The other day my daughter was sitting on the floor of my office playing with a few of my paper punches and trying her best to use up all my paper, when an idea suddenly popped into my head for an ornament.

After playing around with a few ideas and wasting even more paper, I came to the conclusion that I had a really cute (and super cheap) homemade gift idea, or nifty little holiday decoration…and it’s pretty ridiculously simple, too. I know it’s a million degrees outside and Christmas is forever away, but well…I’ll just play the “Christmas in July” card…and aside from that, it’s never too early to start thinking about Christmas gifts, right?

No grumbling about how it’s too early for Christmas. ChristmasChristmasChristmas! Okay, let’s go!

Here’s what you’ll need:

  • A Styrofoam ball. I used a 3″ size, but you could use any size you want.
  • A paper punch with a cool shape, as long as it’s relatively small; I would stick with an inch or less. For this ornament, I used a 1″ Martha Stewart snowflake punch. (Curse you, Martha Stewart craft section at Michaels…curse you).
  • 2 sheets of white cardstock.
  • Lots and lots of straight pins
  • Lots and lots of sequins…I used aqua blue.
  • Glitter (Thanks again, Martha..)
  • About 6″ of ribbon to make the hanger
  • And…nothing else. I’ll just continue with this extra bullet point here so this ornament seems more intricate than it really is.
  • Oh wait, there IS something else…glue, of course! (You know how some bartenders wear a bottle opener strapped to their arm? I wear glue like that).

First you’ll need to punch out lots of little snowflakes (or whatever shape you are using). The number of punches will vary depending on the size of your punch and the size of your styrofoam ball…for my snowflake ornament, I probably used about 100 snowflakes. (I also doubled them up…see below). I used cardstock for this shape, because the edges of the snowflake were so flimsy, and I was afraid thinner paper would rip or bend easily…but a thinner (and less painful to punch out a million pieces of) paper would probably work perfectly fine for a more solid shape.

punch out the paper snowflakes

After I punched out all the little snowflakes and my hand cramps had subsided, I decided I wanted to sparkle them up a little bit with some white glitter…if you want to do this too, just spread them out on a newspaper, and lightly (lightly!) spray a tiny bit (a tiny bit!) of glue across them, and then sprinkle on the glitter. I sprayed a little too much on a few of the snowflakes, and those poor guys didn’t make it. And so, just a teeny bit (a teeny bit!) will do the trick (the trick!).

sprinkle glitter on paper snowflakes

Finally time to start making the ornament…add a sequin to a pin, and then stick the pin through the centers of two snowflakes. I doubled up the snowflakes, unevenly, to make them look more full, but you may not need or want to do this with other shapes.

pin sequin to paper snowflake punch

And then stick that one, and a whole bunch more, into the Styrofoam ball…easy peasy, snowflake squeezy.

pin snowflakes into styrofoam ball

At some point before your ball is covered, just put one of your snowflake-d pins through the ends of a loop of ribbon…

make a ribbon hanger

…and pin it down. (I like to add a little glue to the end of the pin before pushing it into the foam ball, for some added security).

pin ribbon hanger to styrofoam ball

And once the entire ball is covered…your ornament is done! How awesome and simple is that?!

paper snowflake pomander ornament ball

These would look so cute on the Christmas tree…or a few grouped together in a bowl…just think of all the things you could do. Maybe some tiny beads instead of sequins…different colors and patterns and shapes of cardstock…

Or something a little dressier? A shimmery red and silver tablescape idea, perhaps?

red and silver paper pomander ornaments

Tell me what you think! Any other ways to vary this idea up?

P.S. Here’s a pinnable!

paper punch snowflake christmas ornament tutorial

201 Comments

  1. isaiah43123 on April 19, 2014 at 12:14 am

    Love it! Simple and classy. I wonder how this would work with egg shaped balls.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on May 7, 2014 at 1:09 am

      That’s a great idea! Maybe with a simple flower shaped punch. That would be perfect for spring or Easter. :)

  2. Carol Johnson on April 19, 2014 at 1:14 am

    These are so pretty! Clever

  3. Jane Spreng on April 19, 2014 at 1:50 am

    Absolutely gorgeous!!! I think I can do this, don’t laugh, my crafty abilities tend to come and go (lol)!!!

    Thanks so much for sharing!

    Jane

  4. Denise Gill on April 19, 2014 at 10:11 am

    This ornament is beautiful, as the same as all of your ornaments.
    Thanks for sharing with all. Can’t wait to try it

  5. Piper on April 19, 2014 at 10:17 pm

    These are so pretty! I will try then!

  6. April on April 20, 2014 at 10:48 am

    Wow that looks awesome! I’d so totally do that! I wonder what mulitute colors would look like…..

  7. Margo Wakelin (New Zealand) on April 29, 2014 at 3:06 am

    What a simple but stunning idea. Thank you for sharing.

  8. P Lurz on July 27, 2014 at 9:46 pm

    Look fun to make! I will have to try.

  9. Patty on July 30, 2014 at 2:00 am

    What a neat idea for all ages!

