It’s Wednesday the 2nd… so it’s time to share this season’s (completely unofficial) Pinterest Challenge (not sponsored by Pinterest or anyone else, just dreamed up by Katie to make us stop pinning and start doing).
I actually tackled ornaments (since the winter edition of our little Pinterest Challenge won’t be until January), which I mentioned last Wednesday when Katie, Ana, Erin and I issued our little get-off-our-bums-and-make-something challenge.
I know, I know – it’s not even Thanksgiving yet. I’m one of those one-holiday-at-a-time peeps too. But it was actually oddly satisfying to feel so “prepared” for the upcoming holiday season. And I’m kind of in love with all the happy little ornaments I squeezed out. I actually ended up making 38 DIY ornaments! Here are just a few of the things that inspired them (all found thanks to Pinterest, but originally from here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here):
As are the rules, I took inspiration (or Pintspiration, har-har) from the above projects and then I did my own spin. Which added up to those 38 aforementioned ornaments that I whipped up. My method? Good ol’ trial and error. I just played around and made stuff up as I went along. Here’s what I ended up with:
- 12 faux ceramic animal ornaments (inspired by the A stuff above)
- 18 colorful swirl glass bulb ornaments (inspired by the B stuff above)
- 3 patterned ceramic ornaments (inspired by the C stuff above)
- 4 faux antler ornaments (inspired by the D stuff above)
- 1 skeleton key ornament (inspired by the E stuff above)
Here they are now:
And here’s how I made each type:
Faux Ceramic Animal Ornaments
- Purchased a pack of small plastic zoo animals from Michael’s for $4 (with coupon)
- Primed them all with white spray primer
- Use small drill bit to start a hole to screw small ring hooks into the top of each one so they could be hung
- Painted 4 of them white, 4 of them lime green, and 4 of them navy (w/ acrylic craft paint from Michael’s)
- Added colorful string (the kind used for friendship bracelets from Michael’s) for hanging
Colorful Swirl Glass Bulb Ornaments
- Purchased three six packs of glass ornaments (in small and large sizes) from Michael’s for $9 total (with coupons)
- Removed the ornament cap and poured a decent amount of 99 cent craft paint in one of three colors into the ornament (exact colors I used: “Limeade” by Apple Barrel, “Metallic Emerald Green” by Folk Art, and “Magenta” by Folk Art Shiny)
- Slowly swirled the ornament around to spread the paint and create a nice “spun” effect (I aimed to cover 50% of the glass with paint for a not-too-much-and-not-too-little effect). Here’s a video to show you just how easy these babies really are:
- Allowed each ornament to dry overnight
- Reattached the ornament caps in the morning after the craft paint dried
- Added colorful string (the same kind used for friendship bracelets from Michael’s) for hanging
Patterned Ceramic Ornaments
- Purchased three ceramic ornaments from Michael’s (for $5 total with coupons) along with three Sharpie markers in navy, magenta, and plum (also from Michael’s for another $5 with coupons)
- Drew magenta and plum chevrons on one ornament, hot pink continents on another (for a modern globe effect), and nested starbursts on the third ornament (in navy, plum, and magenta)
- Switched out the stock red ribbon for colorful string (yup, the friendship bracelet stuff from Michael’s)
- Oh and I’m planning to paint the gold cap of the globe ornament someday (white or orange or navy or pink… not sure yet)
Faux Antler Ornaments
- Purchased one square of Premo Sculpey clay in lime green from Michael’s for $2
- Sculpted two small shield shapes and two larger ones
- Used a needle to create two holes for hanging and a stick to create two indents where each stick antler would be glued
- Baked according to the Sculpey directions to permanently harden them
- Used crazy glue and sticks from the front yard to create faux antler trophy
- Added colorful string for hanging (more of that friendship bracelet stuff from Michael’s)
Skeleton Key Ornament
- Grabbed rusty old skeleton key (a sweet gift from a friend)
- Used spray primer and white craft paint leftover from faux ceramic animals to paint it white
- Added the friendship bracelet string for hanging
As for where I’ll display the not-so-Clara-friendly ornaments (well, they’re all super friendly for looking, especially all the zoo animals – just not so friendly for touching when it comes to the glass and ceramic ones), I’ve always loved the idea of a half-height tree on a round pedestal table like this – so we might get a real tree for that (and plant it in the backyard when the holidays are over). But on to the money stuff – here’s the budget breakdown:
- $4 for plastic zoo animals (from Michael’s)
- $2 for ring hooks for animals (from Lowe’s)
- $3 for spray primer for animals (from Lowe’s)
- $3 for acrylic paint in navy, white, and lime (from Michael’s)
- $2 for friendship bracelet string for hanging (from Michael’s)
- $9 for 18 clear glass ornaments (from Michael’s)
- $2 for magenta & teal acrylic paint (reused lime paint from animals)
- $2 for Primo Sculpey clay for faux antlers (from Michael’s)
- Total: $27 (so each of the 38 ornaments was 71 cents on average)
Oh and don’t forget to check in on Katie, Ana, and Erin to see what amaaaaazing projects they whipped up (they’ll be sharing theirs sometime today as well)!
