One of the things I hate about Christmas is having to take down all the decorations after the festive season. It’s even worse when the decorations are in a holiday home. Seriously, who wants to spend the last few days on holiday worrying about taking down all those ornaments and trying to find somewhere to put them. Not me. We just don’t have the space or the time to do that. So I’m on a mission to make small things that can stay up all year but still add a little Christmas cheer. Like these rustic square ornaments.

They’re beautiful, easy to make, and meaningful too. I’m all for spreading the message of hope, love, and joy throughout the year.

What you need to make rustic square ornaments

• Scrap pieces of 2 x 2
• Pretty paper, photos or these free printables
• Ribbon, string or twine to hang
• Paint or wood stain
• Mod Podge
• Eye screws
• Sandpaper
• Frame
• A hand saw

How to Make the rustic square ornaments

Using a hand saw cut the 2 x 2s to make square blocks. Here’s an interesting fact for you. A 2 x 2 isn’t actually 2 inches by 2 inches. It’s smaller than that, roughly 1 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches (38 x 38 mm).  When the lumber yards cut the wood it’s still wet but it shrinks after it’s kiln-dried, so you end up with something that’s a bit smaller than the original cut measurements. So you’ll be cutting the leftover 2 x 2s into 1 1/2 inches.

Sand away any rough bits.

And stain or paint the square blocks. Since our decor style is warm and rustic, with a touch of boho, I chose to paint the squares a beautiful coppery brown. Screw an eye hook into one corner.

Confession time: Getting those little eye hooks into the corners was probably the hardest part of making these rustic, square ornaments 😀 If you struggle to get them in the corners, don’t worry, you can just glue the blocks to a ribbon or piece of string when you’re done decorating them instead.

Decorating the Rustic Square Ornaments

I wanted the ornaments to convey a message that would capture the spirit of Christmas, without being too ummmmmmm…………Christmassy. Does that make sense? For me, Christmas is all about love and the pure joy of giving. Everyone seems so hopeful and. for a while, the world seems like a better place. So I chose to use Hope, Joy, and Love for the ornaments. I found this amazing resource where you can download free vintage dictionary pages and music sheets, which made things so much easier. All I needed to do was resize the images, draw a heart, bell, and star and find a pretty font to write out the words. I’ve saved you the trouble and you can download the full set here if you like.

Once the images had been cut out, I lightly burnt the edges to “soften” them up before mod podging them onto the square blocks. Add a ribbon or a piece of string and they’re ready to be hung.

Not bad for 10 minutes worth of work. Okay maybe 15 minutes, because of those darn eye screws 😉

We put ours in a frame, but they’ll look good hanging on your Christmas tree too. Or you can use them as part of your table decor.

I’m thinking of making a few more to give as gifts. Maybe mod podge some picture of the kids on them for their Grandparents. What would you put on yours?

If you like the idea, don’t forget to pin it for later

What about you? Do you hate packing away the decorations too? Oh and by the way, if you’re struggling to find some of the things we used, I’ve got you covered Disclosure: If you click on the links below, we may receive a commission from Amazon. But don’t worry it won’t come out of your pocket, and it helps us come up with more unique DIY and craft ideas for you;-)

American Crafts 341310 Music Paper, Multi

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Wishing you everything that’s beautiful and true this festive season. I hope it brings you nothing but fond memories, love, and laughter. See you in the new year.