Happy to have you here for Day #5 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments.

It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood, or at least it was the other day when I took my two-year-old for a walk in the jogging stroller (hmmm, maybe I should have jogged.)

Anyway, we brought the camera along and tried something that my friend Melissa Michaels at The Inspired Room does regularly with her “Drive By” posts. She often snaps photos of local homes she admires, and I had been meaning to do the same. But this time, I had an ornament project in mind.

Today we turn your favorite local homes, cabins or cottages into little, architectural confections. These ornaments are simple and quick to make, and will add warmth and character to your tree.

Materials and Tools:

• Photographs of Local Cabins, Cottages or
  Your Favorite Local Architecture
• Matte-finish card-stock-weight photo paper
• Small, detail-cutting scissors
• “Mini” hole punch for making tiny hanging holes
• A sheet or two of stiff felt (from the craft store)
• Tacky craft glue
• Glitter glue – iridescent white works well
• Foam brush
• Thin wire & wire cutters, or ornament hanger

Instructions:
1. Using your photo software, size your best photos so the houses will print about ornament size. (You might want to first test a few prints for size on regular paper.)

2. Print your photos on the matte-finish, card stock photo paper (This is a bit thicker than standard photo paper – mine was called “presentation paper”). I learned recently from reading Diana’s new Ebook, that matte-finish photo paper won’t bleed ink, and since we will be glitter-gluing, I went with that.

3. Cut out your cabins, cottages or homes with the detail-cutting scissors.

4. With your hole punch, at the top of each house make a tiny hole.

5. Using the foam brush, apply a thin coat of craft glue to the back of each “cabin”. Spread the glue evenly, and be sure to cover the whole surface, paying special attention to
the edges.

6. After you apply the glue to one cabin, place it face up on the reverse side of a piece of stiff felt. Press down firmly all over. This will become the backing of your ornaments. We made enough ornaments to cover one piece of felt (with a little space in between).

7. Now it’s time for a hand from Martha and a Christmas cookbook. To help with adhesion and to keep the ornaments flat while drying, protect the sheet of glued cabins temporarily with a second sheet of stiff felt, and plop on a couple heavy books. Leave to dry for an hour or two.

8. When the glue is dry, cut with the detail scissors through the felt backing around each house. Now you have felt-backed cabins!

9. Punch through the felt where you punched the photo paper, completing the ornament hanger hole.

10. I think there’s a freak storm in your neighborhood! Quick – embellish your abodes with a little “snow”. Grab your glitter glue and add snow along rooflines, railings, tree branches, a bit on the ground – wherever snow would naturally stick. Have fun with this!!

11. That’s it! When the glitter glue is dry (ours took overnight to dry fully), add your wire or ornament hanger, and adorn your tree with some cozy architecture!

Now I know we are blessed with quaint Sierra cabins in our neighborhood, but I can envision this project using snaps of San Francisco gingerbread Victorians, Cape Cod beach homes, Arts and Crafts Cottages, and more — take your pick, and your camera.

Thanks for visiting the neighborhood on Day #5 of 30 Days of DIY Designer Ornaments! Enjoy filling your tree with warmth and wonder.

Tomorrow, meet us for Day #6 and a kaleidoscopic creation….