And now here’s the part where we invite you to share all of the fun Pinterest Challenge projects that you guys have tackled in the last week (right along with us, well at least virtually with us). If you’ve already blogged about it, just:
- click on the blue “Add Your Link” button with the odd cartoon head at the bottom of this post (you might have to do some scrolling, depending how many projects are added)
- add a link to your specific blog post about your project in the url field (not your home page)
- where it says “name” write a descriptive name for your project (ex: “38 DIY Ornaments”) as opposed to your actual name
- we’d also love if you could quickly link back over to our project posts within your own (here’s Katie’s, Ana’s, Erin’s, and ours) – it’s also nice to link to your inspiration project on Pinterest as well as to directly link to the original project/site, just so they get some love too.
And if you’d rather just link over to your project in the comment section, feel free to do that – or even add a link to a free photo sharing site like Flickr with your pics if you don’t have a blog (remember to set the gallery to public so we can all see it). We can’t wait to see what you’ve been up to! Geeked out doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Update: You can check out all of our favorite holiday decor finds here – many of which are under $15!
Melanie @ Mailbox Journey says
Those ornaments are amazing!
Dani S says
Looks great, Sherry! My fall Pinterest projects are:
http://adventuresoncstreet.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/heres-lookin-at-you-mirror/
http://adventuresoncstreet.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/hallway-shade-homemade/
http://adventuresoncstreet.wordpress.com/2011/10/07/one-flew-over-the-cuckoo-clock/
YoungHouseLove says
So excited to check out all the projects you guys are sharing!
xo,
s
Allison @ House of Hepworths says
Oh my gosh your ornaments are so cute!!! You are so crafty and clever. Thanks so much for having this party and allowing all of us to be a part of your crazy awesome blog.
xoxo
Allison @ House of Hepworths
Annabelvita says
Here’s mine! http://annabelvita.com/vintage-labels-on-yo-fancy-modern-goods-in-yo
I was planning to do Christmas decorations in the winter pinterest challenge but I guess that will be after christmas. Oh well, I’ll just have to do it without a challenge…
annabelvita says
ps. sorry I suck at that linky thing… thought I’d get to add the description on the next page but instead it just showed up with my name! oh well…. next time.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- no worries! I’m so bad at that stuff myself!
xo,
s
Emily says
Your ornaments turned out so nice! Great interpretations!
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
I LOVE Sculpey clay! I always used it as a kid and I’ve been looking for an excuse to play with it as an adult. Thank you :)
mike @ the lil house that could says
Excuse me wife, I bought you a big tub of clay in college and you never used it!
Nicole says
Haha Mike! Best reply ever!!
YoungHouseLove says
Mike always cracks us up.
xo,
s
Rebecca @ the lil house that could says
Hahaha I’m so happy I checked this again. That was Crayola Model Magic, not the fun stuff you put in the oven. But you’re right, I don’t deserve any more clay :(
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, I think you deserve one more shot! Haha.
xo,
s
Sara says
Yay! So glad the challenge is back! I can’t wait to see all the awesome projects! Thanks for doing this again!
Amanda @ Serenity Now says
Thank you so much for hosting, John and Sherry. This is my first time joining the Pinterest Challenge. I put my own spin on a recipe this time, but I hope you guys do this again because there are all sorts of Pins I’d like to work on. I just need the motivation. ;) I love the ornaments you made…the navy, plum, and magenta ones are my fave. Have a great day!
Maureen @ This (Kinda) Old House says
I am so very, very sad. I really wanted to do this, and then the storm hit and threw off all my plans. Giant sad face.
