Baby’s First Christmas Ornament [Gift, Keep, or Sell]
You’ve seen them before. Adorable “baby’s first” Christmas ornaments, often with the year of their birth written on them. The truly beautiful ones become family heirlooms. Truth is, you can make one that exudes so much charm, it too will be preserved and passed down the generations.
Today’s fun, fast, and easy project uses a simple vintage baby shoe as the base and just a few other supplies to turn it into something unique and memorable.
It’s so sweet I can hardly stand it. Whether you plan to create one for yourself, for a loved one, or to sell in your vintage biz, you’re going to love this vintage baby shoe ornament!
Materials to Make Vintage Baby’s First Christmas Ornament
Materials
- Vintage baby shoe
- Paper towel or newspaper
- Spanish moss (not shown)
- Mini-wreath: garland, ribbon, tag
- 1/8″ hole punch
- Baker’s twine
- Hot glue gun
Step 1: Punch Holes
Punch two small holes on the back of the shoe. You will use these for inserting some twine or string to hang the ornament.
Step 2: Attach Baker’s Twine
Cut a piece of baker’s twine (or gold cord or white string) about 8″ long. Fold it in half and then tie a knot about half or 2/3 of the way down from the top of the loop.
Insert the strings into the holes (one into each) and pull it through until the knot is tight against the outside of the shoe (photo 1).
Tie a knot with the two ends of the string on the inside to secure the twine in place for hanging. Trim the ends as shown (photo 2).
Step 3: Stuff the Shoe
To give the shoe a good sturdy form, stuff it all the way to the toes with paper towels or newspaper.
Step 4: Add Spanish Moss
Tuck Spanish moss inside the shoe to cover the stuffing.
Step 5: Make Mini-Wreath
The finishing touch on the ornament is an easy-to-make mini wreath. I have an article where you can get all the details for making the wreaths along with links to the materials you need. There’s even a video!
To determine the correct size of your wreath (to match to the circumference of the top of the shoe), take your pine pipe cleaner and wrap it around the top and cut it to fit.
After you’ve made the wreath, place a bead of hot glue around the top edge of the shoe and press the wreath in place and you’re done!
They are pretty adorable, right?
Where to Find Vintage Baby Shoes
You can most easily find baby shoes at garage and estate sales. My favorite price point, especially if you plan to sell them as ornaments is $1-2/pair.
You can also find them on eBay, though they will typically cost quite a bit more. And I suppose some thrift stores carry them, but I’ve not come across them there.
Unfortunately, these darling little leather shoes are often quite worn out and I’m afraid they frequently get thrown away.
Selling Baby’s First Christmas Ornaments
My craft show customers have given their stamp of approval on this project, paying $10 each for these cuties.
I do hope you enjoyed today’s project. If you did, would you save the pin below to “spread the word” and/or leave a comment? I would really appreciate that 🙂
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I’d love it if you’d pin this image to your fave board!
Too, too cute. You could even add the year. Wonder if I still have my kids’ first shoes–somewhere!
Glad you like the project Kathy! I hope you find your kids’ shoes so you can make some 🙂
I made a pair of Baby’s 1st Christmas shoes for my two infant great granddaughters, who are just a couple months apart. They were so cute. I added their name and year to each. I found the paper punch made too big of a hole, so I used an ice pick and just pushed the hanging string through in the back of each.
SO ADORABLE 🥰🥰👏🏼👍🏼♥️Thank You FOR SHARING 😊I LOVE Your Ideas , VERY COOL 😎 And Even BETTER if You Have YourOwn Kids shoes GREAT For GRANDBABY Etc . My Neice is Having Her FIRST Baby on 2 Week Of Dec👍🏼Thank You❗️G-d♥️Bless