Postage Stamps Into Tiny Tree Ornaments

I got a special parcel today. I loved the contents (Yay! Rainbow pencils from Duncan Shotton's Kickstarter campaign!) and I loved the Japanese stamps. Remember how wonderful it was, as a kid, to get a package addressed to you from relatives overseas? We're iced in around here this afternoon so I decided to see if I could turn those Hello Kitty postage stamps into tree ornaments using only supplies on or near my desk.

I didn't need much:

• Nice sharp utility knife
• Safe cutting surface
• That great parcel

• Foil wrappers from something tasty
• Glue
• Paper clips
• Skinny, curly coloured ribbon

This is a simple project. I cut out every stamp. I didn't try to peel 'em off the cardboard. I didn't try to pull off the packing tape. I just cut them out.

I glued foil smoothly onto the backs of all the cut-out stamps. I was going for a low-tech handmade look so I let the edges show. If you like more polish, wrap the foil around the edges. If a few chocolate crumbs get trapped in there, that's a fragrant bonus.

My paper clips happen to be vinyl-wrapped so I matched the colours to the stamps. For each stamp, I unfolded the wide end of the clip and jammed it deep into the corrugated cardboard. These things don't weigh much so I didn't need any glue in there. I tweaked the shape of the paper clip to centre it over the stamp.

I could hang the ornaments on the tree one by one but I decided to string them together as a garland. I cut a length of skinny curly ribbon and tied a thumb knot every few inches. I threaded the loops of the knots onto the paper clips of the ornaments, then draped the garland casually around my tree.