• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Chatfield Court

  • Home
  • About
    • Meet Kristi
    • Home Tour
      • House Tour – North Carolina
      • House Tour – Our Illinois Home
    • Contact
    • Advertise
  • DIY Project Gallery
    • DIY Projects
    • RV Renovation
    • Kitchen Remodel
    • Crafts
    • Outside Projects
  • Interior Decorating
    • Decor
    • Small Space Living
    • Organization
    • Shop My House
  • Recipes

DIY Dried Orange Slice Ornaments

Tuesday,November 20, 2018 By Kristi 16 Comments

Sharing is caring!

How to make dried orange slice ornaments with star anise for your Christmas tree.

‘Tis the season and I’m kicking it off by making these easy dried orange slice ornaments for one of our Christmas trees. I usually try to make an ornament each year, like my living ornaments and the easy mercury glass ornaments that I made a few years ago, but I think these may be my favorite ones yet.

DIY dried orange slice ornaments with star anise hanging on Christmas tree

I try to switch things up with my Christmas decorations every year to keep things interesting. This year though, I decided to go in a completely different direction. I went with a very simple, nature-inspired theme for the tree in the dining room. Pinecones, raw cotton and dried orange slice ornaments that I made myself.

New ornaments were not allowed on the tree this year. Actually, I tried to stick to only using what I had for all of my holiday decorating this year. 

Of course, I did have to buy a bag of oranges but it gave me so many pretty ornaments that it was well worth the $5 I spent.

dried orange slices, star anise and jute ribbon laying on a marble cutting board with scissors next to it

So let’s start drying some oranges.

It was my first time but it really is so simple to do. 

Dried Orange Slices 

  • oranges (I used navel and a few blood oranges)
  • knife
  • cookie cooling rack
  • cookie sheet

To dry your orange slices you need to turn your oven on 200 degrees (don’t be tempted to turn the oven up to speed up the process). You can use a dehydrator but I don’t have one so it was the oven for me.

Next, slice your oranges about 1/4″ thick. You don’t want them too thick because they’ll take a lot longer to dry.

Once your oranges are sliced, arrange them so they are laying flat on your cooling rack, that’s been placed in your cookie sheet. You want to use the cooling rack to dry your oranges because it allows the heat to dry the top and bottom of the slices evenly.

blood orange and orange slices on cookie rack

When you’ve filled up the cooling rack, place the cookie sheet in the oven for 4 hours, flipping once after 2 hours. 

After they’re done remove them from the oven and let cool.  Look at how the colors are enhanced after drying. So pretty!

dried orange and blood orange slices on cookie cooling rack

Once they’re cool, you can make your ornaments.

Dried Orange Slice Ornaments with Star Anise

Affiliate links used for your shopping convenience. Please see my Privacy Policy for more info. 

  • dried orange slices
  • star anise
  • hot glue gun
  • large needle
  • jute twine

The ornaments themselves are just as easy to make as the dried oranges slices. 

You can start to string them up right away but I had some star anise on hand that I wanted to use on a few slices.

dried orange slices, star anise and hot glue gun on a butcher block countertop

I just added a dab of hot glue in the center of a slice and placed the star anise on the glue. I love how the fragrant anise mixes with the orange scent. So yummy.

glueing star anise on dried orange slice with more dried orange slices scattered around

Next I strung a piece of jute ribbon through each slice. Some of the slices had a ready-made hole so I was able to just slip the ribbon through and tie it in a knot.

threading thin jute twine through hole in dried blood orange slice

For the slices that didn’t have a hole, I just stuck a large needle into the slice, by the peel, and wiggled it a little to get a hole large enough for my jute ribbon.

using needle to poke hole in dried orange slice ornament

Really, there’s no wrong way to do this. 

Once I strung up all of my orange slices, I hung them on our tree.

dried orange slice ornaments with star anise on cutting board

I love how they all look on our tree!

DIY dried orange slice ornaments hanging on Christmas tree next to a burnt orange glass ornament

And because I love them so much, I went ahead and made another decoration for our simple nature-inspired tree. I can’t wait to share it with you, along with a full view of the tree itself. 

Looking for more Christmas crafts? I made a DIY magnolia leaf garland for our kitchen window last year and I love how it turned out. 

