I wish everyone the best and a warm thank you
as the holiday season begins!
I love making all kinds of Christmas ornaments! You can checkout a round up of some of my favorites here! For today's Creative Craft Blog Hop, hosted by Sara @Birdz of a Feather, have
I got a beautiful and elegant handcrafted ornament you will truly love It's a very simple craft with a beautiful, and I mean BEAUTIFUL finish! In a nut shell, it's a styrofoam ball wrapped in crushed velvet and covered with
crushed glass and faux pearl beads that are splashed with purple alcohol ink. Sounds
complicated? Of course not! And the best part, I'm using everything from my stash to make a few. If you're coming over from Donna @Modern on Monticello, wasn't her wood slice garland too cute and adorable!
To make a crushed glass and pearls ornament, you will need:
- Crushed velvet fabric scraps
- Pan top (9.5")or something round for template
- Styrofoam ball - 3"
- Rubber band (small)
- Bow wire
- Crushed glass
- Faux pearls
- Alcohol inks
- Parchment paper
- Plastic cup & spoon
- Clear silicone glue
How To:
So let's begin with how to make this lovely ornament! I had a bit of crushed velvet fabric left over from a Christmas tree skirt I made several years ago and I thought the fabric was perfect since it's soft and stretchable to make beautiful ornaments for my recently purchased purple flocked slim tree. I got it with a 20% off discount for $47.99 from Bed Bath and Beyond. It looks tall but it's only 4.5 ft. high. Target has it for $82.99, so I got a good price from BBB, but I digress!
First, lay the fabric out and use the top of a fry pan or something that's 9.5 inches round to make a template of a circle . . .that is large enough to cover a 3 inch styrofoam ball. I was able to cut five circles out of the leftover velvet. Next, place the ball in the middle of the circle and . . .pull the edges up and around the ball, gathering at the top. Grab a small rubber band, doubling it around the top to hold the fabric in place. Then fold a 15" piece of Bowdabra bow wire or twine together to make a loop. Wrap the looped wire around the gathered fabric and insert the two loose ends into the loop, pulling the wire ends tightly around the fabric. Separate the wire ends around the gathered fabric, tightening it and tying in a tight knot to secure the gathered fabric. This technique is great when you don't have extra hands available to help with tying.Next, pull the velvet fabric up through the bow wire to smooth out any large folds or creases and to make the velvet ball as smooth as possible. Next, cut off some of the gathered fabric, leaving about an inch of decorative folds at the top. The excess bow wire can be cut off at the knot.
Let's move on to the crushed glass which was probably left over from projects I did here and here. For this, I'm going to mix the crushed glass with alcohol ink! First, pour enough of the crushed glass to decorate a few ornaments into a plastic cup or throw-away container. Then place several drops of alcohol ink on top of the crushed glass and stir together, Alcohol ink gives off an intense coloring and is a great way to customize crushed glass into my favorite hues of purple! Hot dang! This is what the color looked like after a few drops and . . .then adding a bit more to achieve this lovely effect! I did the same with some of my faux pearls I had left over from this project, too! And it doesn't take long for the alcohol ink to dry, either. Once it was mixed thoroughly to a shade I liked, I poured the colored glass onto parchment paper to dry and there was no staining of the paper to my surprise. Doesn't this color look vibrant!Next, spread clear silicone glue around the bow wire and below in a decorative effect.Then use a plastic spoon to spread the colorful crushed glass over the glue.And use the back of the spoon to press the glass into the glue. Let dry.The larger pearls can be hand placed with a little glue on one side and placed randomly throughout the crushed glass.
To make the hanging loop, fold a ten inch strip of bow wire tying the loose ends together into a knot. Spread a bit of glue on the knot and place in the middle of the gathered folds at the top. Use the sharp tip of scissors to push the wire knot into the center of the foam ball, straightening the loop and let the glue set.
How pretty is this!
Next up is Terri @Decorate & More with Tip sharing how she made her beautiful Christmas candle holder!Be sure to have fun and get inspired with all of the wonderful creations offered this month by clicking on the links below!
Donna @Modern on Monticello - Wood Slice Merry Christmas Garland
Gail @Purple Hues and Me - Crushed Glass and Pearls Ornament
Terri @Decorate & More with Tip - Christmas Candle Holder Tutorial
Sara @Birdz of a Feather - Origami Shirt Advent Calendar
Cecilia @My Thrift Store Addition - Vintage Hankie Ornaments - No Sewing or Cutting!
