adding some personal holiday decor with wooden name tags

Happy Friday! I’m soooo slow getting my holiday decorations up this year but this is the first year I’m actually not rushing through it. And I feel like things are a little more intentional and meaningful. Which is nice.

When I went to hang our stockings that I bought last year, I remembered I never labeled them. Even though we know who’s is who’s – we hang them in order by age (does everyone do this?) – adding our names just seemed right.

Our old stockings were embroidered and were very pretty. But I wanted something a little more unique and personal with these. And since I love working with wood, I figured I could use wood pieces as name tags. They’re rustic, imperfect and nontraditional. And they look so sweet.

If you want to make similar name tags for your stockings, I’ve included the details below. They’re a quick and easy project. Because who has time?

You’ll need the following:

• a piece of quarter inch plywood
• stain – I like Benjamin Moore Arborcoat in rabbit brown color
• sandpaper
• a saw and drill
• an alphabet stamp set with an ink pad
• a thin black sharpie
• ribbon of your choice

I stained a piece of plywood before I cut the pieces because I wanted the edges to be raw wood and contrast with the darker front of each tag. After the stain has dried, cut your pieces of plywood into strips the size of your tags. Mine are 1-1/4″ x 4-1/2″. Sand the edges of each tag so they are smooth and rounded.

Next drill a hole in each end with a quarter inch drill bit. Sand the edges of the holes lightly if needed.

I used this alphabet stamp set from Michael’s. I love all lowercase letters but there are several different styles available. And I’ve found so many uses for these stamps: thank you cards, a Father’s Day gift idea, canvas bags, gift wrapping, and organization labels.

Using your stamps add your names to your name tags. As you can see mine don’t line up perfectly. But this adds to their charm.

After the ink has dried I went over each letter with a thin black sharpie. I thought the ink was a little faint and I wasn’t sure if it would rub off.

After you finish filling in the letters your tags are ready to hang. I used a coordinating ribbon and tied them to the handles of our stockings.

As a bonus, I added a handmade pom-pom to each stocking. Our stockings came with two pom-poms already but they needs something else. Pom poms are so easy to make and surprisingly, I’ve made them for so many different purposes: stocking hats, key chains, to decorate a basket, and as a decorative banner for our daughter’s room. Check out my tutorial on how to make your own pom poms. Of course, you can buy pom poms already made at most art supply stores.

I just love how these nametags and pom poms have added a really unique and personal touch to our stockings and holiday decor. And I think I can use these tags throughout the year – somehow, somewhere? They’re so sweet I don’t want to pack them away when the holidays are over.

Maybe you need nametags for your stockings? Or maybe you just want to try something unique for your holiday decor. I think you’ll be happy with decor that’s meaningful and intentional. Even it it takes a little longer to get there.