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    Home » Ornaments

    How to Stain Wood Ornaments from Dollar Tree

    Nov 14, 2022 | Updated Nov 29, 2022 | By Laura | This post may contain affiliate links | Leave a Comment

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    how to make painted wood ornaments

    Learn how to stain wood ornaments from the Dollar Tree in this easy step-by-step craft tutorial. Turn simple wooden ornaments into beautiful stained or painted ornaments for your Christmas tree, using any color or shade of stain you want!

    Unfinished wood ornaments are sold in many different shapes, and sizes, and usually in multi-packs everywhere from craft stores to dollar stores.

    They are cute on their own, with raw wood, but you can elevate the look of these simple wooden ornaments by adding a coat of wood stain or diluting craft paint with water to make your own DIY wood stain.

    Today, we're going to look at how to stain wood ornaments using wood stain and diluted craft paint!

    how to stain wood ornaments

    How to Stain Wood Ornaments from Dollar Tree

    Step 1: Gather Supplies

    Supplies Needed:

    • Wood Ornaments - (ours are from the Dollar Tree, but you can get them on Amazon too.)
    • Stain or Paint in desired colors
    • Rags or Paper Towels for Stain
    • Foam Paint Brush
    • Twine

    gather supplies for staining wood ornaments

    pick a stain for wood ornaments

    Step 2: Brush the stain onto the wooden ornament, or use a rag to wipe it on.

    Use a clean rag to wipe off the excess stain. This will reveal the wood grain.

    wipe off extra stain from wooden ornaments

    Repeat for any other stain colors you want to use.

    how to stain wood ornaments for christmas

    Step 3: You can also use craft paint instead of wood stain. 

    First, choose your paint colors.

    brown paint can be used to do a faux "stain" on wood christmas ornaments

    Dilute the paint with water to create a thin consistency.

    add water to thin out the brown paint

    Brush the thinned paint onto the wooden ornament, and rub off the excess with a clean rag.

    (Photo below: left side of ornament has the brushed-on paint, the right side has the excess paint wiped off.)

    how to stain wood ornaments for christmas with diluted craft paint

    Choose different colors of paint or stain to vary the colors of your wooden ornament.

    stained wood christmas ornaments

    Step 4: You can also paint the ornaments with any type of paint.

    I used white milk paint.

    white paint for wood christmas ornaments

    I also thinned some white milk paint with water to create a more "white-washed look" but I could hardly tell the difference in the finished painted ornaments.

    white painted christmas ornaments

    Step 5: Add twine to the top of the stained wood ornaments.

    Fold a section of twine in half, and push it through the hole at the top of the ornament.

    add twine to the top of the wood ornaments

    Push the two tails of twine through the loop and tighten.

    how to make stained wood christmas ornaments

    how to stain wood ornaments

    This can be the front of your ornament if you like the look of the twine on this side.

    Or, you can flip it around and hang it the other way, if you like the look of the twine on the backside better.

    twine hanging string for wooden christmas ornaments

    Repeat, adding twine hanging strings to all of your wood stain ornaments.

    add twine to top of ornament

    add twine to top of christmas ornament

    That's how to stain wood ornaments!

    You now have a batch of classic, elegant wood ornaments to hang on your Christmas tree.

    stained wood christmas ornaments

    white painted wood christmas ornaments

    wood christmas ornaments from the dollar tree, stained and painted

    Unfinished wooden ornaments are available at most every craft store or dollar store around.

    There's something simple, rustic, and humble about the raw, unfinished wood look, but by adding stain or paint to the ornaments, they instantly look even better!

    You can experiment with different colors of stain, or better yet, put the different colors of craft paint you have to work by diluting them with water and using them to "stain" the wooden ornaments!

    Just like stained mini chalkboards or stained wooden animals, you can elevate the look of the wood.

    how to stain wood ornaments

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    About Laura

    Laura Radniecki is a crafter, writer, and photographer from small-town Minnesota. A lifelong maker, she shares easy step-by-step craft tutorials. She's a wife to her high school sweetheart, mama to their son and daughter, dog mama to their 2 brother + sister toy poodles, and a part-time RV snowbird in Florida.

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    Hi, I'm Laura Radniecki!

    I’m here to help you make easy crafts! Around here, you’ll find step-by-step craft tutorials that remove the guesswork, and are easy, fast, and fun. If you are a busy crafter, you are in the right place!

    (I also write when I'm inspired, and share my thoughts on my life + our world here too.)

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