Hanging decorations with a pattern cut into them rather than plain shapes. Round baubles, a teardrop bauble, a star, a tree and a bell, each with a tab at the top, a hole for the thread and a set of shapes cut out of the middle so light and the colour behind them show through.
The cut-out pattern is the point
A plain paper bauble is a circle on a string. These carry their own decoration: a six pointed star ringed by eight circles on one, three lens shapes down another, a star inside a star, chevrons and dots on the tree, and so on. Cut those shapes out and the decoration stops looking like a shape and starts looking like a decoration.
It also gives you something to do with colour without colouring anything in. Glue a square of coloured tissue or foil behind the cut-outs and the pattern lights up, which works well on a tree with lights on it and on a window.
Two, four or six to a sheet
Large prints two decorations on a page, Medium four and Small six. The shapes change with the setting: two baubles at Large, those plus a star and a tree at Medium, and a bell and a second patterned bauble on top of that at Small.
Small is the size for a garland or a set for a class. Large is the one to use if children are doing the cutting, because the internal shapes are the hard part and they are much bigger at that setting.
Cutting and hanging
Print on 160gsm card. The tab at the top is narrow and it carries the whole weight of the decoration, so on ordinary paper it tears through the thread hole within a day.
Cut the outside line first, then push the scissors through each internal shape and cut it out. Punch the hole with a single hole punch rather than scissors, because a punched hole has a clean edge that does not start a tear.
Two decorations glued back to back, with the thread caught between them, gives you something that looks right from both sides and hangs straight instead of spinning edge on.
Questions
- What shapes are in the printable decorations set?
- Round baubles with a star and dot pattern, a teardrop bauble, a five pointed star, a Christmas tree and a bell. Which ones appear depends on the size setting: two at Large, four at Medium and all six at Small.
- How many decorations print on one sheet?
- Two at Large, four at Medium and six at Small. Each one has a tab at the top with the thread hole marked, and its own pattern of shapes cut out of the middle.
- What card should I use?
- About 160gsm. The hanging tab is narrow and takes the whole weight, so 80gsm paper tears through the thread hole quickly. Card also holds its shape instead of curling in a warm room.
- How are these different from the printable ornaments?
- The ornament templates are plain outlines meant to be decorated or used as a pattern. These have a cut-out pattern printed inside them, so once the internal shapes are cut away the decoration is finished without anything being added.
- Can I colour them in?
- Yes, though the better result is usually to glue coloured tissue paper or foil behind the cut-out shapes. The colour then shows through the holes and catches the light, which plain colouring does not.