Hello, all! It’s Rebecca here today, and I’m wishing you a Happy December! I’m excited to bring you some ornaments that I made with the handy-as-ever Tassel Loom and Happy Jig. They are easy and fun and will surely help you deck your tree with handmade goodness!
We’ll start with the easiest of all, a Christmas tree made using the Happy Jig. I found the directions right in the book that came with the tool, on page 18. You can go ahead and use Happy Jig wire…or you might want to try using a pipe cleaner! That’s what I used, a chenille one in gold. The kind that I found (at Michael’s) were 12 inches, which was perfect because the trees require 11 inches if you make them without the add-on for the clip, which I did.
The wired pipe cleaner is a bit thinner than standard Happy Jig wire, but these were still sturdy enough to keep their shape. I tried with another brand of cleaners, but those were too flimsy. Aside from looking shiny and pretty, another positive aspect of using the gold pipe cleaners was that they were really easy to wind around the small pegs.
I used a medium peg at the top instead of the small one so I could form a larger loop at the top, and I used the 1” of excess wire to wind around the loop for closure. Those were 2 small changes I made to the original instructions.
They’re so pretty hanging on the tree—or on a package, since I always like to include an ornament on Christmas presents! You can leave them be or you can take it a step further and add some extra bling! I took some gold metallic thread and wound it around the tree. The grooves made by the chenille keep the thread from slipping and hold it in its place on the sides of the tree. Every other loop or so, I added a sequin. The sequins slide along their line, but they don’t go past the edge of the tree. I used some vintage gold stars and white faceted round sequins, but you might want to add some more color. I tied the thread off at the bottom.
These are so delicate and festive! The best part is how simply they came together, and how inexpensive. I can definitely see making several of these for family and friends this year. It’s also a craft that I know my daughter would LOVE to help with!
Moving on to the next ornaments, are you ready to make some tassels? By now you might realize I love to make tassels and add them to nearly everything, so why not make tree ornaments with them, too? I turned mine into Santa Claus’s and Christmas trees.
You’ll need the Tassel Loom, thread, glue of your choice, and ¼” white pom poms if you’d like to make these, too. My thread colors are red, white, black, and 2 shades of green—one dark, one light.
I’ll show you how to create the Santas, and by following those directions, you’ll know how to do the trees—it’s not hard, I promise! Begin by making the tassels. Follow the directions for the Tassel Loom as you normally would for a 2” Floss or other Non-Flexible Material. Trim the ends to even up the bottoms.
For the Santas, I made 1 black (for his boots), 1 white (for his beard), 1 larger, thicker red (for his suit), and 1 skinnier, shorter red (for his hat). For the smaller red tassel, you’ll still make a 2” tassel, but will trim off about ½”. For the trees, I made 2 thick dark green tassels and 1 thick light green tassel.
Take a section of about 1/3 of the larger red tassel (at the back) and add some glue. I used Fabri-Tac, but hot glue will work, as well.
Place the back of the black tassel against the glue, then pull the remaining 2/3 of the red tassel over the top of the black one. Smooth it out.
Repeat the steps to add the white tassel to the duo, and the last red tassel, as well.
The final step is glue on the white pom pom at the top.
Obviously, the Santas are inferred, but my kids love them! You’ll do the same steps for the trees, but with only 3 tiers instead of 4. Also, there’s no pom pom, but I added some sequin stars to the tie-on loop. You can choose 3 different shades of green, or just one…have fun with it and make it your own!
With that, I’ll leave you to go and make some ornaments yourself. Don’t forget to pick up a Happy Jig and a Tassel Loom from the We R Memory Keepers store if you don’t already have them—they’re tools you’ll use again and again!
Supplies:
Tassel Loom
The Happy Jig
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