A mother of two who has crafted 350 decorations for her Christmas tree says she saved herself $2,250.
Sophie Brown, 36, has spent three weeks over four years making her own ornaments—including wire word baubles, upcycled Terrazzo baubles, and ornate folded stars—to adorn her 10-foot-tall Christmas tree. She has also crafted various custom designs like mercury glass baubles, ornate folder stars, mosaic trees, and personalized name tags.
Some of Ms. Brown’s ornaments take her just minutes to make, such as the marble baubles made with nail polish and wooden stars from repurposed clothing pegs, while others like the “mosaic tiles” take about half a day.
She’s also made commemorative decorations: a crown in memory of Queen Elizabeth II and a cricket ball for Australian cricketer Shane Warne.
Ms. Brown says all her decorations are cheaper than those you'd buy in a store, and, in some cases, she’s able to make four baubles for the price of one. She estimates she’s spent just $750.
As well as decorations for her tree, Ms. Brown has also just begun her “12 DIYs of Christmas,” which sees her make handmade gifts, table settings, and decor for her house—with Day 1 being a set of monogrammed pajamas for her kids.
“If the average ornament is $10, then for 300 of them it would be $3000, so given that most DIY ones cost a quarter of that, I’ve probably saved 75 percent of that,” said Ms. Brown, from Melbourne, Australia.
“I make six new types every year and then make between five and eight of that type—so around 30 to 50 ornaments each year. I try to make stuff that can be customized so I do neutral things, but you can make them colorful and to your taste.”
She said: “It can be cheaper as well—mercury glass baubles usually cost $30 per bauble, but I can make four for that price, so it’s allowing you to save money but also make it a bit more unique and beautiful.
“I have so many different ornaments for a fraction of the price. The common thing is being strategic on the materials you use.
“The clay ornaments, I can make 26 of them from a $15 piece of clay. The wooden beads—I can get eight stars out of two boxes of beads for $20, which is a lot cheaper than the shop, but the investment is the time.
“All of the ornaments are cheaper than store-bought ones, some significantly. Some are upcycled too, and they can be made nicer and more expensive. Money is a lot tighter at this time of year so it’s an important thing to think about.”
Ms. Brown’s DIY Christmas began back in 2019 when she decided to offset the price of her Christmas tree with cheaper decorations.
“I bought an artificial tree from this company years ago, and because they are expensive, I decided to do DIY ornaments,” she said. “Since then, I’ve been doing that every year and showing ways you can get creative and save money with new ideas. ... I began sharing the DIY decorations on social media, and they started to go viral.
“The tree company asked if we wanted to partner with them, but we already had one of their trees, and they asked if we wanted the bigger one, 305 centimeters (10 feet). I’m 6 feet tall, but I still had to get on a ladder to get to the top—it took me a whole day to decorate.”
Ms. Brown says her DIY ornaments can be customized to suit different styles of Christmas trees.
She said: “It’s also about customizing it to make it your own. So my tree is very bright and colorful here in the Aussie summer so it’s about taking it and making it work for your own personal taste. Lots of people want to change their color scheme each year—so you can just repaint them to your taste for that year so you’re not throwing things out.”
“I'd been thinking I needed to put them in a book, and I’ve categorized it so there’s beginner stuff and really confident stuff in there,” she said. “In the book, you can make two or three different ornaments out of the same materials, and it’s great for getting the kids involved too.”
Ms. Brown’s tree is not the only thing to receive the handmade treatment, with her “12 DIYs of Christmas” now firmly underway.
She said: “I do table settings, food gifts, gifts for the kid’s teachers, table centerpieces with candles. These are things that I use as decor at home or for gifts.
“I think gifts are a really easy place to start as they are so affordable, and a homemade gift has that personal element, which is always a hit. Whether that’s a food gift or something that’s been crafted, financially it can save you so much more as well.
“Handmade things like a food gift can be a really good option—it’s inexpensive and easy to do in volume.”
