Clay Filigree Ornaments + Link Party

By Kate Riley December 6, 2012

Hi everyone and welcome to the par-tay!  I loved working with clay earlier this year when I made this clay petal vase so my daughter and I got together to craft some miniature ornaments out of the same product.  We liked the idea of little clay ornaments hanging on branches so we made several ornaments and they turned out pretty cute!   The first clay ornaments we made were these little filigree versions.

clay filigree ornaments centsational girl

To make them I used the same lightweight stone clay, some older pieces of jewelry from my stash, eye pins and small crinkle cutters.  Clay, pins, and cutters all available at Michaels.

supplies for filligree ornaments

First, roll and cut your clay. Yes, I use a Play-Doh roller, totally works great but any long glass cylinder will work too.

roll and cut clay

 

Use the jewelry to create an imprint in the clay, pull it away carefully and insert the hook.

imprint and hook

 

Allow the ornaments to dry overnight.  We added a little glue and glitter to the center of a few for a little extra sparkle.

allow to dry

Once they’re dry hang them up on branches or your tree!   The ‘Noel’ version was made with a simple cookie cutter and some letter stamps.

mini clay filigree ornaments

Later we also added some little jeweled ornaments too…

filigree and jeweled ornaments

The process to make them is slightly different so I’ll upload a PDF on how to make them later today.  Meanwhile link up your holiday creativity, can’t wait to see!

holiday home link parties

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66 comments

  1. How fun! I’ve never seen ornaments like those. I like the simple beauty of them. Thank you for hosting this fun link up! I look forward to it each year. =)

  2. Good idea with the jewelry! Makes a beautiful imprint.

    Thanks for the party. I’m lucky #290 and I linked up DIY wooden angel wings.

    Have a wonderful holiday season, Kate! Oh, and I wanted to say that I loved your mantel with all of the pretty blue. You are rocking it these days. :)

  3. Really neat idea and they turned out so pretty! I would love to try making these with my girls. They remind me of some ornaments my sister and I made when we were young out of dough that hardened – they weren’t near as pretty, but still so fun to make!

  4. Your ornaments are so pretty and look like they would be fun and relaxing to make too! Thanks for hosting the party!

  5. Thanks for all the awesome DIY Christmas projects! They are a great inspiration and I’ve started making a few, thanks to you! Keep up the great blogging.

  6. OH MY GOSH, so nice of you to host this. I have never seen anything like it, but then again, I am new.
    Lovely sites and ideas that all the bloggers have created.
    I am going to edit my post today and add your link!
    Thanks!

  7. Thank you for hosting , I can’t believe how many great ideas are in this party. I also love the ornaments you made, they’re beautiful.

  8. I’ve seen you play several times with that clay, which now convinces me I need to try it out! Your ornaments are delicate, simple and lovely. Thank you for the tutorial. I linked up my Jingle Bell Napkin Rings this time. Thank you for hosting and have a wonderful Christmas Kate!

  9. Kate! Love it! I have a question: How do you stabilize the branches in your vase? I would appreciate your input! Thanks!

    • Hello Glo, you can use small rocks like I did, it definitely helps to weight the vase so it doesn’t tip.
      Kate

  10. Now I do love those ornaments but what I am really drawn to is those branches. Do you know where you got those?

    • Wow everyone this is amazing how many creative ideas are in one spot, I’m blown away!
      Thanks so much to everyone for joining up in the big event!
      Kate

    • Hi Lesley, I ordered the branches online years ago and they float around my house… if you can’t find any locally then yes do a search for blanched or bleached manzanita branches and a few vendors should come up.
      Kate

  11. What a line-up!
    It will take you days to go through these! Thanks for hosting, I had fun linking up. I am off now to go explore some of the other links.
    Have a wonderful Christmas time.

  12. Went out at lunch break and bought some clay to make my grandson’s hand print for a ornament ! Thanks you for having such a creative website.

  13. Wow! Huge party! Creativity overload! ;)

    Thank you so much for hosting! Have a lovely and creative weekend. :)

    Julie

  14. I saw your picture on Pinterest, and I was shocked for a sec because I have that exact vase (on clearance from Target), and I put a tree branch in it, too, and put ornaments on it. Guess I wasn’t so original! Ha! Beautiful job, though! I love your original ornaments. (Mine weren’t.) :-P

  15. Thanks for hosting such an amazing linky party! Already looking forward to next years. Now I will have to spend days checking out all the creativeness! Cheers.

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