I love making ornaments for Christmas and ribbon is one of my favorite materials to use. So I thought I would make a ribbon wrapped ornament for Janet @ Try It, Like It, Create It, my ornament exchange partner for this year's Christmas Ornament Exchange Challenge!
The rules of the challenge were simple: be partnered with a fellow blogger, create a handmade ornament for $15 or under, create a tutorial, and ship the ornament off to a new home!
Janet's style was pretty much open to anything since she doesn't decorate to a theme or color scheme for Christmas. How cool is that for me! I thought she would love red and gold ribbon which would blend in for most holiday decor. The design of the ornament might look intricate but it's really quite simple!
Materials:
- Smooth Styrofoam ball - 3"
- Sandpaper
- Double-sided tape
- 1/4" Ribbon - 6+yds.
- 5/8" Gold decorative ribbon
- Gold beaded trim
- Scissors
- Fabric glue
First, there is usually a ridge midway around the smooth styrofoam ball that needs to be sanded away, and then wiping off any residue afterwards. Next wrap the ball with double sided tape. Start at the center end, down, around, and back to the starting point. And finally run the tape across the middle, until ends meet.
*FYI, don't use dollar store double sided tape like I did. I thought it would be the same as what I used here, but it was not as soft, didn't lay as flat around the curves and was a bit crispy. I didn't realize this until I was midway through.
Next, place the end of the 1/4" ribbon on top of the tape at the top center and start wrapping the ball down and around, back to the starting point, and then slightly moving to the left or right (it doesn't matter), overlapping the edge of the ribbon . . .
down and around and crisscrossing at the center top and bottom. Continue following the ribbon edge, pulling ribbon down to the bottom, crisscrossing ribbon, and back up to starting point, crisscrossing again.
Be sure that the edges of the ribbon touches the tape, smoothing it out and straightening any areas as you wrap.
Also check to make sure you are covering the styrofoam ball as you wrap and there are "no open" spots. Quickly lift the ribbon to smooth out or straighten overlapping areas if you make a mistake while wrapping or the ribbon moves out of place.
Continue wrapping ribbon down while overlapping edges, crisscrossing and up again, overlapping edges until the ball is completely covered. Then end the ribbon at the top starting area, cutting off excess and while holding taut, glue down with a small dab of glue.
Next, to make the hanging loop, cut an 8" piece of 1/4" ribbon or wider, folding in half. Place a dab of glue between the ribbon about an inch from the ends and press together. Let dry.
Open the ends of the ribbon out from the glued spot, and place glue on both sides of the inside ends. Press down ribbon ends at the center top and hold in place. Let dry.
For the ribbon flower trim, cut 25 - four inch pieces of 5/8" decorative ribbon. Fold in half, forming a loop and glue ends together.
Place loops in the 3, 6. 9 and 12 positions and glue in place - then add additional loops overlapping the first row, second row, etc. until . . .
the area is completely filled in with ribbon loops forming a cute flower.
For the center, cut off a strip of beaded trim and wrap around the bottom of the ribbon loop, gluing in place.
I made an explosion card box to place the ornament in as a special surprise for Janet. You can find the tutorial for the basic construction of an explosion card box here.
The party is open from November 16 to December 16 - one whole month of holiday goodies! Join us by sharing your ideas and inspirations for the holidays and be sure to visit all the wonderful link-ups throughout the month!
