DIY Spindle Christmas Ornaments

Turn reclaimed wood stair spindles into Christmas ornaments.

Rustic, reclaimed wood spindle ornaments are so easy to make and look amazing. They would look good for farmhouse style, Nordic style, rustic style, or my favorite, French style.

I will also be sharing how to do a quick and easy weathered wood paint finish. A few of the spindles I found were unfinished, and I wanted them all to be white.

DIY Spindle Ornaments|Three Easy Steps

First|Gather Old Stair Spindles

I got all of my spindles from Restore by Habitat for Humanity. I collected them for a couple of months, looking for just the right kind.

The more turnings the spindles have, the better they will look. Here are a few of mine before I cut them.

Two|Cut The Spindles

I used a miter saw to cut the spindles to size. I only got one spindle ornament per stair spindle from these. I do have some nice scraps leftover that I will be using later.

The two ornaments below were cut from one spindle. It works because I turned one so the bottom had the detail, otherwise the taper looked too fat.

Three|Drill Holes In The Top Of The Ornaments

Drill holes in the top of the spindles for hanging. I drilled one hole with a smaller drill bit first, then went back with a larger bit. I was hoping that it would help prevent any splitting. It worked pretty well, but I ended up splitting two of the spindles. Luckily, they are still usable.

Quick and Easy Weathered White Paint Finish

A few of the spindles were unfinished. Now I know that raw, sanded wood is all the rage. If that is the look you want, sand the spindles down to natural wood and possibly bleach. They would look amazing.

I wanted white ornaments, so I gave these a quick makeover.

Rub Petroleum Jelly anywhere you don’t want the paint to stick. I used a lot for a very worn look.

Apply one coat of paint. I used latex. You can see all the areas that the paint isn’t sticking because of the petroleum jelly.

Sand when dry. The paint will just fall right off!

And here they are after.

I feel like there are so many ways these could be styled, so many options for ribbons or strings. You could hang them on trees, or garlands, or from the ceiling.

I’m planning to build something to hang mine from in my kitchen. Watch for that coming soon!

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Thanks for stopping by,

Janet