When it came time to make the favors for our November DC wedding, I knew I wanted to have custom Christmas ornaments – since it kept with consistent with our theme and I figured they’d actually be used/re-used by our guests.

Finding a way to make DIY Christmas ornament favors … well that was another story. Googling “custom Christmas ornament” takes you to numerous websites, mostly tacky, and also expensive, to have your names & a clip-art wedding ring or heart, put onto an ornament. Googling “DIY Christmas ornament” takes you to links where people either hand painted things – or made ornaments out of items other than the Christmas balls [which is what I wanted to use].

At some point in my endless searching I found inkjet waterslide decal paper – and the promise that this stuff could put a printed image onto ANY surface – including Christmas ornament balls!

After a TON of trial and error, my friend Dorothy finally found a way to get our names, wedding date & a DC icon, onto a Christmas ornament ball ~ and now I’ve finally gotten around to typing out the step-by-step, DIY tutorial!

DIY Tutorial: How to make your own DIY Christmas Ornament Wedding Favors!

Materials:

  • 3.25’’ Silver Christmas Ornament Balls
  • Waterslide Decal Paper (http://www.carolcreations.biz/servlet/StoreFront)
  • Glue Gun
  • Scissors
  • Ribbon
  • Tiny bows (or buttons, feathers, etc)

Step-by-step Instructions:

1. Start by creating the banner image that you will be putting onto the ornament. For our ornaments we did our names, wedding date, and an icon (this could be any image that you have used on other paper products: a heart, monogram, or symbol, etc). Create the banner at .6’’ X 9.7’’ – this will be the best size to fit a 3.25’’ round ornament.

(*Remember* this image will be “Tattooed” onto the ornament – so use a bolded, easy to see font in BLACK that will easily show up on a silver ornament)

2. Print the banner out on regular paper first, to ensure it fits around your ornament properly

3. Once you have created the banner image, flip the image (you are basically tattooing the ornament with your banner):

4. Get ready to print the banners onto the Waterslide Decal Paper using this youtube video to help you learn how to use the decal paper:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wfjGZQNlk
5. Once you have watched the video – print the banners onto the waterslide decal paper and cut out the banner as straight as possible![note: the banner should be reversed here, unlike my picture!]

6. When the decal is ready/dry (per the youtube video instructions), place around the circumference of the ornament as straight as possible. You may want to draw a light line with a pencil to help! The decal will stick to the ornament.

Click inside to see the rest of our DIY Christmas Ornament Wedding Favor Tutorial!

7. Use a wet paper towel to heavily dampen the decal (like you are putting on a temporary tattoo).

8. Begin to peel the paper off slowly (to ensure everything was properly dampened and the decal transferred)

9. Smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles best you can and then allow to dry!

10. Finish off by covering the “seam” with your bow (or button or feather) via hot glue

Voila! A beautiful, affordable, and easily DIY Christmas ornament wedding favor!

FYI: **If you want to use ornaments other than silver ones, be sure to buy the proper decal paper (which will dry WHITE, not clear: http://www.decalpaper.com/product-p/tryc.htm) as you see in our picture at the top of this tutorial! If you use that paper – there is no need to reverse the image, as you are not longer “tatoo-ing” it on!**

 

5 comments

  1. Hi, I love your idea. Last Christmas I bought the ornaments to do the same thing, but our ornaments have glitter, do you think the decal paper would still work?

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