Make your own look-alike Rae Dunn ornaments for a lot less than the real thing! I'm sharing my tips and tricks for working with vinyl and round ornaments!

It's November 1 and I'm taking that as license to start sharing Christmas projects and ideas with y'all, starting today with these awesome Rae Dunn-inspired Christmas ornaments 🎄 
Rae Dunn pottery has become highly sought after and extremely difficult to find. You've no doubt seen mugs, bowls and other kitchenware on social media...and maybe, if you're lucky, you've even spotted a stray piece at Home Goods or Marshalls!


I've been collecting Rae Dunn pieces for several months. The large, skinny letters are my favorite. I've long been a lover of words...I find her one-word expressions to be spot on! I've got a cabinet full of mugs to suit any mood (whether it's a 'YASS' day or 'I WOKE UP LIKE THIS' kinda morning!) and I decided I needed to make a set of ornaments for Christmas. 

You probably know someone (or many someones) who would love a set of these for Christmas! The beauty of making your own ornaments is the customization! Newlyweds, a new baby, a graduation, anniversary, you get the idea! You decide what the ornament says!

If you've ever tried to attach a word or picture to a round ornament, you know it's difficult to get it to lay flat and look right.

If this has ever frustrated you, you're going to love my tip for getting your vinyl or sticker to lay perfectly straight on a round ornament! Keep reading to find out how to do it!

SUPPLIES FOR RAE DUN INSPIRED ORNAMENTS

• shiny white ornaments
• black craft vinyl
• die cut machine (I love my Silhouette but Cricut is very popular too)
• cutting mat
• weeding hook
• transfer paper ( this is the exact transfer paper I use)
• ribbon (I used this black gingham)
• computer

HOW TO MAKE RAE DUNN INSPIRED ORNAMENTS

STEP ONE

Create your design in your Silhouette program. I typed a bunch of holiday words that I wanted to use. I used a free font from dafont,  The Skinny. It's the closest match I've found to the Rae Dunn font.

*Designer Tip - I don't use the bold form of the font, I think it's looks better and more authentic in its normal, skinny version!

STEP TWO

Cut your words onto black craft vinyl. Remove them from the cutting mat and separate by cutting into individual words.

STEP THREE

Weed the extra vinyl using the hook tool. Don't forget to remove the insides of letters like P, O and B.

Use the transfer paper to transfer the design off the vinyl mat to the transfer paper.

STEP FOUR

Here's the trick to getting your word to fit on the ornament properly. Using scissors, snip the transfer paper between each letter. You can see this clearly in the picture below, indicated by the arrows.

You don't need to cut too deep, just a little snip will do. The cuts release the tension created by the straight paper and allows the ornament to lie flat over the curve of the ornament. The letters are still straight, but each letter is allowed to lie where it wants to.


Remove the transfer paper and make sure each letter is pressed firmly onto the ornament. Start pressing the middle letters first and work your way out.

This was a bit of an experiment, and I have to admit that I was amazed that long words like BLESSED and BELIEVE fit onto the round ornaments with no problem!
These Rae Dunn inspired ornaments pretty much tell the whole Christmas story in just a few words!

I can't wait to get them all up on my tree!

UPDATE: check out my farmhouse Christmas tree here!!

Please feel free to PIN THIS IMAGE for future reference!

FAQs for Making DIY Rae Dunn Inspired Ornaments

What size ornaments do you use? 

I've used both 3" and 4" ornaments for this project.

What size do you cut your words? 

If I'm using a 3" ornament, I'll cut the words to be about half that in height, so 1.5-2"...and the same goes for larger ornaments. I like the word to "fill" the ornament rather than being small and just sitting in the middle. Do a test cut with one word and see how it fits and then make adjustments from there.

Where do you find the font? 

You can download a free version of the font, 'The Skinny' from dafont.

Are your ornaments matte or shiny? 

I prefer to use shiny white ornaments, rather than matte ones. The shiny looks better in my opinion, but it's the creator's choice!

Did you add a layer of modpodge on top of the vinyl? 

No I did not. If you are concerned about wear and tear, make sure you purchase permanent vinyl! I swear by the Oracal 651 vinyl that I purchase from Amazon. It lasts 4 years outdoors and 6 years indoors!

Where did you find your white ornaments? 

I bought mine at Hobby Lobby (see the link in the Supplies list). I have found that they tend to go fast, so stock up at the beginning of the season!

Did that answer your questions? If not, feel free to ask in the comments or send me an email!

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