This is a continuation of the big 2015 Dream Tree Reveal for Michaels Stores and my theme for this year: Vintage Camping and Hiking:

As part of my DIY ornament ideas I decided to go with a vintage compass:

I started out with these milk bottle lids from Michaels:

Step 1: I used a quick grip clamp to keep the milk bottle in place to drill holes in them using a small drill bit. You probably don’t even need a drill bit if you can get a nail through easily. I just like using power tools whenever possible.

You will need two lids for each compass. First I drilled a hole in one side where a hook will go for hanging:

When the lids are stacked they should look like this on one side:

Then I drilled two holes on the other side of the lid, and drilled two holes on the other side of the second lid:

When the lids are stacked they should look like this on the other side:

Step 2: You’ll need floral wire and pliers:

Cut two pieces of wire about 1″ in length and use them to create little loops to attach the two lids as shown:

The loops act as tiny hinges:

Cut about a 2″ length and twist both ends together to make a loop. This will be the ornament hanger.

Insert the loop through the single hole in one of the lids. I used a clothespin to create tension so that I could add a drop of glue on the inside to keep it in place while the glue dried:

Step 3: I forgot to take a photo of this step but I used gold metallic spray paint to spray paint each compass.

Step 4: I Googled “compass” and about 100 images came up for the inside of a compass. I picked a free one and imported it into Powerpoint where I duplicated it over and over on one sheet. I placed a layer of packing tape on each side to make the compass image glossy and to protect it from moisture:

Step 5: I cut out the compass images and glued each one into a lid:

Step 6: For the little needles I used regular old paper brads. I bent them down on either side and dabbed a little paint on them:

Then I glued those in place as well, adding a miniature brass brad in the middle:

Allow the glue to dry and here are your finished compasses!

An easy, inexpensive ornament to add to a tree:

More tutorials to come soon on the rest of the ornaments!

You can view all my Christmas related decor posts here! Thanks for reading!

When I was making my vintage camping themed tree this year the first thing I thought I needed was a vintage camping lantern, but I couldn’t find one. So I made one:

These are the three main ingredients in my little lanterns: little glass jars from Michaels’ bead section, wood peg doll holders, and buttons:

Step 1: The first thing I did was start gluing different sized buttons into a stack formation using E6000 glue:

Step 2: Then I took apart the little glass jars with their cork tops:

I used a knife to cut the little corks in half to make them shorter, unscrewing the little “eyes” too:

Step 3: I glued the modified corks to the top of the button stack:

Step 4: When the glue was dry I painted the button stacks and the wood peg doll holders:

After a few coats they were ready to go:

Step 5: These are the three pieces needed for each lantern:

A little glue on each piece and stacking them together is the final step:

I added a small screw eye to the top of each lantern (larger than the one that it came with) and the lanterns were ready for the tree!

More tutorials to come soon on the rest of the ornaments!

You can view all my Christmas related decor posts here! Thanks for reading!