Can I still pin it tomorrow? Or no…
LOVE your ornaments by the way!!!!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! You get a storm delay. Haha.
xo,
s
Maureen @ This (Kinda) Old House says
I will be able to link up tonight!!! No extension needed, after all. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Nice. You go girl.
xo,
s
Cassity @ Remodelaholic says
The animal ornaments are so stinking cute! Can’t wait to see our tree up! And thank you for this fun link up!
Cassity @ Remodelaholic says
whoops, I meant “your” tree!
AarthiD says
I think these are super cool! And they don’t look like they took/take a lot of time, either. I’d guessed that the craft paint swirl was how you’d done some of those — hee, I’ve clearly been reading too many blogs!
I am totally a sucker for skeleton keys, so I think that’s my favorite, but all of these look great! :D
Amy Renea says
The keys are SO my fave ;) Have you seen the little ceramic animals on top of mason jars spray painted orange and pink and such?? love!
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Those are so cute!
xo,
s
Jenn @ Peas and Crayons says
The swirl ornaments may be my fav!!!! =) They’re all so fun and the colors make me swoon, I love an unconventional holiday palate to spice things up a bit! Well done loves!
xoXOxo
Jenn @ Peas and Crayons
Erin S. says
Cute! We have a little girl about a year older than Clara, and we hung “not so friendly” ornaments on the upper half of the tree and “not-breakable, but not exactly meant to play with” ornaments on the bottom. Then we taught her “one finger touch” with the ornaments, and she was GREAT with the tree last year. We spent a couple of days reminding her, but the rest of the month, she would look carefully and never once pulled something down. I have a feeling Clara would be cautious and listen like my girlie was last year!
Random coupon question — how do you use so many Michael’s coupons at once? They always only let me use one 20% off coupon at a time. Do you check out about 10 different times? :)
YoungHouseLove says
That’s a really smart idea Erin! Love it! As for Michael’s coupons, I’m just there so often (I got things in a few trips because I wasn’t organized and kept changing my mind- haha). I usually get a 40-50% off coupon to use the next time I’m there and I pick the most expensive item and use it for that thing (ex: one 6-pack of large glass bulbs). Sometimes when John and Clara are there with me they’ll get in one line with half the stuff and I’ll get in another line with the other half of the stuff and we’ll each use a coupon (since they’re usually only limited to one per transaction but the gals there don’t mind if families split things up that way). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Erin S. says
Awesome – thanks! (and, oh, yes, 40% off — 20% is for Bed, Bath, ha!!)
Julia @ Chris loves Julia says
Wow! I LOVE the little spray painted animals!! They are my favorite for sure. They are cool and totally kid-proof which I definitely need this year. I am already planning on DIYing a whole slew of ornaments this year since all of ours are glass (we have a 20 month old…that doesn’t mix). What great ideas.
We tackled staining our concrete floor in our future guest room/office–which I have been eyeing/pinning for months. I LOVE the Pinterest Challenge.
http://chrislovesjulia.blogspot.com/2011/11/stained-concrete-floors-outtakes.html
…off to check out everyone else’s project.
[email protected] says
Thanks so much for hosting the link par-tay today! Wow 76 submissions already and I know you’re going to have tons more! I did a post about using cardboard & twine. I don’t have a hobby lobby etc here in the Caribbean where I live (woe is me) but I love to use what I have anyway! xoxo
Krysta @ Domestic for Dummies says
So creative! Can’t wait to see where you hang em’!
Amy @ this DIY life says
90 projects linked in 15 minutes…guess I know where my next week is going. I loved this last time because I found soooo many great new blogs to follow. Thanks for hosting again!
Pip says
Love the ornaments – so cute and personal. All you need now is a special Clara one (and a Burger one, that makes 39 & 40). I particularly liked your modern globe (especially compared to the inspiration photo – great update!)- imagine a little stick figure on Australia waving hello. Or not, a bit stalker-y for the Christmas tree.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Pip! We definitely need to add a special Clara and Burger one to the mix! I had so much fun I predict a lot more ornament making in the next month or two!
xo,
s
heather says
Since you guys love initials so much (I’m partial too), why not get the little ceramic/plaster letters at the craft stores and paint those up for ornaments on the tree? First letter for each person? Clara could even paint hers the same way she did her pumpkin :)
YoungHouseLove says
Love that idea! Hobby Lobby has some awesome plaster letters!
xo,
s
Laura says
I have an idea for a Clara ornament…
The tradition in my family is to get a clear glass round ornament and we each draw on one per year (using paint pens, but sharpies work too!). I have them from when i was little and just scribbled to now when we draw the highlights from the year. It really is one of my favorite traditions, I’m so glad my parents started this tradition so many years ago!
