Turn Dollar Tree Tiles Into Vintage Metal Christmas Ornaments

I’ve been transforming architectural salvage into adorable, unique Christmas ornaments for this year’s tree. I have a trio of old metal ceiling tiles above my front doors and wanted to recreate that chippy patina with metal Christmas ornaments. I’ve been saving these Dollar Tree wall tiles since the summer and knew they would make amazing vintage-inspired metal Christmas ornaments. They are easy to work with, and with just a few supplies, you can quickly create amazing faux vintage metal Christmas ornaments.

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Dollar Tree Tile Craft Idea

Dollar Tree Tile Craft Idea

I purchased two Dollar Tree tiles last summer in anticipation of Christmas decorating. I had collected old wooden spindles and other architectural salvage to make Christmas ornaments. When I saw these wall tiles, they reminded me of old vintage ceiling tiles.

I’ve always been drawn to the chippy-painted ceiling tiles; we have some authentic ones in the farmhouse. But I didn’t want to cut them into ornaments as I’ve used them to decorate over the front doors since we moved into the farmhouse. However, I felt certain I could make these $1.25 tiles look like vintage metal Christmas ornaments.

$1.25 Dollar Tree Wall Tile to make Vintage Inspired Metal Christmas ornaments.

Christmas Tree with Vintage Architectural Salvage and Metal Ceiling Tiles above front doors.

Supplies For Vintage Metal Christmas Ornaments

I knew that I would need to make the shiny silver tiles look chippy and aged for an authentic metal ceiling tile appearance. So here are the supplies I used.

1 sheet of Dollar Tree Wall Tile – $1.25
Ornament Template (I traced ornaments I had at home)
Black or brown spray paint
White Chalk Paint
Elmer’s Glue
Dark Wax
Gold Rub N Buff
Scissors
Hole Punch
Jute Twine

Draw Templates

The first step to making DIY vintage metal Christmas ornaments is determining what designs you want to create. I used Christmas Trees, Ball Ornaments, Stars, and Candy Canes. I traced the templates onto the backside of the Dollar Tree wall tile and then cut out the design with scissors.

create a template of the ornament designs you want to make.

Spray Paint Ornaments

Next, I used some leftover spray paint to darken the tiles. I used a combination of black and brown because I ran out of black. LOL. Any darker color will work.

Spray paint the metal ornaments a darker color for aged vintage metal Christmas ornaments

Paint With Crackle Finish

I wanted the ornaments to have a chippy, cracked paint appearance, just like my metal ceiling tiles, so here’s what I did.

First, paint a heavy coverage of Elmer’s glue over the tops of the ornaments. Then, follow with a heavy coat of white chalk paint while the glue is still wet. Use a hair dryer or heat gun to speed up the drying process. You will begin to see cracks in the paint as it dries.

Add white paint and glue to DIY Metal Christams Ornaments for a crackle finish

Use hair dryer to speed the drying process.

Punch Hole For Hanger

I decided to use jute twine for the hangers, so I just used a simple hole punch to create a hole for the twine to run through. I then ran the jute twine through the hole, leaving both ends loose to tie onto the Christmas tree branches. The ornaments are very lightweight, making them easy to hang.

Use a hole punch to create a hole for the jute twine to run through

Add Wax To Age The Metal Christmas Ornaments

Once the paint was dry, I felt the color was bright and needed to be aged. Therefore, I used dark wax to tone down the white paint.

Add a small amount of the dark wax to a paper towel and rub it over each ornament. I left some areas heavier than others. Once the ornament was covered, I buffed the wax with a dry paper towel.

Add dark wax to age the new white paint on the Christmas ornaments.

Highlight With Rub N Buff

Finally, the last step is adding a little shine to my metal Christmas ornaments with some gold Rub N Buff. To achieve the look I wanted, I added a small amount of gold to a paper towel and rubbed it over the raised areas of the tiles. I allowed heavier coverage in some areas to give the appearance of timeworn, aged ornaments.

Add rub n buff with paper towel over raised areas of the tile ornaments

They are perfectly aged, and I can’t wait to place them on the tree.

DIY Vintage Metal Christmas Ornaments made with Dollar Tree Wall Tiles for $1.25

Christmas Tree With Vintage Metal Ornaments

I was surprised that I was able to create several vintage metal ornaments using just one of the Dollar Tree Tiles. I have two stars, two ball ornaments, three Christmas trees, a candy cane, and a cone-shaped ornament.