Turn unfinished wood ornaments into rustic-looking Tin Tile Ornaments with this easy-to-follow craft tutorial. Make a few or many and use them to decorate your Christmas tree.

Let's craft with dollar store wall tiles

How to make tin tile ornaments.

Ok, crafty friends, here’s my faux tin tile confession. Whenever I spot them at Dollar Tree, I buy about ten. They’re hit and miss in stores, and I haven’t really seen them anywhere else, so they go straight into my craft stash.

That stash is how these rustic tin tile ornaments happened. A few plain wood ornaments, a sheet of faux tin painted white, and a little black chalk paint for distressing, and you’ve got farmhouse ornaments that look way more expensive than they are.

Why I love this craft

If you’ve spent any amount of time on my YouTube Channel or blog, then you know how much I’ve enjoyed trying different crafts with the tin tile adhesive squares. When I first saw these at Dollar Tree, I instantly knew they’d make for some cute crafts.

What are faux tin tiles?

The faux tin tiles I purchase for craft projects are the DIY gray self-adhesive wall tiles from Dollar Tree. For this particular project, and a few others, I remove the self-adhesive backing and paint the front white. This gives me the ability to manipulate the tile specifically for the project I’m working on.

Pro tip: Faux tin tiles come and go at the dollar store. If you know you’ll craft with them, grab extras whenever you see them. I keep about ten on hand.

The inspiration for this craft:

I’ve created other tin tile ornaments in the past. I made a set of mini hand mittens, stars, and Christmas stockings, which added the perfect touch to my rustic farmhouse themed Christmas decor.

Here are my previous tin tile ornaments:

Video Tutorial: Tin Tile Ornaments

Watch this quick video to see how this craft came together:

Tin Tile Ornaments

Yield: 2 ornaments

Active Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Difficulty: easy

Easy to make and easy on the purse, these Tin Tine Ornaments are a must-try for your holiday tree decor.

Materials

faux tile sheets (Dollar Tree)
unfinished wood ornaments (Hobby Lobby)
white chalk paint
craft glue (or tacky glue)
black chalk paint
faux pine
twine

Tools

scissors
Sharpie marker
1" paint brush
small sponge piece (for distressing)

Instructions

Watch the video tutorial. This will give you a step-by-step walkthrough for how to create your own tin tile ornaments.
Prepare the ornaments. Cut the hanging strings off of the unfinished wood ornaments. I also pre-painted the tile sheet white.
Trace and cut ornaments. Turn one of the tile sheets face down and use a Sharpie marker to trace the wooden ornament onto the back. Cut out the shape just inside the Sharpie line.
Create the hanger spot. Use a marker to mark where to punch a hole in the tile sheet. I used a mini hole punch.
Paint the wooden ornament. Paint one side and the edge of the unfinished wood ornament white. Let it dry completely.
Add the the faux tile cutout. Apply a generous amount of tacky glue or craft glue to the unpainted side of the wooden ornament. Peel off the backing of the faux tile cutout and apply it to the glue surface. Set aside for the glue to dry.
Distress the tile (optional). I decided to distress the tile to give it more of a rustic look. I used a cut piece of sponge, dipped it in black chalk paint, and gently brush it over the tile ornament.
Embellish the ornaments. I used a sprig of faux pine and twine to add a finishing touch and hanger to the ornaments. Repeat these steps to make as many ornaments as you'd like!

The Finished Craft

DIY distressed faux tin tile Christmas ornaments

Make it Your Own

There’s no real wrong way to do these. Want a bolder look? I made these again in red. Prefer the classic shapes? Try my stars and stockings version. Want to go BIG? Make a jumbo ornament from a burner cover or a pizza pan.

Don’t forget to PIN this craft for later:

Dollar Store Faux Tin Tile Christmas Crafts

This craft was a part of a compilation video over on my YouTube channel, along with a burner cover snowman, a mini Christmas tree holder, a tin tile reverse canvas, and holiday shape ornaments.

Tin Tile FAQ

What are faux tin tiles? They’re self-adhesive wall tiles that look like vintage pressed tin. The ones I use are gray and come from Dollar Tree.

Where can I buy faux tin tiles? I’ve only found them at Dollar Tree, and they’re hit and miss. Stock up when you see them.

Do I need to paint the tile? I painted mine white before cutting. Any chalk paint color works. You could also try red, like my red tin tile ornaments.

Dollar Store Tin Tile Ornaments