3 Holiday Ornaments

Popular Woodworking

December 2022 - Issue 268

These three ornaments are the perfect small gifts to make for your friends and family this holiday season.

The holiday season will soon be upon us. Making ornaments as a gift is a tradition that can carry on for many years, and it offers the opportunity to explore different styles and techniques every year.

Speaking of different techniques, I'll touch real quick on each style of ornament before we get into the meat and potatoes. The first ornament, designed and built by Collin, is a great project to tackle with a kid. The simple cuts at the scroll saw make this an easy beginner project, but one that's as rewarding as you can get.

Leaning into the traditional, Danielle walks through carving a Santa ornament. This free-flowing, artistic approach allows you to explore hand carving, and I love the folk-art style.

Finally, I show one of my favorite ornaments to make-a turned sea urchin shell ornament. This delicately turned ornament is great practice for making finials and other spindle work at the lathe. I encourage you to take these projects and allow them to spur your own creativity as you start thinking about the holiday season.

1 Nordic Birdhouse

The holidays are busy for most everyone, but there's always enough time to knock out a project like this on your scroll saw. I sped up the process even more by buying 1/8" veneer instead of cutting it myself. Once you've created your template and get into a rhythm, you can make an ornament for everyone on your list.

Stack It Up & Cut

The key is gang cutting all of the pieces at once. I used a low-tack, double-sided tape to hold the stack together, then transferred the template to the top of the stack. Use enough tape to hold the wood together securely, but not so much that you can't pull it apart later.