Rustic Pallet Wood Church Ornaments

With Advent here, and Christmas only a few weeks away, my favourite time of year is in full swing. I am happy to share with you a simple and rustic ornament that is relatively easy to make and costs next to nothing...

I am so excited to be part of this Christmas blog hop hosted by Hometalk.com and Country Living.com. A huge thank you to Donna of Funky Junk and Miriam of Hometalk for organizing this event that is sure to inspire you with lots of great ideas for your home for Christmas...

Inspired by little country churches and chapels in the woods, like this one...
St. Joseph on the Mountain in Mentone, Alabama, I wanted to make a stylized and simple church made with pallet wood.

What you will need for this project...

• pallet wood (flat and without nails)
• wooden clothespins (medium sized)
• small twigs
• stain for wood (glaze or watered down paint would work also.
• faux snow (recipe below) (optional)
• glue stick and hot glue
• mini bottle brush trees (optional)

Steps...

1) Print out a paper template and cut out a cardboard shape to trace around. 
2) Trace out the main buildings and steeples onto your pallet wood piece. 3) Cut out your shapes and find some thin twigs for the cross. The clothespins are on the small side and were bought at the Dollar Tree. (They are the perfect fit for the dimensions of the template above).
4) Darken the main piece with glaze or something else to give it contrast with the natural wood color of the steeple. (You could use watered down acrylics). Take apart the clothespin. It will be used as the roof. Cut the twig into two small pieces that will become the cross. Hot glue them together. Add the faux snow to all of the crosses that you have made for the number of churches that you plan on making.

4B) If you would like to add more detail, you can cut another clothespin and add to the top of the steeple.

5) Use hot glue to adhere the clothespin pieces to the top of the roof of the main part of the church, with the thinner sides on top. 6) Hot glue the steeple onto the front middle of the church, aligning it at the bottom. 7) With a small stiff brush, carefully add the faux snow beginning with the top of the steeple and then the clothespin roof. Once the faux snow has been added, sprinkle some clear glitter onto it while it is still wet. Stand the church vertically on a plastic or paper plate and let dry overnight. (This will help the drips to go in the direction of gravity). Hot glue the cross to the back of the steeple and if you want to keep it simple then you are done.

I had always wanted to make fake snow to use for Christmas decorations and found a great recipe on Pinterest via Amy of Stow and Tell U.

Recipe...

• 1/2 cup Baking Soda
• 1/2 cup White Glue
• 2 tbsps. White Chalk Paint or Craft Paint
• 1-2 tsps. Warm Water (Only use if the mixture is too thick)

Amy's recipe includes water, but I found that in the end my mix was too runny and I had to add a lot more baking soda, so if I made it again, I would only use the first 3 ingredients. Add water only if it is too thick.

Directions...

Using a container of your choice add the first 3 ingredients. (I mixed mine in a plastic container that had a lid so that I could store it when not in use). Mix well with a whisk or fork, or hand held blender. The consistency should be like that of cream cheese frosting. Do a drip test on a piece of scrap wood. It should pretty much stay put. If it is too runny add more baking soda, if it is too thick, add a tsp. of warm water. It can be stored for a few days. The glitter is also optional, but should be sprinkled on top before the faux snow dries. (Wash out your brush when you are done with soap and water.)

From my first experience at trying to add the faux snow, a lot of it ended up dripping or falling onto the piece, so I added a paper apron to prevent that from happening.

Make sure to have the snow covered pieces dry vertically so that the drips will have gravity help to make them look more realistic. Add the glitter before the snow dries completely. Leave to dry overnight.

The next step is to add the snow covered cross to the back of the steeple using hot glue.

At this point you may decide that you are done. I actually love the simplicity of it just like this...

But the possibilities for embellishment made me add a few more steps... a snow covered stick awning for the entrance, a thin painted wood door and two snow covered mini trees...

I think it would look great on a wreath or as an ornament hanging on a tree...

I love how the glittery snow looks on the top of all the details... and the rough texture of the pallet wood.

It was a true labor of love that was a week in the making. It is definitely one of my favourite  creations. 

After a cloudy afternoon, and me scrambling to finish them in time, I thought for sure that there wouldn't be enough natural light for decent photos, but God was nice enough to see to it that the sun shone through at the last hour. I took it as a sign that he was pleased with my work... and I thank Him for the inspiration. :o)

I had so much fun creating the church ornaments that I have made 2 other pallet wood ornaments this year.  You can find the link to the Barn Ornament HERE. And the one for the Cabin Ornament HERE.

Wishing you peace and blessings, 
Lucy

Make sure to check out all of the other links to projects below and to look for the hashtag #‎homeforchristmas‬ on social media...

An InLinkz Link-up