Christmas Craft Ideas: Animal Print Tree Ornaments

Animal print themed Christmas trees are quite sassy and fun. These simple animal print tree ornaments are great for beginning crafts. Use a few of these in your own holiday decorating or as part of a gift bow this season.

For this project, you will need:

- A variety of cotton fabrics in animal prints (giraffe, zebra, leopard, etc.)
- Iron and ironing board
- Fabric marking pen
- Fabric scissors
- Fabric punch
- An array of metal cookie cutters in holiday themes (trees, choo choo trains, reindeer, etc.)
- Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Finishing Spray
- Regular scissors
- Half inch wide black or brown ribbon
- Hot glue gun and glue sticks
- Newspaper and/or a large drop cloth

Lay a piece of animal print cotton fabric on an ironing board. Gently smooth the fabric with a warm iron. Repeat this process for all pieces of animal print fabric you will be creating ornaments from. Let the fabric pieces cool completely before proceeding.

Cover your crafting area with sheets of old newspaper and/or a large drop cloth to protect it. Place the fabric animal print side down on the workspace. Using a fabric marking pen and one holiday themed metal cookie cutter, trace the design directly onto the fabric. Repeat this step for each animal print ornament you wish to create.

Carefully cut out each holiday design using fabric scissors. Use a small fabric punch to create a hole at the top of each ornament. Spray each animal print fabric piece with ten to twelve thick coats of Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic Finishing Spray. Be sure to evenly coat both sides. (This addition of acrylic spray will stiffen the fabric, making it perfect to hang from a Christmas tree.) Let the ornaments dry completely.

Cut a length of half inch wide black or brown ribbon using regular scissors for each ornament. Thread the ribbon through the holes in the top of the stiffened fabric ornaments. Tie the ribbon ends in a knot. Heat up a hot glue gun. Secure the knots with a dot of hot glue. Once cooled, hang on a holiday tree as desired.

TIP: To create a wreath from these ornaments, use metal ornament hangers to secure them to a pre-made fir or pine wreath. To use on top of a gift, secure the ornament to the bow portion with an additional dab of hot glue.