DIY Tuesday: Felt Ornament

A couple of years ago I did what I thought was smart and shopped the Target 75% off sale for all new Christmas ornaments. I LOVED the theme and color combination that I had chosen (sort of a eclectic/modern take on the traditional Christmas color scheme).

To my utter dismay, my husband hated strongly disliked practically all of the ornaments I had chosen, especially the color scheme. I was heart broken at the time but being the good husband that he is, he allowed me to do whatever I wanted to our tree last year. Surprisingly, I discovered that he was right and I started missing the more traditional decor that I had grown up with.

So now it's back to square one. I am starting to gather more ideas and inspiration for the perfect Christmas tree decor. I have decided to stick with the traditional Christmas color scheme, but thought it would be fun to add a few more modern yet rustic elements.

Which is where I got the idea for this DIY felt ornament...which has sort of a modern/organic feel. I really like how they turned out and I'm excited to finally get to hang them in a couple of weeks!

Click below to learn how to make some of your own!

Organic Felt Ornament

Materials Needed

Felt - I used a sandstone color

Small fabric scissors

Crafter's foam balls 2" diameter

Ribbon 1/8" - I used a cream color

Hot glue gun

Step 1. Cut a 12" long piece of ribbon and place the ends inside of the small hole in your foam ball. Fill the hole with hot glue (I'm not sure if the is the best way of attachment, but it's all I could come up with :)

Step 2. Cut your felt into small circles (approximately 2" in diameter). You will need about 30 circles to cover 1 ball - I know it sounds like a lot, but once you get going, they are fairly quick and easy to cut. (but if you buy a smaller foam ball you wont need quite as many). I liked to work on 1 ornament at a time, so my fingers wouldn't get so tired.

Now cut the circles directly in half.

Step 3. Take one of the half circles and hold it so the curved edge is facing down. Then fold the right corner down, place a dab of hot glue in the center of the fold, and then fold the left side over the top.

Now place your finger inside of the opening so it looks like a little finger hat! This will help flare out the edges of the shape...the larger the flare the less you will have to use to cover the foam ball.

Step 4. Repeat the above step for all of your 1/2 circles. When you are done gluing, cut off the bottom tips.

Step 5. Hot glue the felt shapes to your foam ball (large side up). If you have a low temp glue gun you can work a little more quickly by gluing a large area and then adding multiple pieces at a time. (if the glue is too hot it will melt the foam) Glue the pieces next to each other and work your way around. If you just glue randomly, you will be left with awkward spaced in-between the felt. 

Step 6. If you want, you can add a little embellishment to your ribbon loop (like a lace bow or beads). Here are a few options I tried out...

I decided to go with just a simple small ribbon...

And now hang on your tree and enjoy!