You’ve seen Hallmark illustrator Rie’s work in our stores, and you’ve toured her artistic loft in downtown Kansas City. Today, Rie is here to teach us how to make DIY Christmas paper ornaments…just in time for last-minute holiday decorating.

I love paper craft. I grew up in Japan, the land of origami, and I made all kinds of stuff with paper. I even remember making a paper camera that worked with sunlight when I was little. How impressed I was with myself then!

So I was very excited to be one of a half dozen elves, oops, crafters, who recently participated in a holiday paper craft workshop. There were illustrators, designers, and a paper engineer—all super-crafters. (Yes, we have a dedicated paper engineering team that helps us with our paper products, and they are amazing!) My fellow workshoppers made beautiful paper holiday wreaths, Christmas tree toppers and festive holiday centerpieces. So inspiring! Where did they find these talented people?

I decided to make house-shaped luminaries and modern polyhedron paper ornaments. Here is a template so you can make the ornaments, too. Print or paint different holiday patterns of your choice on the paper and have fun!

What you’ll need for your DIY paper Christmas ornaments:

• The paper ornament template
• 90-100 lb., 8.5 in. x 11 in. paper
• Scissors or hobby knife
• Cutting mat if using a knife
• Scoring tool
• Glue
• Ruler
• Cotton swab or toothpick for gluing
• Yarn, string, or ribbon
• Printer

How to make your ornaments:

1. Download and print the paper ornament template. Draw, paint, or stitch a pattern of your choice on the reverse side. (Don’t be intimidated here! Simple shapes and patterns like dots and stripes work great!) Or you can wait to paint the finished ornament once your glue is dry. I recommend using a heavier paper stock, such as 100 lb. card stock or 90 lb. watercolor paper, so it will hold up over the years.

2. Score all the fold lines of the template, and cut out the ornament out using either a hobby knife or a pair of scissors.

3. Fold along the scored lines.

4. Glue your tabs. For best results, glue a tab, and then let it dry a little so it holds before gluing another tab. After gluing the two tabs at the top, glue in the knotted yarn, string, or ribbon.

5. When all the tabs are glued, voilà! You have made one of your first lovely, custom DIY Christmas paper ornaments!

After you master paper ornaments, try your hand at wooden ornaments! Then, remember to show us your Christmas ornament creations and decorations on Instagram @think.make.share! For more holiday crafts, check out our Christmas section.

Save

Save

— Rie E.-Z.