Decorate Plain Wood Ornaments Using Rub-On Transfers

I collected a few wood ornaments from dollar stores this year. After some thought I came up with a few ideas on how to decorate plain wood ornaments for Christmas using rub-on transfers and other materials you probably already have on hand, such as old Christmas cards and wrapping paper scraps.

You can use Christmas ornaments for more than just to decorate the Christmas tree. They can be attached to gift baskets and gift bags for decorative purposes and as an extra little gift for the recipient. Christmas ornaments are also a great way to help decorate Christmas stockings. An ornament at each place setting on the dining room table adds a decorative touch to your tablescape, too.

Here are a few ideas on how to decorate plain wood ornaments to hang on your tree or use in other ways this Christmas.

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Decorate Plain Wood Ornaments Using Rub-On Transfers 

Project 1: Decorating Plain Wood Christmas Trees

Supplies Used and Recommendations:

 

 

These thin wood unfinished ornaments are from Dollar Tree. They come in a package of eight. If you wanted to, you could glue two of them together to make a slightly more substantial ornament.

I painted all of them, front, back and edges, with white acrylic paint. 

Idea 1: Choose a Rub-On Transfer

This first idea uses a rub-on transfer to decorate a plain wood ornament. I chose the potted Christmas tree, pictured on the right-hand side above. These rub-ons came on 12 sheets from Amazon. Just cut around the image you want to use.

 

 

Place the transfer on top of the ornament where you want it. The rub-on transfers I ordered came with a tool for transferring the image onto surfaces but, after trying it, I still prefer using my fingernail. Carefully peel the plastic up, making sure the image has been fully transferred from it, as you go. You may have to lay the backing down again and rub an area a bit more before continuing to remove it. 

The bottom of this rub-on was almost the perfect fit for the tree trunk on this ornament. I only had to trim a minimal amount from the sides.

 

 

I also used one of the small stars from the rub-on transfer set to adorn the top of the tree, then added a coat of gloss Mod Podge over the entire ornament to seal both rub-ons. 

Idea 2 – Cut an Image from a Christmas Card

Supplies Used and Recommendations:

 

 

I used one of the ornaments to trace and cut out a section of a Christmas card I’d kept from last year.

 

 

I neglected to take a picture of the Christmas card before I cut the image from it. I’m keeping what’s left of the card for another project I have in mind.

 

 

I used a glue stick to attach the piece of card to the painted ornament.

 

 

I had originally used a star from the rub-on transfer sheets, but then considered that a snowflake would be more appropriate for this scene. This is a snowflake from a package of confetti I’ve had in my Christmas stash for ages.

 

 

I sealed the image using gloss Mod Podge…

 

 

 …then sprinkled some silver glitter over it before the sealant dried. When it was completely dry, I used a trick I learned on YouTube, and sealed the glitter using hair spray. Yes, Virginia, it really does work to keep the glitter from shedding!

Idea 3 – Decoupage Wrapping Paper Onto an Ornament

 

 

I like to save bits and pieces of wrapping paper to use in projects. I’m not sure how long I’ve had this piece, but thought I could use one of the trees to decorate my next ornament.

 

 

After I cut out the image I wanted to use, I placed it over top of the wood piece and held it up to a light to make sure it covered the ornament. As you can see, I cut the bottom, left-hand side just a bit too close. If this happens, just cut another image from the wrapping paper you’re using. 

 

 

After trimming the excess paper from the ornament using my exacto knife, I used my pokey tool to reopen the hole where the hanger will go. You can get a set of two of these tools from Dollar Tree.

 

 

I applied a coat of Mod Podge to seal the paper in place and sprinkled on some gold glitter before the glue dried, concentrating more glitter on the star at the top of the tree. I finished this ornament with a spritz of hairspray, as in a previous project.

Afterthought Tip

 

As I mentioned at the beginning, because there are eight of these ornaments in a pack, you could use wood glue to attach two of them together to make four slightly thicker ornaments. I wish I had thought of this before painting the ornaments and adding the designs.

 

 

Nevertheless, I went ahead and glued a second ornament to the back of the first ones and clamped them together until the glue set. 

 

 

After attaching some butcher’s twine for hangers, these ornaments were complete. I like the forest scene with the deer the best. What do you think?

Project 2: Rub-On Transfers and Wood Shapes

Materials used and Recommendations:

 

 

These larger plain wood ornaments were found at Dollarama. I picked up one of each design. They vary in length from 4 1/2- 5″ and are about 1/4″ thick. Dollar Tree has the smaller wood ornaments in a couple of different holiday shapes. 

 

 

I chose these rub-ons for the variety of sizes and all of the greenery pieces. They were perfect for what I needed to make these ornaments. You can find them on Amazon.

 

 

As before, I gave each ornament a coat of white acrylic paint, front and back.

 

 

The shape of this rub-on was perfect to reach into each of the points on the snowflake.

 

 

A small emery board can stand in for sandpaper for smoothing edges and removing bits of overhanging pattern.

 

 

However, as I was completing the second ornament, I realized that you can rub the overhanging pieces onto the sides of these thicker ornaments. This is now my preferred method, whenever possible.

 

 

After I finished adding rub-ons to all four of the ornaments, I applied a coat of gloss Mod Podge over the entire front of them to seal in the image and give it a nice sheen.

Add Hanger and Beads

 

I’m using coloured twine to hang them. After pushing the twine through the hole in the ornament, I threaded both ends through two Christmas-coloured beads and pushed them down to the base of the ornament before tying a knot at the top to make the hanger. I found these beads at Dollar Tree in a package that included red, white and green.

 

 

Here’s how all four of these DIY ornaments look when completed. I like how all of them turned out but the snowflake is my personal favourite. 

You may have other ideas on how to decorate plain wood ornaments for Christmas. I’d love to see you creations!

 

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