  10. Evelyn Tucker on October 7, 2014 at 7:35 am

    Thanks so much for this great idea. Went shopping today for materials. Love this idea!

  11. Rev. Alloway on November 4, 2014 at 1:37 am

    A perfect craft for my Ladies Bible Study !!! They are all over 65 and we always make cards etc. for special occasions. Beautiful!!

  12. Jackie on November 17, 2014 at 3:31 pm

    Awesome! This is a great idea. I am occupational therapy student and I used this activity to run an arts and craft group treatment! Thank you!

  13. Donna on November 21, 2014 at 9:04 am

    Very pretty, thank you.

  14. Gemma on November 23, 2014 at 3:30 pm

    This is a great I dear would love to do it with the children plus myself.

    Gemma x

  15. Carla on December 4, 2014 at 6:42 am

    You come up with some great ideas. I hope to be able to try some of them in the very near future.
    Thank you for sharing your ideas.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on January 12, 2015 at 12:35 am

      You’re so welcome, and thank you for reading!

  16. Barbara Gallagher on December 13, 2014 at 1:51 am

    Can you tell me the size of the sequins and where you found this color? LOVE your ornaments – just bought patterns of others, too!

    • Staci Ann Lowry on January 12, 2015 at 12:36 am

      I don’t have the package anymore so I can’t remember the exact size, but I do remember that I bought this color at Michaels. I hope that helps! And thank you for purchasing some patterns, I hope you’ve enjoyed them! :)

  17. CRAFT | Snowflake Ornament on December 18, 2014 at 1:00 am

    […] full tutorial for this wonderful craft can be found on The Ornament Girl‘s […]

  18. Barb Fisher on January 11, 2015 at 5:21 am

    Hi, I plan to order the no sew quilted Easter Egg book, but didn’t know if I would also need other tools. I do have some styrofoam falls, but will probably need to get some eggs. I would like to go shopping on Tuesday morning, so I wasn’t sure if I order the Easter Egg Book if it will be here right away and have a supply list or if it will take a while to send. It look like you were using some specific tools. I really enjoy or imagination and creativity. Do you do a news letter?

    • Staci Ann Lowry on January 12, 2015 at 12:35 am

      Hi Barb….Thank you for the compliment! The e-book will arrive immediately after you order, by email, so yup! You’ll have it right away. :) You will need the Styrofoam eggs, straight pins (or sequin pins), scissors, tape measure, and your fabrics.

      And yes, I do have a newsletter, and I also have another no-sew pattern that you will get for free if you sign up….. you can do that right here: https://theornamentgirl.com/blog/get-my-moonlight-ornament-pattern-for-free/

      Thank you again, Barb! :)

  19. […] source: […]

  20. Mary Ann Robinson on February 1, 2015 at 12:36 am

    Hi Staci, I love your website and have downloaded a few patterns. I belong to a Homemaker Club (there are 11 in my county) and we all decorate a lodge in a State Park and the Park hosts an event known as Christmas Open House. People come from all over Eastern KY, So. Ohio and Western W.VA to stay at the park and admire the decorations and the entertainment. Each club decorates a tree and we are always looking for ornament ideas so you can see why I am so glad I found you. This year the theme is a Victorian Christmas so it you have any ideas I would be glad to buy any patterns you offer.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on February 4, 2015 at 8:35 am

      Wow, that sounds amazing! (Something I would sure love to visit!)

      I am hoping to have a few new patterns and tutorials over the next couple of months. I hope I can come up with an idea worthy of your event. :)

  21. Joy Gerbode on February 1, 2015 at 11:31 pm

    This is lovely … and simple enough my grandson could do it with me. And so beautiful when done! I have paper punches that could personalize an ornament for almost anyone, so this will be a fun project!!! Thank you so much!

    • Staci Ann Lowry on February 4, 2015 at 8:22 am

      You’re welcome, I’m so glad you like the idea!

  22. Betty Cornwell on February 8, 2015 at 12:08 pm

    Those would look awesome with pearls too!

  23. debra mclaughlin on February 24, 2015 at 8:48 am

    love your ornaments… cant wait to try this..
    thanks
    debra

  24. Susan on March 5, 2015 at 10:48 pm

    This looks like fun! Tell me though, I am still busily making quilted eggs – I didn’t know some sequins have larger holes! What do I need to look for so I can use the small pins?

    • Staci Ann Lowry on March 11, 2015 at 4:44 am

      Actually, I didn’t know that either! lol….. I bought most of my sequins at either Hobby Lobby or Michael’s, and I haven’t had any issues with the holes being too large. I’ve mostly only bought 7mm or smaller though…. I wonder if that has anything to do with it?

      I’m sorry; I wish I could be more help!

  25. Mary Ann Eklund on March 11, 2015 at 12:57 am

    What a great idea and fun at that.