YoungHouseLove says
Such a cute idea!
xo,
s
Whitney says
Oh my goodness … I LOVE these! You are just so crazy creative. I can’t wait to try out some of these ideas!!
Wom-mom Ethne says
My BFF and I did 3 projects over the weekend – got them posted. Thought I would tell you that in this link: http://www.wom-mom.com/2011/11/pinterest-challenge-ethne-2.html
from one of my Pinterest projects you can see my corian countertop in the background island. Also, I did the painted glass bulb ornaments last week too – from Pinterest! Fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Love all the project links everyone! Thanks for sharing!
xo,
s
Robin @ Our Semi Organic Life says
Thanks for hosting! I’m going to have so much fun checking out everyone else’s posts!
jennifer f says
He- Im so excited for your table setting posts. I am actually hosting both thanksgiving and xmas this year for the first time and really really want to have a fabulous table. When are you guys coming out with that?
YoungHouseLove says
We’d love to do one of those again soon! Not sure when (they’re not really a regular event, but we usually do one before the holidays each year – so here’s hoping!).
xo,
s
Meg says
love the ornaments! thanks for allowing us to post our projects! fun to see my art on YHL !! :)
Jona says
Thanks for hosting this brilliant challenge! It was so much fun and I can’t wait for the next one! Your animal ornaments are brilliant (both the colors and the idea)!
heather says
Those are so cute, Sherry! I was planning on updating our tree ornaments by making some of the swirl ones myself. Yours came out great! I decided to put the Everent of laundry away last night, so I didn’t write about my post yet (will be coming tonight). In the mean time, it’s based off of this:
http://pinterest.com/pin/208318565/
And there’s a sneak peak of it here:
http://www.likeacupoftea.com/the-hunt-for-the-october-snowstorm-what-the
YoungHouseLove says
Loving all the links/projects you guys are sharing! Seriously, this is such a fun little day for me.
xo,
s
Molly says
I, too, could not resist the siren song of Christmas decoration for this Pinterest challenge. LOVE those ornaments! Thanks for the “call to action” to get my butt in gear and actually make something I pinned!
Stephanie says
I posted 2 projects. Hope that’s okay. Both Pinterest-inspired projects. One was just done before you announced the Fall Ed.
Love the ornaments. I have a date planned with my sister in early December to craft up some ornaments/gift tags etc myself.
Can’t wait!
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! The more, the merrier!
xo,
s
Jill says
I love the ornaments! I’m still amazed that my wreath project actually worked:
http://www.phoenixhaven.rtp3.com/archives/17
Everyone’s projects are looking so cool – I think I might have tons of pins on Pinterest today! Thanks again to you guys for starting this up :) xx
Ryan Elizabeth says
omg! i love the faux ceramic animal ornaments. we share a love for ceramic animals, sherry!
always enjoy seeing your projects.
Jamie @ The Treehouse says
Boo Hoo! 4 days without power from an unseasonable snow storm have put us behind! I’ll post a link when I finish. Maybe you could check it out then? Pretty please?
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man- you definitely get an extension for that storm business! The link party is open for 7 days (and you can comment with a link forever) – so that should give you some time!
xo,
s
SingleMama says
Love the animal ornaments! I just got my son a little tree for his room, those would be perfect for it.
Raina@ Mamacita Spins The Globe says
I love that you and your friends started The Pinterest Challenge! I didn’t do much this time around … unless making a sandwich counts (which I totally counted), but I’m already starting to think about the next one in January! I can’t wait.
(I posted my “project” above… Dia de los Lunch. LOL)
Janna says
Great job Sherry! Your ornaments turned out fabulous…I can’t wait to see them on your tree!
And I may just need to borrow your faux antler idea. The Hubs and I give each other an ornament every year for Christmas and these are right up his alley. :)
I’m happy to say that I participated in the Pinterest Challenge this time with a fabric/ribbon mobile for our nursery! Check it out: http://twsst.wordpress.com/2011/11/02/pinterest-challenge-nursery-mobile/
Janna
Mary Kathryn says
okay…
tiny ceramic animals from small plastic toys = genius.
I’m totally pinning this and creating these in my home and giving your genius brain the credit. Thanks so much for hosting this partay- it kick-started my booty into gear and I finished two chalkboard projects over the weekend. I think I’m #68? Anywho- can’t wait to see what everyone else came up with!
