DIY: Tasseled Star Ornaments

Man, I am so crazy about the holidays. Just ask my husband, poor guy. We've been listening to Christmas music since like early November. For the most part, Etsy is to blame. I have to get my Christmas items started early or they never get listed! I've finally finished with the stuff to sell and now I get to simply focus on making pretty things for my own tree and for gifts.

This week, I had the idea to make ornaments for my friends. I have way too much Sculpey and embroidery floss left over from other projects, and a lifetime supply of glitter. These supplies all combined perfectly into these fresh and festive little star ornaments!

Here's what you'll need:

Sculpey or Femo Polymer Clay

A small cookie cutter

Embroidery Floss

Fine metallic thread

Small Jumprings

Jewelry Pliers

Jingle Bells

Glue & Glitter or Gold Enamel

Another type of thread for stringing

Step 1: Cut & Bake

Set your oven to 275° (or whatever degree the polymer clay packaging says). While it's heating up, roll out your clay. I rolled mine slightly less than a 1/4" thick. Cut out your shapes with the cookie cutter. Use a toothpick or other pointy tool to make a hole for hanging. Carefully peel them off your work surface and place on a baking sheet. When your oven is ready, follow the directions on the clay package. I baked mine for 15 minutes, which seemed to be perfect.

Step 2: Tie your tassels!

While your shapes are baking, you can make some tassels. They're pretty quick and easy. I got my method from the DIY blog, Maggie Holmes Design. I made my tassels a little smaller than hers by wrapping them 5 or 6 times around a piece of 4bar cardstock.

Step 3: Add some sparkle 

The glitter in the photo above was $1 at Target.

My favorite, though, is Diamond Dust. It's basically crushed glass. Mine is in a vintage paper canister and weighs a pound, but if you want a smaller amount, you can still buy it at JoAnn Fabrics.

I also used gold enamel (mine is called Liquid Leaf) to add dots to a few of the stars. Gold acrylic paint should work just as well and isn't has toxic.

Step 4: Assemble

When everything is dry, string a bit of thread or embroidery floss through the hole you made and tie. Use the jewelry pliers to open your jumpring just enough to add the bell and then close it around the string you just tied onto the star. You're all done!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

♠