice Ornaments – Q & A

1. What is the best paint for wood slice ornaments?

Acrylic is really the best paint to use on wood slice ornaments.

2. Why are my wood slice ornaments cracking?

If your wood slices are cracking they probably weren’t dried correctly. Then when you go to paint them, it dries the wood out more causing more drying and more cracking.

3. What happens if you do not seal your vinyl decal to the wood slice ornament?

If you don’t seal the decal to the wood slice, it will peel or fall off over time.

4. Where can I get Christmas SVG files?

You can get Christmas SVG files all over the internet! Etsy is a great place to start!

What are your favorite homemade ornaments?