Paige says
Those all turned out so great – especially the animals, I think those turned out ADORABLE.
kerrie says
i don’t have a blog, so i am just adding my links to pinterest… i decided to complete a paint chip art inspired from your bedroom paint chip art and the one that you linked to in that blog… i actually used that one as my inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/141708634/
i seriously attempted the triangle shape because it is soo cool; however, i decided that i am far too much of a perfectionist and went straight for the square, which i made by using a paper cutout tool from Michael, $10. in the end, i have this final project, which got it’s colors from matching paint chips to the peach floral quilt that my grandmother made. it’s not hung yet (sorry about the ugly stack of books that it is propped against) because i couldn’t decide what piece will be going under neath it, so i am not sure how high to hang it: http://pinterest.com/pin/427825155/
oh and i also previously used this inspiration: http://pinterest.com/pin/139119859/ to make these beauties: http://pinterest.com/pin/140688169/
Nikki says
All of these ornaments are so cute! I think I might have to make the animal ones for the boys this year.
Elisa @ The Self Life says
Thanks for hosting as usual :) Love the palette you chose! I’ve never done a themed tree but now you’ve got me thinkin’…!
Rachel says
Fun! I start scheming holiday decorations way way early.
I’m sort of obsessed with the plastic animals. Have you seen the ones floating around the blogsphere and Pinterest that they spray painted gold and turned into a candle holder for cakes? I’m obsessed. I want a gold dinosaur on my birthday dessert this year!
YoungHouseLove says
Ooh those sound so fun! Haven’t seen them yet but will have to keep an eye out!
xo,
s
Rachel says
Here’s the pin: http://pinterest.com/pin/109143248/
Alyssa Haws says
I was planning to do an “around the world” christmas tree theme but seeing your idea makes me want to change my mind :) Love the bright neon vibes!! Thanks for hosting the Pinterest Challenge. My two year old even helped out.
Allyn says
Holy crap! Those animals are totally awesome! I want!
My sister and I found a pin somewhere that used old book pages and glitter over simple round ornaments and it was amazing. Totally going to show up on this bookworm’s tree!
Amy @ Lovely Nest says
These turned out awesome! I love the swirly paint ones and might have to try those myself!
Lindsay says
Well, I feel a little silly because I goofed and put my real name instead of the project description. Oops!
YoungHouseLove says
No worries! These things happen. Haha. Don’t fret at all! I do things like that all the time!
xo,
s
abby says
Me too… I’m glad you did it so now I don’t feel so silly! ;)
Amy says
Very cool! The animal ornaments would be a fun project for kids (with adult supervision, of course). Great job!
Catie says
Hey Sherry and John! Love the Pinterest Challenge. Thanks for hosting. =)
~ Catie
Emily says
Our back entryway needed some help! This small organizer gathered clutter and didn’t work well. I used materials I found in a 50% off bin to create a functional and pretty organizer! Here’s the pinterest inspiration and my photos!
http://pinterest.com/pin/382368342/
http://pinterest.com/pin/382374555/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/61214740@N08/?saved=1
Staci says
Can’t wait to see your tree with this kinda crazy color palette! How soon do you plan on putting it up? Do you wait until after Thanksgiving or do it earlier to maximize the holiday cheer?
YoungHouseLove says
We’re usually on top of that stuff about a week after Thanksgiving or so. Gotta give the festive turkey stuff a good few weeks and then we switch over!
xo,
s
Karen F says
love your ornaments! the ceramic animals are so YOU! I can’t wait to see how you decorate for the holidays this year. I also love all the projects everyone else posted. Can’t wait to check them all out. I had a project in mind, but didn’t get to it in time. Maybe in time for the winter challenge :)
Blair says
Love them! I did something completely un-holiday friendly and did a chandelier. http://thefirstapartment.blogspot.com/2011/11/pinterest-challenge-make-chandelier.html
Thanks for doing this!
~Katy
Jessica says
I love your swirl ornaments and gave them a try over the weekend. Unfortunately, mine definitely did not turn out so well. The Folk Art craft paint had a hard time moving around in the glass bulb. I had to shake the thing to get some kind of movement. Is there anything you would recommend?
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, it definitely helps if the paint is thinner. Maybe try adding a splash of water to the paint tube and shaking it up to dissolve it and trying again? I would keep testing how the paint spreads on one “test ornament” until you like it so you don’t have to ruin lots of them!
xo,
s