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    Home » Decorate

    How to Make Dried Fruit Ornaments - Natural Christmas Decor

    October 22, 2018 by Patti Estep 11 Comments

    Jump to How-to Card
    Brown paper package with raffia and a sliced dried fruit stacked ornament tied on top.

    Enjoy the beauty of natural Christmas decorations when you make these easy dried fruit ornaments to adorn your tree or packages this holiday season.

    Dried fruit ornament on tree

    A couple of years ago I made a dried orange garland with orange slices, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks. This has been one of my most popular posts. It smelled wonderful when I made it. I still have it, and though the scent has faded it still looks pretty. So I thought it would be fun to decorate the tree this year with dried fruit ornaments.

    This post contains some affiliate links (that means if you make a purchase after clicking a link, there’s no additional cost to you, but I will earn a very small commission. ) i.e. as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

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    Stacks of dried fruit, cinnamon sticks and  raffia.

    How to Make Dried Fruit Ornaments

    Supplies

    • Dried fruit slices. Oranges, lemons, and limes. (try apples too)
    • 3-inch cinnamon sticks
    • Raffia

    Sliced lemons and limes on baking rack

    Making Dried Fruit Slices

    This time I used lemons and limes with a few orange slices thrown in from last year's homemade apple and orange potpourri. This variety of citrus was also perfect for making a natural dried fruit wreath.

    Originally when I dried the oranges I placed the slices directly on the oven racks. However, these citrus slices are too small for that so using a small baking/cooling rack was in order.

    Tips: Use paper towels to dab and soak up as much juice as you can before placing them in the oven. Bake in the oven on a low heat level around 200 degrees for about 3-4 hours, turning every hour until they look dry.  Keep an eye on them. If you leave them too long they may start to burn and that's not pretty. If they look good but feel a little sticky go ahead and remove them and let them sit out for a couple of days on the racks. 

    In the meantime, drill a small hole in the middle of the 3-inch cinnamon sticks. Use a scrap piece of wood underneath to protect your work surface while drilling.

    Embroidery needle in lemon slice.

    To create the ornament start by poking a hole in the fruit slices with a large needle, a wooden skewer or something like a large paper clip would work.

    Threading raffia through cinnamon stick

    Next, take a piece of raffia or ribbon about 20 inches long and fold it in half.

    Start with the loop end and thread one of the cinnamon stick through, followed by the dried fruit slices.

    Bottom of dried fruit ornaments

    Finish with another cinnamon stick, and tie a double knot at the end of the raffia.  

    Complete the dried fruit ornament by trimming any excess raffia.

    Dried fruit ornament on package

    Wouldn't they look cute on a gift package? It's a gift with a gift!

    Dried fruit ornament on Christmas tree

    You can vary the ornament with different patterns and number of slices, creating shorter or longer ornaments.

    You can also add cinnamon sticks between the slices, add dried small apple slices or other botanicals like bay leaves.

    Stacked dried fruit Christmas decoration

    Once again, dried fruits, spices, and other plant materials are so gorgeous on their own. They make it easy to create beautiful natural Christmas decorations.

    Patti signature

    More Dried Fruit Projects

    • Dried Citrus Ornaments
    • Dried Orange Garland
    • Dried Fruit Wreath
    • Apples and Orange Potpourri
    Dried fruit ornament on tree
    Print
    5 from 1 vote

    How to Make Dried Fruit Ornaments

    Enjoy the beauty of natural Christmas decorations when you make these easy dried fruit ornaments to adorn your tree or packages this holiday season.
    Prep Time4 hrs
    Active Time30 mins
    Total Time4 hrs 30 mins
    Course: Christmas Ornaments
    Yield: 12
    Author: Patti Estep
    Cost: $20

    Equipment

    • Drill
    • Large needle or paperclip
    • scissors

    Materials

    • Dried fruit slices. Oranges lemons, and limes. (try apples too)
    • 3- inch cinnamon sticks
    • Raffia ribbon

    Instructions

    • Slice and dry fruit in the oven on the lowest heat for about 2 - 4 hours, flipping every 30 minutes.
    • Drill a small hole in the middle of the cinnamon sticks
    • Poke a hole in the middle of the dried fruit slices with a large needle, paperclip, or skewer.
    • Take a piece of raffia ribbon twice the length of the desired stack size plus 4 inches and fold it in half.
    • Make a knot on the non-folded end. Thread a cinnamon stick over the folded end of the raffia and slide it down to the knot.
    • Continue threading on slices of fruit.
    • Finish with another cinnamon stick.
    • Hang your creation on the tree.

    Notes

    Oven time to dry the fruit varies. Be sure to pat off excess liquid before setting the fruit slices in the oven.
    You can also buy dried fruit slices online.
    These ornaments will darken slightly over the years but will keep well if packed well in a sealed tub.
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    About Patti Estep

    Patti is the creator of Hearth and Vine, a home and garden blog filled with projects to inspire your creative side. She loves crafting, gardening, decorating and entertaining at her home in Pennsylvania. When she is not working on a project at home or searching for treasures at nurseries and thrift stores with her girlfriends, you’ll probably find her with family and friends, at a restaurant, or home party enjoying new and different food adventures.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. lynn

      November 02, 2018 at 10:03 am

      You have completely inspired me with all your beautiful dried fruit decorations! Keep em coming!

      Reply
    2. Mary

      November 01, 2018 at 8:37 am

      Patti you know I am a fan of all your dried flowers and fruit crafts. But this one is just remarkable. I will definitely be adding this to my list of to do's!

      Reply
    3. Barbara Chapman

      October 30, 2018 at 11:43 am

      Hello Patti, dried fruit adds such a pleasant scent to any room but especially at Christmas time! Thank you for a fun tutorial on making these beautiful, natural ornaments. Happily pinning to several boards for you. <3

      Happy crafting,
      Barb 🙂

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        October 30, 2018 at 2:23 pm

        Thanks Barbara!

        Reply
    4. Kim @Serving Up Southern

      October 30, 2018 at 12:04 am

      These are adorable! I love the idea of using them as embellishments on gift packages. What a great idea for Christmas!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        October 30, 2018 at 8:28 am

        I know, right. It's fun to have a little gift to adorn your packages.

        Reply
    5. Julie Briones

      October 29, 2018 at 12:23 pm

      I love the idea of using these for package decor! I need to incorporate this into my gift wrapping!

      Reply
    6. Karen

      October 22, 2018 at 11:20 pm

      Oh, Patti, I'm getting all eager for Christmas now! The weather has finally picked up a cool breeze in the early mornings and later evenings, and now with your gorgeous project, I'm all inspired. I've got a huge dehydrator that would do perfect work of drying out some citrus slices for this project and I can imagine the house would smell amazing as they dry!

      Thanks for sharing. The kids will have a blast helping me make these - and I love the addition to packages too - truly and gift with a gift!

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        October 23, 2018 at 6:53 am

        Karen it's getting cold up here in the north too, although a little too cold. I'm glad you like the project and am thrilled to hear that you'll get your kids involved.

        Reply
    7. Carole West

      October 22, 2018 at 8:57 am

      This I love because I'm really into the natural kind of Christmas these days. This started when we lived on our farm and it has just kind of blossomed from there. I remember that garland absolutely fantastic and it inspired my fresh garland I made for the birds last year. Your tree is going to look fantastic with these ornaments. You're style is great it's simple and makes a grand presentation.

      Reply
      • Patti Estep

        October 22, 2018 at 9:20 am

        Aww thanks Carole. You are so kind. I do like it when Mother Nature does all the heavy lifting. 😉

        Reply

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