Bright Red Cranberry Balls
you'll need:
Paint the foam balls with the red acrylic paint. Glue a
loop of ribbon to each ball for a hanger. Use a hot-glue gun to attach
cranberries or wooden beads, covering the foam ball completely. |
Snow-Dipped Ornaments
you'll need:
Pour a small amount of white paint onto a piece of
waxed paper or a paper plate. Dip a dampened sea sponge into the paint,
then pat it on a piece of scrap paper to remove the excess paint. Pat the
sponge onto an ornament, being careful not to cover the ball entirely. Tie
a length of jute between two supports and hang the ball to dry.
For a solid snow effect, submerge the bottom half of an
ornament in the paint, holding the ball at an angle. Let the excess paint
drip back into the can. Hang the ornament to dry. |
Handprint Coasters for Kids
you'll need:
- Green and red tempera paint
- paper plates
- foam brush
- heavy craft paper
- clear contact paper
- small gift tags
Pour enough red paint onto a paper plate to over a hand and a foot
of a small child. Repeat this step for the green paint. Taking your foam
brush, lightly paint one child's hands with paint. After covered, place
hand onto heavy craft paper for a hand print. Alternating colors, repeat
this step for remaining hand and both feet. When paint is dry, write
child's name and date on them. Cover with clear contact paper and trim
them in a circular shape around prints. On a small gift tag, attach the
following poem:
"I know my
hands are little and sometimes make a mess,
So I've made
for your some coasters to give your drinks a rest.
Now Merry
Christmas, Mom and Dad (or whomever),
It's kind of
funny, can't you see?
Now I'll be
helping you, by putting the mess on me!"
|
Pine Cone Angels
you'll need:
Use a pine cone for the body, an acorn for the head,
milkweed pods for the wings. Or if you can't get milkweed pods, cut some
wings out of construction paper or and thick paper like cardboard. Add pipe
cleaners for arms and a golf tee for a trumpet. Use tack glue to glue the
various parts together. Glue a hanger on the back and spray paint the whole
angel gold. |
Life Savers Tree Trimmers
you'll need:
Preheat oven to 350º. Line cookie sheet with vegetable cooking
spray. Fill inside of cookie cutters with a single layer of Life Savers, using
as many as will fit. Fill edges and points with crushed Life Savers. Bake 5
minutes, until candies have melted. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 2
minutes. Push cookie cutter down hard to cut off candy that leaked outside of
cutter. Make a hole in each ornament with a chopstick or straw. Continue cooling
until cutters can be handled. Gently pull cutters away from ornaments. Thread
with ribbon and hang.
Kids love this tasty edible ornament. 2 bags of five flavor Life
Saver candies will become 10-12 ornaments.
|
Hand Painted Christmas Ornaments
you'll need:
- Clear glass ornaments
- Gold puff paint
- Ultra-fine glitter
- Dry brush
- Gold metallic ribbon, 1" wide
- Craft glue
- Pearlescent ornaments
- Sea sponge
Use puff paint to add dots, squiggly line and evenly spaced lines all
over the ornament. Try dotted spirals and vertical lines too. While still
damp, dust with glitter. Hang to dry. When glitter is dry, remove excess
with a dry brush. Tie a gold metallic ribbon to the hanger. Vary the ribbon
color to coordinate with the glitter hue, or add a contrasting ribbon for
interesting effects.
For the pearlescent ornament, coat craft glue light onto the surface
with a sea sponge. Use a random pattern to achieve the most attractive
effect. While still damp, dust with glitter. Discard glitter residue. Hang
to dry. Put several of these in a clear glass bowl for a nice effect.
|
Christmas Bells
you'll need:
- 2 clean, dry yogurt plastic yogurt containers or 8 ounce Styrofoam
cups
- Paper plate or palette
- Acrylic craft paints - gold metallic and red
- Crackle finish
- Small Flat paint brush
- 3 red pipe cleaners (chenille stems)
- six 1/2" jingle bells
- white (tacky) glue
- two 2 or 4 hole buttons
- craft scissors or wire cutters
- nylon thread
Place small amounts of paint on paper plate or palette as
needed. Apply additional coats as needed but allow complete
drying between each coat.
Paint the entire surface, inside and out, of each container. Let dry.
Paint buttons and bells metallic gold. Let dry. Apply crackle finish to the
outside of one container, following the manufacturer's directions. Then
apply red paint to the outside of the that same container. Let Dry. Cut
one pipe cleaner in half. Fold one length in half. Thread ends of pipe
cleaner through a button from back to front. Then fold the ends towards the
center making two loops to look like a bow. Twist the ends close to the
button to secure the bow. Repeat, using the other half of the pipe
cleaner and the other button. Invert each container and glue the
flat side of the button centered onto the bottom of each container.
Thread three bell onto center of one remaining pipe cleaner. Gently fold
pipe cleaner in half and twist ends together, making a 4" long loop.
Repeat, using remaining pipe cleaner and bells. Glue ends of pipe cleaner to
inside bottom of containers, allowing bells to extend about one inch below
container. Finally, tie a loop of nylon thread to bow for
hanger. Hang on tree and enjoy!
|
Make Natural Ornaments
you'll need:
-
Towel
-
tacky glue or a low temperature glue gun
-
find naturals such as acorn caps, leaves, miniature rosebuds,
flower petals, etc.
-
plastic foam ball
-
6" pieces of coordinating cord
-
pencil
Use towel to hold the plastic-foam ball while you
work. Use glue to cover the ball with your naturals, use only one
natural for each ball. Let dry completely. To form a loop, poke a hold in
the ball with a pencil. Cut a 6" coordinating cord, loop it, then
poke into the hole with a pencil. Glue securely in place and let dry. Use
these balls to decorate a doorway, mantel or table. Place several
different kinds in a bowl for a unique centerpiece.
|
Quick & Fun
|
Look
for miniature pails in crafts stores. Tuck in kumquats and a sprig of red
berries for a quick handmade ornament. |
Holiday ornaments in rich jewel tones become one-of-a-kind originals when
touched with gold. To create gilded designs, use a permanent metallic gold
marking pen to make swirls, squiggles or other decorative marks. Use a thin,
gold ribbon as a hanger to set off the gold decor. |
For a
nice decoration or centerpiece. Get 8 fresh or artificial pears. Use spray
paint or metal leaf (from a crafts store) to gild pears. For a softer gold,
brush the gilded pear with brown acrylic paint, quickly wiping off most of
the paint to tone down the color but not cover it. Put in a bowl and
enjoy! (Fresh pairs are not suitable for eating after they've been gilded) |
|