  26. Deb gonzalez on March 12, 2015 at 7:36 am

    You are so talented and have such great ideas!!!!
    Thanks for sharing
    Debbie

  27. Sandy Walling on March 27, 2015 at 9:04 am

    Just love your ornaments! I have not made my first ornament yet, but am gathering supplies ! Of course I started looking for eggs when Easter is upon us and stock seems to be low ! Where do you find your pins- is there any place where you can buy them in bulk? I have found bags of sequin pins, but there are only 250 in a bag.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on April 15, 2015 at 6:14 pm

      Hi Sandy…. The cheapest I’ve been able to get them so far has been from Walmart. Not exactly bulk, but it’s been about the best price I’ve found, and I pretty much clean them out every time I see them back in stock.

      Online, you can find large packs of the sequin pins on Amazon. I have a link to those on this page: https://theornamentgirl.com/blog/quilted-ornament-supply-list/

      Those are the shorter pins (some people prefer those over the longer ones), and they are pretty inexpensive.

      I hope that helps!

  28. Mozetta Baxter on June 5, 2015 at 10:20 am

    These look perfect for my eight year old grandson to make for the family. Am anxious to get paper punches and Styrofoam balls so we can try it out. Thanks for the idea.

  29. Marsha on June 9, 2015 at 5:58 am

    Brilliant! It looks like fun. I will definitely add it to my crafts to do list. Thanks again.

  30. Cathy Estes on July 4, 2015 at 2:03 am

    Thank you so much for sharing your beautiful work with us!!!!!

  31. Diane on September 3, 2015 at 9:35 am

    Love this idea, shame we cant get Martha Stewart here in Portugal…but it has given me some inspiration for things I can make for the local animal charity christmas fair! Thank you for sharing, xxx

    • Staci Ann Lowry on September 20, 2015 at 1:11 pm

      So glad it inspired you! Thanks so much! :)

  32. 15+ DIY Christmas Ornaments - Noted List on October 26, 2015 at 5:52 am

    […] Tutorial via The Ornament Girl. […]

  33. Joann on November 1, 2015 at 11:59 am

    I love your ornaments, this one is so dainty I cannot wait to make this. I have decided to make each Grandchild an ornament for Christmas. Thank you for your wonderful ideas.

    • Staci Ann Lowry on November 1, 2015 at 2:14 pm

      I’m so glad you like this idea, Joann, and I hope you enjoy making them. :)

  34. faye busby on November 6, 2015 at 11:51 pm

    I would love it if you put a print button on screen for pattern so it does not print the whole comment screen.It uses a lot of extra ink. Thanks,love you patterns

  35. Linda on November 20, 2015 at 4:37 pm

    I love the simplicity of this ornament!! White on white with a little bling of colour.

  36. Whitnee Mooney on December 11, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    I can’t wait till Christmas vacation starts for my Girls 16/14! We will definitely b making these!! Thank you for sharing LOVE all of yr beautiful ideas:) Merry Christmas xoxoxo

    • Staci Ann Lowry on December 13, 2015 at 4:41 pm

      Awesome, Whitnee! I hope you all enjoy, and Merry Christmas to you, too!

  37. Creative Mom on December 18, 2015 at 10:10 am

    Wow, those are so delicate! I absolutely love them! I make snowflakes as well but styrofoam ones. I also try to make them more 3D https://youtu.be/PvQwGxp-OWo

  38. Linda P on January 1, 2016 at 1:53 pm

    Love the look of the paper punch-out ornament. Could you spray glue after attaching the punch-outs
    and then add the glitter after the ball is assembled?

  39. Cheri Rinkevich on January 11, 2016 at 10:44 pm

    Love this ornament! I can’t wait to run out and stock up on the materials needed to make some of these. Thank you for sharing.

  40. Katie on January 16, 2016 at 3:58 pm

    This is absolutely gorgeous. I can’t wait to do this.

  41. Kathy Gentry on February 12, 2016 at 10:07 am

    Beautiful!

  42. Kathy Glenn on February 19, 2016 at 10:08 pm

    Can’t wait to show my granddaughters

  43. Gayle on February 29, 2016 at 10:42 am

    I was wondering if you could send me the directions for
    the paper punch snowflake ornament. I cannot print it off the computer
    and would love to make these with my granddaughters.
    Thanks Gayle

  44. […] DIY Paper Punch Snowflake Christmas Ornaments. Instructions via theornamentgirl. […]

  45. Donna Sparks on October 21, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    Thanks so much for sharing this. It is really pretty. I am going to make one as soon as I get the supplies!

  46. june day on November 25, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    It is the day after Thanksgiving so am on my way to deliver the Christmas Ornaments I have made thru the year to my grandkids so they have them to hang on their tree. I WILL stop by the store and purchase the “stamp” and start making these right away to add to next years ornaments. My FIRST ornament (Globe) should arrive in the next couple of weeks too. So excited. Thank you.

  47. 25+ DIY Christmas Ornaments - Flux Decor on December 1, 2016 at 2:50 am

    […] Tutorial via The Ornament Girl. […]

  48. […] Adorn your Christmas tree with these easy-to-make snowflake ornaments using a paper punch! See the instructions via the ornament girl. […]

  49. Shari on December 3, 2016 at 5:45 pm

    How hard would this be to do with 26 4th graders?

  50. […] theornamentgirl.com […]

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply