I started by finding a shape that I liked. This is the image I used:
Then I just printed it out full sized on a regular piece of printer paper. I think that was the perfect size for a larger ornament on the Christmas tree.
I use the cheapest plywood available for most of my wood projects because they are decorative and aren't going to be taking a beating or anything. One giant sheet costs like $13. I was able to use some scrap pieces I had around. When I do my wood cuts, I stack 3 sheets of plywood; so, you are able to get 3 anchor ornaments per cut. Each cut took me about 30 minutes.
To do the actual cutting, I clamp 3 sheets of plywood together, tape the paper with the image to the wood, and just follow along the lines with my jigsaw. For subsequent sets of anchors, I just use a pre-cut one as a template and trace it onto a new piece of wood with pencil.
After they're all cut, be sure and sand the edges. Just to get rid of any visible splintering.
I just couldn't decide on a color for these bad boys! First, I painted them all white. They looked good on the tree that way, but then I was bringing in so much silver - and I was hard pressed to find blue ornaments....so then I painted them navy blue. They looked good by themselves, but they seemed to get lost in the Christmas tree. I was super disappointed and contemplated just painting them white again.
Being the stubborn gal that I am, I was determined to keep them blue, so as you see above I added some hemp accents (which I wanted to add when they were white, but it didn't show up enough to be worth the effort). The rope looked awesome against the blue, but they still didn't pop off of the tree like I wanted. Finally I got the idea to just outline them in white. It was super easy, I just used a paint marker and went all along the edges.
Perfect - finally! I love the end result, and they look even more nautical with the extra accents. I also added a bit of variety by wrapping the hemp rope in varying designs.
P.S. sorry I don't have more pictures of the actual process. It's hard for one person to do all the work and take pictures along the way!