This is the ninth in a series of twelve paper ornaments I’m making this year, one a month, so that when December rolls around I won’t be surprised I’ve done nothing about my wish to have a full paper crafted Christmas Tree.
Here’s another super simple and kind of sweet (pun intended) paper Christmas ornament. This one aims to be a mash-up between the Christmas Cracker favor from the UK and a peppermint candy.
To make these, you need a small cardboard tube, cut into sections. I used the tube the foil came wrapped on. Toilet paper tubes would work if you wanted to make them larger; I’m envisioning a small tree for these paper ornaments so I wanted to make them mini size.
Candy striped wrapping paper would be great for this project. I didn’t have any, so I made my own by printed red stripes on copy weight paper on my color printer. You’ll need a rectangle for each piece of candy ornament, and the sizing doesn’t need to be exact. It just needs to be long enough to wrap a couple of times around the tube, and wide enough so that once it is wrapped you have enough to twist in the ends for the wrapper look.
I used a small piece of floral wire to make my hook, and a pushpin is the most technical tool this project needs. Glue stick, glue or double stick tape is the last thing you need.
Assembly is easy – I cut the tube into sections with a serrated knife, being very careful not to cut myself or the carpeted floor I was working on. The edges don’t have to be particularly smooth because they will be hidden by the paper.
A piece of double sided tape on the tube section makes for quick sticking to the bottom of the paper. Be sure to center the tube on the paper, and if you can roll evenly, go ahead and put the second piece of tape at the far edge. Then roll tightly, and seal it up. Be sure to put that last piece of tape (or glue) right up to the edge of the paper so the seam lies nice and tight and flat.
Lightly squeeze the paper ends to find the edges of the tube, and then using the push pin, push in two holes fairly straight to each other at the top. Don’t twist the paper ends too tightly yet, you need access to the sides to get the hanger in.
Bend the floral wire in a shape of a hanger, and thread one end into one hole on the paper wrapped piece. You’ll have to unbend, twist and push a little to get the other end in.
Use your fingers through the side openings to push the ends back into their folded positions up against the top of the ornament. Be careful not to get poked – no one wants a tetanus shot, and even more than that, you don’t want to be the one they talk about in the ER or Urgent Care after you leave 🙂
Once the hanger is in position, twist the paper ends in to get the look of a wrapped piece of candy. Copy weight paper is just the right weight to hold the curl and not crack as you twist. Add a piece of twine through the hanger to be able to hang the ornament on your tree.
Pin this now so when you are ready to make your own candy paper ornaments you’ll have this handy!
This post will be linked up at some of these great link up parties.
Don’t forget to check out the other ornaments in this series:
No. 2 Glitter Snowflake Ornament
No. 3 Paper Christmas Tree Ornament
No. 4 3-D Paper Snowflake Ornament
No. 5 Paper Strip Ball Ornament
No. 7 Glitter Paper Star Ornament
No. 8 Hipster Paper Reindeer Ornament
No. 10 Brown Paper Packages Ornament
