Customizable Ornaments From Notebook and Wood

Well, it's that time of year again- Time for gifts, snow, and dealing with terrible mother-in-laws. Welcome back to the holidays!
I happen to celebrate Christmas, and I needed a gift idea for my parents. Last year, a large number of our ornaments broke in a broken tree stand mishap, so I thought I might try to make some nice ornaments. I wanted to make them customizable, as well. Here's what I came up with.

Step 1: We Will Need...

For this project, you only need stuff you have lying around the house. Those things would be
- Some nice wood (I used pine)
- A spiral bound notebook (Just for the wire)
For the tools, I gathered
- Hot glue gun
- Soldering Iron
- Pliers
- Wire cutters
- Drill/Drill bits
- Some files and sandpaper

Step 2: Making the Body

The main section of our ornament is the body. The body is made of wood, and starts from the scrap pine I had lying around. I cut it into a piece about the size I wanted. I was making two, so I cut two pieces.

Step 3: Shaping the Body

The body is shaped using some files. I took a rasp to get the approximate circle shape that I wanted, and rounded off the edges. I now had a nicely shaped piece, and in order to make it even nicer, I filed and sanded down the rough pieces.

Step 4: Getting the Wire

In order to get some wire for the ornament, I had the option of either purchasing some wire or salvaging it from something around the house. I decided to find some, and I noticed a plentiful supply of wire in the used up spiral bound notebooks that I had. I clipped off the small folded piece that keeps the spiral from being taken off, and with this no longer limiting the movement of the spiral binding, I was able to simply rotate the binding off of the notebook. When they were separate, I straightened the wire into something I would use later.

Step 5: The Most Creative Part

So, now for the most creative part...
Fold the wire into whatever word, shape, or symbol you like. A soldering iron will be helpful so you can solder on small things like the bar of an A. Using the pliers will make this task quite a bit easier. When you have done this, fold the two ends so that they are pointing to the back of the message.

Step 6: Putting One and One Together

We now have the body and the message, so now it is time to put the two together. Simply measure and drill two holes, and insert the two tabs of the message into them. If they are too wobbly to the point where the message may fall out, a bit of hot glue will keep the message in place. However, make sure you don't add so much as to have the hot glue pouring out of the gap and detract from the overall presentation. (Sorry for the blurry photo- my camera has seen better days and has passed away...)

Step 7: Next, It Becomes an Ornament

Now it is time for it to become an ornament. To accomplish this, I drilled a hole through the entire body and pushed the wire through. I bent and twisted it into a loop, and I was all set!

Step 8: TaDa!

With all complete, I had an ornament to give to my parents as a little gift. The thing that is so special about these is that it doesn't really matter how well you make them- a parent is pleased to see that their child has put in some time and effort to make something, making them far more valuable that a box of chocolates.
Please let me now what you thought as well as your ideas. I hope you enjoyed this Instructable, and as always, Have a nice day!