DIY Geometric Ornaments: All the Cool Kids Are Making Them

Before Naomi and I started Plaster & Disaster, DIY was easy. I basically just found things I liked on Pinterest, copied them exactly, and then called it a day. Bloggers put ideas out there to inspire others, so I felt no qualms about jumping on their ideas.

But now that I have my own blog (or 50% of my own blog…), I feel pressure to create original content. I don’t really feel right about posting projects that are copycats, because even if I’m linking back to the original inspiration I don’t feel like it’s adding something new to the blogosphere. We want to bring you guys new ideas and add to what’s out there.

Okay so with that PSA out of the way, today I’m sharing some ornaments I made copying another blogger, Abbey at Aesthetic Outburst. I came across hers a few years ago, and had them on my to-make list for a few years.

The first year I tried to make them, by the time I went looking for blank ceramic ball ornaments at craft stores (in December) they were totally sold out. Lesson learned: December is the worst. Last year (2014) I felt like a genius when I bought 10 of them at Michael’s in September, and then I made the ornaments in December, and then I gave them away, and now a year later I’m sharing them with you. So basically, they’re copycats and they’re old material. But whatever, I think they’re cute so I’m sharing them. You’ll also need paint pens, but those usually don’t sell out since they’re not seasonal.

To be fair, only two of the patterns are copycats, I used my own thinking skills to come up with the other designs. #creativegenius

Those are the pretty black-and-white ones I made, and here are a few I experimented with to personalize them for a few specific people I planned to give them to. FYI, the one on the left is an airplane — but it could work for someone who like sharks too, since it looks more like a shark than an airplane….

Oh, and clearly it’s important that you understand my genius photo setup technique, lest you think I just have a dowel floating in midair in my sunroom:

The good news is that if you’re interested in this basic concept, you can use your own creativity to come up with a million different designs, or you can just copy all these other people who seem to have had the same exact idea and come up with some interesting variations (and some eerie similarities…). Of course, you’ll have to wait until next year because it will be virtually impossible to get your hands on the supplies this late in the game.

So in conclusion: I made some ornaments copying someone else’s genius idea, I made them a year ago, it’s probably too late for you to make them too because the materials sell out in the early fall, and a million other people have already done the same project.

Is it January yet?