warmhotchocolate

Glass, Paper, Glitter: DIY Ornaments

We’re putting up our Christmas tree soon, and while there’s no shortage of ornaments waiting to adorn it, I like to make a few new ones every year. Last year, Jenna and I made these clay glitter ornaments, but now that she’s older, we’re trying out something a little more advanced (advanced = messy and breakable).

We started with a box of clear glass ball-shaped ornaments, decorative paper, glue, glitter, tape and a Xyron sticker machine.

Design #1: Paper Lines

I started by cutting decorative paper into large strips (approximately 1″ x 12″) and running them through a Xyron sticker machine to give them an adhesive backing. Next, I cut these into extremely thin strips of paper.
I removed the adhesive backing from the thin strips of paper and wrapped them around the glass balls, letting the paper overlap in places. 

I continued to wrap the strips until I ended up with a design that I liked. I used approximately 5 strips per ornament.

Design #2: Polka Dots

I used some of the leftover paper with the adhesive backing to create confetti with a hole punch.

I removed the adhesive backing and placed the dots on the ornament.

Design #3: Glitter

Now here’s the messy part …

I started by placing strips of Martha Stewart masking tape around several ornaments. 

I painted a thin layer of glue around the center part of the ornament and then let Jenna go to town with the glitter. I used a shallow pan to catch the excess glitter. Surprisingly, very little glitter ended up on the floor.I threaded yarn through the top of the ornaments and then taped the yarn to the side of a table while the glue dried.Once the glue was dry, I removed the tape. I’m not sure if it’s because I didn’t press down hard enough on the tape or if we just put too thick a layer of glitter on the ornaments, but the tape did not come off neatly. As a result, our lines are a little “organic.”