DIY
Make Your Own Ornaments
An easy DIY project can add a little meaning and a pop of color to your yard. Plus, the birds love it.
Written by Caroline Mund
Dec 2021
Photo courtesy Stephanie MadsenThese ornaments add a pop of color and make it cheerful outside during the winter months.
Stephanie Madsen came up with the idea of creating outdoor ice ornaments as a way to memorialize her grandmother who had passed away in February. Using a bundt pan, Stephanie and her children placed flowers and greenery from floral arrangements that had been sent to her after her grandmother’s death, and they added herbs, fruits, and veggies. “We cut up the ends of grapefruits, orange slices, and we used apples that we cut horizontally so it had a beautiful star in the middle,” she says. “We also added extra rosemary and all sorts of things from the fridge.” Then they added water and froze the ornaments. When hung in the yard during the winter, they become a great treat for birds to nibble on as the ornaments begin to melt.
This was a sentimental project for Stephanie, whose grandmother had been a gardener. Yet even if the flowers and ingredients in these outdoor ornaments don’t hold a special meaning for you, they are still a lovely addition to your yard and a perfect craft to do with young kids in the winter to keep them entertained. “My kids are pretty young,” Stephanie says. “The oldest one is 7. So I had everything sliced up and put into bowls and laid it out so they felt like they were participating. They picked what they wanted to put inside.” Stephanie says that she would love to make this an annual tradition in her family.
What You Need:
• Bundt pan or any pan with a hole through it
• Flowers, fruits, vegetables, herbs
• String
• Water
What To Do:
1. Start by cutting up any fruits and vegetables that you may want to include in your ice ornament.
2. Place your flowers, fruits, vegetables and herbs into a bundt pan.
3. Once you're done placing your design, fill the pan with water and place it in the freezer till frozen solid.
4. Remove from the freezer and pop your new ice ornament out of the bundt pan. Note: If you are having difficulty removing it from the pan, run warm water over the pan to help loosen it from the sides.
5. Tie a string through the middle of the ice ornament and place on a branch outside.
