3-D Paper Tole Ornament

All you need to make these 3-D style ornaments are multiple copies of the same image, scissors or a craft knife, podgy or glue, and patience!

The red ornament is about 3" wide and the blue one is about 4" wide including Bugs' ears. The 3-D effect is made using a somewhat simplified paper tole technique (There are some very good basic paper tole instructions here). 

These ornaments are two-sided, so I made two paper tole structures for each ornament. I used three layers on each side -- which is enough, I think, for a project only 3" wide. I printed the image on 110-lb card stock: three times for the front of the ornament, and then three more times in reverse to make the back side. Then I cut out portions of the image and built up the layers using some acrylic caulk that I had on hand.

RED ORNAMENT LAYERS
Layer 1:  Entire Image
Layer 2:  Cat's Face, "Looney Tunes" word, WB logo
Layer 3: Cat's Face only

BLUE ORNAMENT LAYERS
Layer 1:  Entire Image
Layer 2:  Daffy, Tweety, Bugs, Sylvester
Layer 3: Tweety, Bugs

As a first step, I glued the two base images (front and back) to a piece of heavier card. Then I carefully cut them both out and glued them back-to-back, matching the edges. This makes a fairly sturdy foundation for the ornament. Once the glue had dried on this base piece, I built up the layers on the front side of the ornament, using the elements cut from the remaining  prints. You'll need a thick glue to create the dimension as you glue the layers; I used acrylic caulk, but you could use a couple of layers of foam-backed tape.

After allowing time for the first side to dry (several hours or even overnight, depending on the glue you are using), I turned the ornament over and built up the layers of the second side. Then I set the ornament aside again to allow the glue and caulking to dry thoroughly. 

When the whole thing was completely dry (I left it overnight to be sure), I covered it with a layer of podgy and again put it aside to dry once more. Then I gave the red ornament a bit of extra sparkle by gluing on some star sequins. Finally, I punched a hole through all layers so the ornament could hang.

To make the beaded hanger, I just threaded some matching beads onto a small length of 18 gauge wire, and formed loops at either end of the wire using round-nosed pliers. The beaded loop is then attached to the ornament using a jump ring. The layered effect may not show up fully in the pictures but these really do look 3-D in real life.

Whatever theme you decide on for your paper tole ornament, try to select a relatively simple image that can easily be layered to create dimension. If the image is too complex it will overwhelm the small size of an ornament; I find it best to limit the layers to no more than four. For each side of these ornaments, I used only three.