We’ve been working on a bunch of geeky ornaments, but these might be our favorites. Plus they’re quick, simple, and cost next to nothing.
Because what tree DOESN’T need giant 8-bit holiday ornaments on it? We made these the same way that we made all of the fandom icons for our Geek Holiday Wreath.
Start by drawing a pixelated / 8-bit ornament on graph paper, and cut it out. Here’s ours. We also cut out some spaces for highlight/shadow.
Trace the 8-bit ornament shape onto foam board, and cut it out with an X-acto knife. Then paint it. This is just cheap, basic craft paint.
After painting, we edged the perimeter in black sharpie, and used silver sharpie for the top. THEN we thought we’d get extra fancy, and used Mod Podge Dimensional Magic to give it some serious shine. This stuff is awesome, by the way. This step is not at all necessary, we just wanted to try it out.
At first it made the ornament cloudy, but after a couple of hours it was perfectly clear and glassy. Which is really hard to photograph, but trust us, it looks better in person!
We taped regular ornament hooks to the back of the 8-bit ornaments.
And here they are!
What do you think?
Lisa says
December 12, 2013 at 8:34 pmThey look fantastic! Your crafts have really made me feel the need to stock up on foamcore board! ^___^
ournerdhome says
December 13, 2013 at 10:39 amRight? Foamcore + x-acto knife = endless possibilities! We’re thinking about making a foamcore Super Mario star for our tree topper.
Gail says
December 13, 2013 at 3:05 amBright, fun, and so hip! You’ve done it again……
ournerdhome says
December 13, 2013 at 10:41 amThank you!
Allison @ Dream a Little BIGGER says
December 15, 2013 at 3:19 pmMy first thought was I couldn’t get that good of a look with perler beads anyway anyhow, but then I clicked through and you used foam core? So smart and so awesome. This is an 8-bit ornament that I could make. Love it so much! (and I am desperate to see a Mario tree topper, btw)
ournerdhome says
December 15, 2013 at 7:30 pmThank you!! We found a stash of foam core in our garage (we must have bought it on clearance and forgot?), and went a little craft-crazy with it, haha.
Leslie says
December 15, 2013 at 7:24 pmAdorable! Love it.
ournerdhome says
December 15, 2013 at 7:31 pmThank you so much! 🙂
Janelle says
December 17, 2013 at 1:25 pmVery clever! Simple yet fantastic! I will be trying to make these soon .. THANK YOU :)!
Alex says
December 31, 2014 at 8:16 pmI can’t wait to try this!!!!!!