Creative Wooden Ornaments

With so many eye-catching, sparkling metal and glass Christmas ornaments available in stores, it's easy to overlook the understated appeal of wooden ornaments. Flat wooden cutouts have long been used to adorn trees and are quite versatile -- they can be left natural, or can be disguised with paint or shimmering silver leaf.

Basic cutouts can be stained with a variety of colors, then sealed with wax; they can be molded with putty and painted to look like frosted gingerbread cookies; or they can be gilded with silver leaf and then given a burnished, antiqued appearance with the help of a little shoe polish. You should be able to find all the materials necessary for these projects in crafts or art-supply stores. Stained Wood Ornaments, Tools and Materials,m Stained Wood Ornaments, Drill with 3/32-inch bit, Wood cutouts, 220-grit sandpaper, Wood stain, Natural-bristle paintbrushes, for staining, Thin dowel and paper clips, for drying rack, Butcher's wax, Soft cotton cloths (such as old T-shirts), Stained Wood Ornament How-To

Drill a small hole in the top of the cutout so that it will hang straight when held by a ribbon or a hook. (To find the right spot, try it out with string and tape before drilling.) Sand cutout with sandpaper.

Stain both sides of wood cutouts, as well as the edges. Apply just one coat, and wipe off excess stain with a soft cloth. Hang from a simple drying rack made from a thin dowel suspended on two cups or jars: Unwind a paper clip halfway, and hook it through the ornament and over the dowel. Let the ornament dry for about 2 minutes.

Finish by applying a coat of Butcher's wax with a soft cloth. Let dry about 10 minutes, and then buff to a shine