Happy Holidays, friends!

 

DIY dried orange slice ornaments hanging on Christmas tree next to a pinecone, plus a large graphic

Sharing is caring!

About Kristi

Kristi here…lover and doer of all things DIY, home improvement, home decor, and quick and easy recipes. I’m the voice behind Chatfield Court where I share the budget-friendly DIY projects, crafts and decorating tips in the hopes of inspiring others that they can do it too.

Previous Post: « DIY Memo Board from a Curbside Find
Next Post: A Traditional Cottage Christmas Sunroom »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Runningonempty

    Wednesday,December 12, 2018 at 6:27 pm

    I think that’s a lovely idea and biodegradable. Our overconsumption is ruining the planet. There is no planet B! So, “well done” to you!

    Sharing link on my Christmas blog. Look out for it Dec 25.
    Cath

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Sunday,December 16, 2018 at 2:03 am

      Thanks so much! I love the idea of making Christmas decorations that can feed our wildlife friends. Thanks for stopping by, and for sharing my garland! 🙂

      Reply
  2. Patricia

    Sunday,November 25, 2018 at 7:53 am

    Love a nature inspired tree decoration, and oranges with star anise is perfect. Never knew how to dry orange slices without a dehydrator, but with your share I’m am going to give it a try.
    Thanks, Patricia

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Tuesday,November 27, 2018 at 4:52 am

      That’s great Patricia! I’m so glad you are going to give them a try. They were really very simple to make. I’d love to hear how they turned out. Thanks so much for stopping by.

      Reply
  3. Marlene Stephenson

    Wednesday,November 21, 2018 at 3:13 pm

    These are so pretty and look great on your tree, i pinned them so i can make me some, thanks.

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Tuesday,November 27, 2018 at 4:50 am

      Thanks so much Marlene! I’d love to hear if you make some. 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kim

    Tuesday,November 20, 2018 at 6:55 pm

    Oh…and I bet your house smelled delicious in the process!!

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Wednesday,November 21, 2018 at 12:12 am

      It did, and still does smell delicious. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

      Reply
  5. MARTHAIA NORRIS

    Tuesday,November 20, 2018 at 1:30 pm

    So Pretty !!!!

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Wednesday,November 21, 2018 at 12:05 am

      Thanks so much, Marthaia! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Debbie Halcomb

    Tuesday,November 20, 2018 at 10:38 am

    I love these Kristi! How easy to make and looks like a million. If you had a real tree it would be a lovely sent mixed with orange and anise. Have a great Thanksgiving in your camper.

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Wednesday,November 21, 2018 at 12:06 am

      Thanks so much Debbie! These would be great with a real tree. I bet the scent would be amazing. Wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the time with your family!

      Reply
  7. Pat M.

    Tuesday,November 20, 2018 at 8:19 am

    Great idea. I love the oranges with the star anise. You are so clever and I love the idea of a nature inspired tree.

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Wednesday,November 21, 2018 at 12:04 am

      Thanks so much Pat! The dried oranges were the inspiration for my nature tree this year. I’m loving it! Happy Thanksgiving to you!

      Reply
  8. Cindy

    Tuesday,November 20, 2018 at 7:19 am

    Hey Kristi! Where do u come up with this stuff!? U are so gifted! I’m not familiar with the Star Anise? Do u get in the spice aisle @ grocery store or craft store? I always try to have ornaments my kids and I can make together, this would be perfect! Thanks so much for idea. Happy Thanksgiving! Hope u & urs have a great one.

    Reply
    • Kristi

      Wednesday,November 21, 2018 at 12:04 am

      You are so sweet, thanks so much Cindy! This would be a great craft to do with the kids. It’s so easy and fun. Oh, and you can get star anise right at the grocery store, in the spice aisle. Happy Thanksgiving!!!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Follow us!

Meet Kristi!

Check out our Cargo Trailer Conversion on our YouTube channel – over 200K views!

Footer

Join our Newsletter!
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure

Copyright © 2019 · Chatfield Court

Join our newsletter!
Join our newsletter!
~~Chatfield Court~~ Sign up to get the latest on our DIY projects!
Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.
Join our Newsletter!