I recently created a bunch of these ornaments......
I participate in an annual handmade ornament swap and every year there is a different theme.
This year's theme was "Traditional"and I knew I would go with a reindeer motif.....I am reindeer OBSESSED!
For me traditional means traditional icons (santa, trees, reindeer, elves, stars, etc) but also traditional materials. So I incorporated antique book pages cut into strips to use as decopauge material.
Below is my step by step, along with tips/tricks (read: what I found the hard way is the wrong thing to do)
It would be so easy to put your own personal spin on this ornament - I already have plans to make more!
I think mongrammed ornaments would make a great personalized gift!
Gather:
- 3" Smoothfoam Balls
- Decoupage Medium
- Glitter (I used Heidi Swapp Marquee Love, it is awesome to work with!)
- Ribbon / Twine (cut into 20" lengths)
- Jingle Bells
- Card stock scraps for image silhouette
- Vintage/antique book pages, sheet music or newspaper cut into small strips
- Spray Sealer (I used Krylon Satin Finish)
Tools:
- Paper cutter
- Scissors
- Foam paint brushes
- Drill to make hole through styro ball
- Wooden BBQ Skewers to hold smoothfoam balls while decoupaging and drying (also used to push ribbon through hole in ornament
Optional:
- Baby wipes to clean your hands frequently and keep your project pristine!
- Mason jars - to hold in project in process
- Reindeer Die (I used Tim Holtz Mini Reindeer + 25 Die)
- Cuttlebug or other die cutting machine
Tip / Trick: I used a die for my reindeer - - but it would be so easy and so very charming to hand cut a tree, star or over sized monogram to use on this ornament!
I began this project by poking a BBQ skewer into my Smoothfoam styro ball - this gave me a way to hold the ball while working on it, and then also to put in a mason jar to hold while drying
Pour your decoupage medium in a bowl and start brushing the decoupage medium onto your smoothfoam ball - - then start applying strips of book pages / newspaper. After SEVERAL layers of book pages were applied, I let dry for about 10 minutes and then I applied my Christmas Icon in the same manor.
Tip/Trick: I found it was much more efficient when I used my fingers to apply paper strips once the initial layer of decoupage medium was applied
Tip/Trick #2: I was originally going to use RED silhouettes on my ornaments, I quickly learned that the card stock I was using just bled all over the ornament (test your paper for "bleed") - - so I had to put another layer of book paper on and switch to a different card stock.
I let my decoupage dry overnight.
Then it was time to drill. I let my hubs drill a hole through the smoothfoam ball. Not that I am not capable, but I tend to over think placement and it takes forever - - hubs drilled all of them in under 2 mins.
I then "strung" the ornaments on a long, thin dowel and took them outside. I sprayed them with Krylon Satin Finish, sprinkled a good dash of glitter on them and then sprayed another heavy coat of the Krylon sealer. I did this step a little at a time spray, sprinkle, spray - turn stick - spray sprinkle, spray, etc. until I had glitter on all sides.
While I let the sealer dry, I cut my ribbon into 20" lengths and strung them through the jingle bell. Once the ornaments were ready, I placed the ribbon halves together and pushed from bottom of ornament to the top using the wooden skewer. Once the ribbon was through the ornament I adjusted and pulled tight. I knotted the ribbon at the top of ornament and again at ends of ribbon, cut at an angle and applied Helmar Fray Stoppa to prevent ribbon from fraying. With a lot of ribbons you can just run a lighter quickly across the cut ends to seal.
For packaging, I used a cellophane treat bag from the craft store, hemp twine and a pre-made tag from the candy / baking aisle of the craft store. I created labels on the computer to attach to the tag and voila! easy and rustic wrap!
Thanks for stopping by - - next post will be recap of the ornaments I receive in the swap!
