DREAMING OF A BOHO CHRISTMAS…
I love decorating for the holidays. The last few years have allowed me to transition from Fall decor to Christmas pretty smoothly. I had accumulated a pretty good stash of diverse decorations over the last decade in my family’s first home. However, now that my family is rounding out the first year in our new home, and the moving company did a pretty good job of breaking up a lot of our Christmas tree ornaments, I found myself in an interesting spot. I could decorate however I’d like this year…why not a BOHO Christmas theme?
As if I needed any more excuses to stress shop during this pandemic. I decided to take the challenge head on and began looking for BOHO Christmas decor. What I found was what I consider pretty traditional decor themes for this holiday season. A lot of reds and greens and not much were giving me BOHO Christmas vibes. Despite not being blown away, I settled on meshing a few different styles from the At Home store.
MISSING THE BOHO
My design style has always been pretty eclectic and my new home is no exception; playing up BOHO, earthy elements and modern to mid-century modern themes. I found a lot of interesting Christmas decor items, but I could not shake the feeling of, “something is missing.” I needed more BOHO with my Christmas!
FINDING THE BOHO
While chatting with one of my sorority sisters, this project hit me like a ton of bricks! Upon looking at the fabric ornaments, I suddenly remembered making the exact style a couple of years ago for a trade show that Sentimental Moodz participated in. I made a bunch of BOHO Christmas ornaments to sell along side my greeting cards. After completing a mental survey of needed materials and steps to create the BOHO Christmas ornaments, I knew that once I found a stash of Ankara fabric*, these could be the Holy Grail to my decorating woes.
Let’s Get Crafty!
Supplies List:
- 5×5″ Squares of Ankara Fabric (or another BOHO cotton fabric style of your choice)**
- 3″ Plastic Christmas Ornament(s) (this is the size I used, you can use any size you like)
- Christmas Ornament Hook(s) or Other Hanger (I used cute beaded ornaments to give some bling)
- Mod Podge (matte or gloss)
- Fabric Scissors
- Paint Brush or Craft Brush
- Drying stand (egg crate or something similar)
- Paper Plate or Surface protector
- Alcohol wipe to clean ornaments
- Acrylic Sealant (not completely necessary, but the ornaments will last longer this way)
**The amount of fabric needed will depend on the size of your ornament. I used around two squares per ornament.
STEP #1
Take your fabric scissors and begin cutting the 5×5″ squares into smaller shapes. Keep in mind, if your pieces are too large for your ornament size your fabric will not lie smoothly on the ornament. You want it to lie smoothly. Depending on your design style, it may be helpful to keep your different fabrics separated.
STEP #2
Wipe off your Christmas ornament(s) with your alcohol wipe and let dry.
STEP #3
While holding your ornament by the top, take your brush and apply Mod Podge (MP) to the bottom of the ornament. You will need to apply the MP in segments in order to allow each portion to dry by resting on an uncoated section. Begin adding scraps of your fabric. The great thing about decorating with BOHO elements is that you have the freedom of self expression. Brush on MP after each fabric scrap, paying close attention to any frayed edges. Once you have fabric covering the bottom portion of your ornament, apply another coat of MP and set them on your drying stand until dry. Be sure to rinse your brush out between uses.
STEP #4
Once the bottom of your ornament is dry, repeat step #3 until you have transformed your ornament into a beautiful BOHO fabric Christmas ornament! Be mindful to arrange the fabric around the top of the ornament nice and neat. You can also remove the top portion and replace when you are finished. Whichever way is easiest for you. I found that the topper was more difficult to remove in the plastic ornaments that I purchased, so I opted to leave it connected. Just remember to leave a dry spot to rest on your drying stand to prevent messing up your hard work!
STEP #5
After your BOHO Christmas ornament(s) are completely dry, spray them with an acrylic sealant (optional). Although, this step is not entirely necessary to display your ornament(s), they will last longer if you do so. Once the sealant is dry, add your favorite ornament hook (or other hanger) and add to your tree and other decorations! I hung my DIY BOHO ornaments with some really cute BOHO-ish Christmas ornaments from At Home store to help tie my eclectic theme together.
FEELING LIKE A BOHO CHRISTMAS…
Thank you for getting through this DIY BOHO Christmas Ornament craft project with me. I hope that you enjoyed yourself and are inspired to create some fabric ornaments of your own. Be sure to leave me some feedback in the comment section and share your DIY BOHO Christmas Ornaments if you decide to make them. Happy Holidays!
*Ankara Fabric is wax printed, 100% cotton and colorful African fabric. The fabric is commonly found in West African countries and is used to make clothing and other accessories. I chose Ankara for my ornaments to pay homage to my West African ancestry.
