Beautiful ornaments inspire us to get creative. Decorating a tree with them is all well and good, but there’s no reason to limit yourself to the branches of a pine tree when there are so many other possibilities!

I searched around the web to put together the most interesting decorating ideas, and grouped them into these categories: Chandeliers, Mobiles, Windows, Props and Branches. Leave a comment and a link below if you’d like to add your idea.

Chandeliers

Suggested ornaments for decorating chandeliers – vintage-inspired mercury glass all in one tone, either silver or gold.  Note that these ornaments are heavy, so only hang them from a very secure chendelier!

All Gold Mercury Glass Ornaments or
All Silver Mercury Glass Ornaments

Blogger Lauren, of “A Fabulous Fête”, wanted to dress up her chandelier, so she hung sparkly ornaments on baker’s string from the “arms”. There was a very large space between the chandelier and the table. Lauren spread the ornaments out, both vertically and horizontally, nicely filling the space.

Ornaments suspended from a high chandelier fill the space above a holiday table.

Another take on hanging ornaments from a chandelier comes from Vanessa and Valentine. Her sense of style is so inspiring! She claims that the chandelier itself is too embarassing to show in the picture. (It’s vintage 80’s.) But the ornaments look great hanging from ribbons in a tight cluster. Nice photo collection, Vanessa!

For a smaller space, hang ornaments closer together in a cluster.

Ornament Mobiles

My personal favorite is this virtual Christmas Tree made entirely of ornaments and invisible line.

It takes patience to hang so many ornaments
but the stunning effect is worth it.

This idea comes from “Not Martha” – the name being a great idea in its own right! The tree has caught the attention of other bloggers around the web, so you may have seen it elsewhere. “Not Martha” is at the top of her game when it comes to organization and clarity of description. Not only does she meticulously explain and illustrated every step, but she even explains how take the tree apart and store the components for easy reassembly the next year. I was most curious about what the ornaments were hanging from. It’s a steaming rack purchased at a restaurant supply store. You can get the full directions for making this virtual tree here.

Steaming rack from a restaurant supply store.

A simpler, yet very attractive, mobile comes from Elle Decor. Wire rings fwith hooks for hanging the ornaments can be found in craft stores. Fishing line, which is nearly invisible, is recommended for this decoration.

Photo: Elle Decor

I would like to see this idea executed with a mix of small, glass silver and turquoise baubles and icicles. Our little place card holders shaped like ornaments have been a surprise hit this season because they’re so versatile. It’s not always easy to find smaller ornaments, which are so crucial to filling in gaps between larger ornaments.

These little glass baubles available at Luna Bazaar double as place card holders.

There are lots of devices for hanging and displaying photos that can double as ornament holders. Here’s one from Good Housekeeping. Each wire has a little clip for holding a photo. The clip can be used to hold the top wire loop of the ornament. It’s important to use small, very lightweight ornaments with this type of hanger.

Photo Mobile idea from Good Housekeeping

It would be fun to turn this into a mobile for a child’s room by substituting hand-painted paper maché ornaments for the traditional ornaments shown above. Star, Butterfly, and Bird designs are all lavishly covered with floral patterns. (The bird in the lower right corner is covered with silver stars.) Add one of our popular hand-carved Mermaid ornaments for a touch of humor, and a mobile decoration that can stay up all year.

Some of the hand-painted and hand-carved ornaments that can be found at Luna Bazaar.

The photo mobile below would be fantastic for hanging a lot of small ornaments at varying lengths. Just be sure the ornaments are not too heavy!

Photo Mobile that can double as an ornament hanger.

Ornaments in Windows

There are some tricks to making this look good. Use some attractive ribbon to suspend the ornaments. Hang the ornaments at varying lengths, so they fill the space behind them. For example, if the ornaments are hanging in front of a large window, they should be spaced in such a way as to occupy the full area of the window. There should be a big difference between the length of the shortest ribbon and the length of the longest. To give the arrangement a finished look, adorn the curtain rod itself by wrapping some festive fabric or evergreen roping. The perfect example of this comes from Salvage Savvy.

The spacing of these ornaments is just right for
gracefully filling the window space.

Ornament suggestion:

Heirloom Glass Snowflakes

Ornaments and Props

Picture Frame Prop – Shabby Chic mirror frame supports wire tree holding ornaments.

Source: Inspiration for Home.

A huge mirror frame as prop. Paint the frame to complement the colors of the ornaments. I like the two-color scheme. Use ribbons or invisible line to suspend the ornaments.

Source: Inspiration for Home

The Utilitarian Prop – Warning: High ceilings necessary! The ornaments are hung from the strings of lights wrapped around the ladder.

Source: Apartment Therapy

Hanging Ornaments from a Branch

Not every branch has to be evergreen during the holidays!

Source: Desire to Inspire

Branch + Ornaments = Instant Chandelier! Now we’ve come full circle.

Source: The Decorologist.

I hope this post has shown you one or two ideas that you haven’t seen before. Just remember, Luna Bazaar has the most unusual selection of ornaments and decorations for parties and the home because we go to the far corners of the world to find them for you!

Happy Holidays from Luna Bazaar!

Decorate and Celebrate!