10 of Our Best Snowflake Ornaments That'll Guarantee a White Christmas

Have you ever stopped and taken a moment to actually catch a falling snowflake? If you have, you'll notice this winter wonderland mainstay is one of nature's most stunning phenomena. Although each snowflake has six arms in its crystallized structure, you'll notice that no two snowflakes look alike. The same can be said for classic snowflake crafts that are made with love over the holiday season; there are many different ways to make a snowflake, but no two seem to be the same.

Just ask Eric Pike, the former editor in chief of Martha Stewart Living—every year, he creates ornaments for his Christmas trees alongside his family. "I often make them with my nieces on my family summer vacation," he shares in the December 2010 issue of Living. One of his favorite motifs is the snowflake, which he customizes using colored glitter and loops of ribbon from his crafting arsenal. For this ornament, he upcycles materials into single snowflakes to adorn all over the tree. "I've saved boxes of ribbon from gifts over the years."

Like Pike's snowflakes, most of these shapes and glittering patterns can be cut out of your choice of cardstock. If you have a crafting punch in the shape of a snowflake, use it to your advantage; the process of creating a snowflake ornament isn't complicated, but a punch can help you create uniform styles if that's appealing to you. Gather glue, glitter, and some silver cord—these snowflake ornaments are sturdy enough to adorn Christmas trees for many years to come. "It's fun to look back at an ornament you made years before and realize it's now a handmade heirloom," Pike says.

If you know how to crochet, make your own snowflakes to adorn your tree. You can stitch a variety of lacy patterns using four simple techniques. Apply fabric stiffener to your design once complete so they retain their shape, and you can enjoy them for Christmases to come.

The kids may not be interested in science projects while on holiday breaks—but this snowflake tutorial from Jim "Professor Figgy" Noonan will change their minds. The how-to will guide you through creating your very own snowflake design, which will be submerged in a borax solution: little ones will love watching the snowflake come to life.

While you can create these larger snowflakes to adorn the walls inside your home, they'll greet neighbors all season long as ornament streamers outside your front door. Although these oversize snowflake streamers look delicate, they're made from a sturdy material that allows them to withstand wet weather.

Pipe-cleaner snowflake ornaments are an easy holiday craft that you'll love to make with the kids. To make these ornaments, all you need to know is how to twist, hook, and wrap them into a flurry of shapes and sizes.

When adorned with pearls in a six-point design, these pristine Christmas baubles are akin to a flurry of flakes on your Christmas tree. For a dimensional look, we used hot glue to secure the largest size pearl as the center, six medium-size ones for the spokes, and smaller ones for the tips.

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Snowflakes—as these beautifully detailed ornaments crafted with metal or glass beads—can be displayed in windows or hung above a holiday table. Small snowflake armatures (measuring 3 3/4 to 9 inches) are available at crafts stores and online. If you're working with metal beads, try sliding the beads onto a wire form in the desired sequence. Anchor the beads by twisting the wire ends into a loop with chain-nose pliers. If you work with glass beads, repeat the process, but as you add the last bead to each spoke, clip the wire so the bead is flush with the end. Finish by adding a dab of glue and, when you reach the last spoke of the armature, don't clip the wire. Instead, use chain-nose pliers to gently form a loop for hanging the snowflake. You can also customize your snowflake by covering it with lametta tinsel, weaving it over and under its spokes.

Shop Now: Beadsmith Wire Snowflake Ornament Form, 6", $3.49, amazon.com. Precision Chain Nose Pliers, $8, michaels.com.

Tinsel isn't just for sprinkling on an evergreen tree. Try creating our sparkling ornaments to brighten any room. Begin by enlarging templates as desired with a copier—then tape these to a piece of heavy mat board or smooth cardboard, and place over a protective surface, like a self-healing mat. With a utility knife, cut through the layers to create your snowflake shape. Remove the template, and using a medium paintbrush, coat one side of the shape with craft glue. Sprinkle with fine glitter; let the glue dry, and shake off excess glitter. Repeat, using glass-shard glitter on both sides. Finally, attach silver thread and hang the snowflakes on your tree with removable adhesive hooks.

Shop Now: Martha Stewart Collection Jewel Glitter Set, $14, michaels.com. Creatology Crystal Clear Glitter, $7 for 12 ounces, michaels.com. Martha Stewart Collection Swivel Cutting Knife, $13, michaels.com. Creatology Brown Corrugated Paper Board, $4.49, michaels.com.

Let easily crafted snowflake-inspired ornaments of cloth, ribbon, veneer, string, and paper fill your tree. Using our first template, trace 3 circles with a disappearing-ink marker onto laminated linen or other sturdy, non-fraying fabric. Cut out two circles with fabric shears, and then cut out remaining circle with scallop shears (or use straight-edged ones). Next, use the second template on top a smooth-edged circle. Use a disappearing-ink market to mark dots on the fabric where the template lines fall. Use a ruler and disappearing ink marker to connect the opposite dots and re-create lines on the same template.

To continue, lay the lined circle atop remaining smooth-edged circle: hand- or machine-stitch along lines with neutral-colored thread. At each sewn wedge, fold in edge of top layer; secure each fold with a pin inserted through both layers. Then, lay the sewn circles atop the scallop-edged circle. Along edge at the midpoint of each wedge, tack middle layer to bottom layer. Tie it off and trim the thread. Remove pins and unfold the top layer.

With disappearing-ink marker, mark a dot at each wedge's midpoint along edge. Slip a threaded needle under and up around one dot (through top layer only). Repeat at next five dots in order (do not cut thread). Gently pull ends of the thread, gathering the top layer into the center. Knot the thread and trim. With twine, sew a loop to bottom layer, and knot to hang.

Shop Now: Dritz Disappearing Ink Marking Pen, $6, dickblick.com. Tooltron Scallop Fabric Shears, $45, amazon.com. White Irish Linen Fabric, $19 per yd., onlinefabricstore.net.

Just like the real thing, no two of our wax snowflakes are exactly alike. To create these unique, we used a special cookie cutter set that contains separate pieces for making cutouts. Choose wax with a honeycomb finish, which has a pretty pattern and texture. To begin, place a wax sheet on a baking sheet, and apply low heat from a hair dryer. Cut four or six shapes with your cookie cutter, and layer the shapes to make a more substantial figure.

To continue, place a looped piece of cord on top of your first layer. Then, lay another shape on top of your first, and press together with fingertips, beginning at the center and working outward. When all shapes are in place, apply more low heat from a hair dryer, and press down again.

Shop Now: Williams-Sonoma Copper Snowflake Cookie Cutters on Ring, $15, williams-sonoma.com. GloryBee Beeswax Sheets, $25 for 10, glorybee.com.

A snowflake ornament is made from eight V-shaped strips of paper, curled at the ends with a quilling needle and joined with a dot of glue at the center. The ornament looks rather majestic here, but it is actually just about two and a half inches tall.

Before working on the ornament, practice some quilling basics. Wind a strip of paper around the needle; it will form a tight curl. Play with the paper to stretch it back out to the shape you want. Try folding a strip in half and curling both ends in for a heart shape, or curl them out for a V shape. Quilling paper is easy to manipulate, but working with it is not an exact science: It takes some practice to make the same shape twice.

To begin, fold each strip of quilling paper so that one of the halves is about 1/2 inch longer than the other, and curl the ends. Repeat this process with seven more strips. On a flat surface, fit pieces together with their points in the center. Using tiny dabs of glue, attach the pieces together in pairs, and then join the four pairs. Let glue dry and attach a piece of metallic thread to hang the ornament on your tree.

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