If you’re looking to add some new Christmas decorations to your collection or simply want to create a nice gift for a friend, look no further. Today, we have three fantastic DIY Christmas decorations that you can make using items from Rural King. Follow our step by step instructions and learn how to create rustic, Mason jar lid ornaments, a hardware cloth Christmas tree, and light up Christmas gifts.
Rustic, Mason Jar Lid Christmas Ornaments
Difficulty level: (1/10) Easy
Time: 15 Min.
For this craft, you will need:
- Mason jar lids
- Hardware Cloth/Chicken Wire
- Jute Twine
- Small pair of wire cutters
- Scissors
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Paper
- Ink Pen
- Decorating materials (baker’s twine, small pine cones, pine leaves, small ornaments, buttons, etc.)
- Trace a circle along the outside of the mason jar lid with a marker. Cut the chicken wire along the inside of the circle.
- Press the chicken wire into the mason jar lids and adjust by clipping and/or bending it to fit.
- Braid 3 pieces of jute twine together and glue onto the inside edge of the lid. You can also use a thicker piece of jute twine, ribbon, or anything you would like.
- Tie some jute twine in a loop and glue on the top of the mason jar lid. You may glue a button on top of the twine on the lid to give it a more finished look.
- Decorate the ornaments with whatever you like. Some ideas are family photos, clothespins, buttons, mini ornaments, or any other keepsakes.
Hardware Cloth Christmas Tree
Difficulty level: (3/10) Fairly Easy
Time: 30 Min.
- Hardware Cloth or Chicken Wire
- Wire Cutters
- Zip Ties
- Thick Gloves – optional but preferred
- Measuring Tape or Yardstick
- LED Christmas Lights
- Any Ornaments or Ribbon for Decoration (optional)
- Cut a 2’x2’ square out of your roll of hardware cloth
- Using your measuring tape like a compass, work your way from the top left corner to the bottom right. You will make a ¼ circle.
- Carefully, curve the ends together to make a cone. You might have a bit of overlap to make it a perfect cone.
- Zip tie the top, bottom, and then the middle of the ends. You can use more zip ties as needed once it is held in place.
- Trim off the excess of the zip ties and you can trim off any excess overlap from the hardware cloth.
- Make sure the male side of the lights is on the bottom. Wrap the lights from top to bottom around the hardware cloth cone. You may use zip ties if your lights begin to fall down.
- Your tree is complete. You can choose to add decorations or even use this as a Christmas card holder. It’s totally up to you!
Hardware Cloth Frame Starlight Gift Boxes
Difficulty level: (5/10) Medium
Time: 1-2 Hours
- Hardware Cloth
- Burlap Gift Bags
- Zip Ties
- LED Mini String Lights
- Tape Measure
- Hot Glue Gun
- Wire Cutters
- Thick Gloves – optional but preferred
Before you even begin, decide what size you want your boxes to be. You will base everything on the height (we chose to make an 8” high box for the video). Then, you will need to know the length. Take your height and multiply that by 4 (32” in our case). You can follow the steps and use your own measurements or simply make an 8” tall present. It’s up to you!
- Cut hardware cloth to 8” high by 32” long and a second piece that is 8” by 8”
- Lay the large piece of hardware cloth flat. Measuring the length, mark every 8” for folding. (8, 16, 24)
- Using the edge of a table, bend the hardware cloth to make a right angle along marks.
- Fold over completely to crease the corners on the marks, and open and reform to make the 90-degree angle.
- Bring the two ends together and zip tie the top, middle, and bottom together.
- Place the smaller piece of hardware cloth on top and zip tie to the sides. Zip tie the middle of the top, bottom, left, right, and all corners.
- Trim the excess cord from the zip ties.
- Making sure the male end of the lights is on the bottom, begin zip tying your lights to the inside of the box. Try to space the lights evenly for a uniform glow.
- Cut some seams from your bag until it is one large piece of fabric. Then, cut a 33” long by 8.5” high piece and an 8” by 8” piece. The extra inch is to make sure you have enough fabric to cover the box.
- Wrap the fabric around the sides of the box and glue the seam with a hot glue gun. Trim off any excess fabric.
- Glue the top fabric square on.
- Your present is complete. You can take this time to add ribbons or bows to make it look even more like a real gift!
How’d it go? Let us Know!
If you try any or all of these crafts, share your success stories with us. You can even post pictures of your fabulous decorations on our Facebook page.
Are there any other crafts you would like us to try? Name a craft and we will try to find the equipment in Rural King to make it happen. Then, we will share our how-to guide with you!
Keep checking our blog for more Rural King products, tips, tricks, and more! Happy holidays!