$0 Christmas Tree Ornaments

Ok, are you guys ready for my last Christmas tree ornament tutorial?!?
"Drumroll please!"
.....
"Drumroll!"
(has anybody seen Christmas Vacation? classic :)

These stars are pretty much the most beautiful mess I have made so far in my life. I just love 'em!
I have been seeing other people make projects with aged paper and I decided to use something similar for my poor, bare tree.
First, I considered my super limited library of books I decided to bring with me down here. After some deliberation I decided to offer up A Wrinkle in Time as a sacrifice to the pagan crafting gods. I tore out a bunch of pages and brushed on some very concentrated herbal tea. (I also tried coffee but didn't get quite the color I wanted for this project) I then crumpled it up a couple times to make it look worn and then let it dry. After it was dry I used a candle to burn the edges a little.
Now... What to do with my paper...
We have excessive amounts of cereal boxes in our apartment (because I refuse to throw them away. Be-Cause I might need them for something). I free handed a bunch of stars from the cereal boxes and then covered them with the aged paper! I used modpodge to adhere the paper to the cardboard and also to glaze over the paper. I like the glossy finish that modpodge gives :)

(I love how you can kinda see me taking the picture in the silver ornament!)

I decided the ornaments needed a little more decoration, so I dug into my box-of-random-things-I-might-need-someday. I found a couple scraps of burlap (from my burlap wreath tutorial), some buttons, ribbon, and... some black and white pictures from our wedding! Score.
Now I am Super impressed with myself. Usually the messes I make are a lot more messier than this!

Only about one more week until CHRISTMAS!!!!! Enjoy it! I am looking forward to camping out in front of our tree tonight with the hubby :)
One more Christmas Vacation reference....
"Hey Clark! Where do you think you are going to put a tree that big?"
Bahahaha!