I love the holidays for many reasons, but my favorite is that they give you a good excuse to get super crafty. So when I walked by the balsa wood section at my local craft store, the wheels started turning. I came up with a fun project that uses paint and metallic tape to create totally unique color blocked triangular ornaments. Keep reading to find out how to make them yourself!
One of the greatest things about this project is that it uses wood but no saw. And while I have plenty of saws, I’m aware that not everybody does. So we’ll use a plain old pair of scissors for this one.
Here’s what you’ll need for your ornaments:
- Thin balsa wood, 1/16″ thick works well
- Acrylic craft paint
- Scissors
- Bakers twine
- Pencil
- Paintbrush
- Washi tape or blue painter’s tape
- Metalized polyester film tape (not pictured)
- Hot glue gun
Begin by measuring out equilateral triangles on your balsa wood. Each edge of mine was 3.5 inches long.
Using a sharp pair of scissors, cut out the triangles. Be gentle, because wood this thin can easily split along the grain.
Trim off the tops so they resemble trapezoids as shown above, and mask off sections using washi or blue painter’s tape. Paint one section a darker color and let it dry.
Remove the first piece of tape and place another one across that section to mask off another area to paint a different color. Let that area dry too and remove the tape.
Next, add a piece of metalized film tape across the area where the two colors meet. Trim the ends of the tape, leaving a bit of excess to fold onto the back side.
Put a small line of hot glue across the top of the ornament, as neatly as you can. Quickly attach a piece of twine and let it dry. Then tie a knot at the top so the twine creates a triangle shape that completes the triangle formed by the wood.
And you’re finished! I love the way the hanger integrates into the ornament, forming the top part of the triangle.
The tape gives them a fun pop of metallic color, giving them some serious style. You could try making these with other paint colors too, for a completely different look. Have fun with it!
