5th Day Of Christmas: Ornaments

When I spent my first Christmas with my husband Marcus (boyfriend at the time) last year, I was in total awe of the box of ornaments he pulled out of storage. They were all hand-made ornaments his mom had made throughout his childhood. They were made with ribbon, scrap material, sequins, and beads. Many of them had old jewelry pieces and broaches as well. They were just gorgeous! Take a look yourself...

Photo compliments of Marcus Edwards Photography

With this being our first "official" Christmas as a family, I wanted to carry on the tradition. My daughter Rheya Lee and I had a blast. Here's how you can make these beautiful, custom ornaments...

Craft Supplies Needed: Styrofoam balls, beads, ribbon, sequin, old jewelry, push pins and/or sequin pins, and scissors.  Option supplies: Glitter, Mod Podge, acrylic paint, paint brushes, kabab sticks. — Craft Supplies Needed: Styrofoam balls, beads, ribbon, sequin, old jewelry, push pins and/or sequin pins, and scissors. Option supplies: Glitter, Mod Podge, acrylic paint, paint brushes, kabab sticks.

Who doesn't love gold right now?!  We got a small pack of gold sequin and a variety pack of sequin that included small to large and a variety of colors. — Who doesn't love gold right now?! We got a small pack of gold sequin and a variety pack of sequin that included small to large and a variety of colors.

A variety of ribbon.  Thinner ribbons work the best.  If you have enough time to plan ahead, I wait until Hobby Lobby has 50% off their ribbons.  I also pick up sale ribbon or ribbon at garage sales through out the year. — A variety of ribbon. Thinner ribbons work the best. If you have enough time to plan ahead, I wait until Hobby Lobby has 50% off their ribbons. I also pick up sale ribbon or ribbon at garage sales through out the year.

A variety of beads.  Again, I shop for these throughout the year when I can find them on sale. — A variety of beads. Again, I shop for these throughout the year when I can find them on sale.

These are just regular pins.  Some of the sequin have larger holes so these wont work.  You will also need to get either the push pins with the beads at the end or actual sequin pins found with the sequin in most stores. — These are just regular pins. Some of the sequin have larger holes so these wont work. You will also need to get either the push pins with the beads at the end or actual sequin pins found with the sequin in most stores.

If you aren't planning on fully covering your ornament with ribbon and beads, opt for painting it first either with acrylic paints or a mix of glitter and Mod Podge.

Instead of throwing away your jewelry when it breaks, keep ahold of it and use it for craft projects.  Jewels work great to make ornaments.  My favorite ornaments of Marcus' mom are the ones with big broaches or bracelets wrapped around th… — Instead of throwing away your jewelry when it breaks, keep ahold of it and use it for craft projects. Jewels work great to make ornaments. My favorite ornaments of Marcus' mom are the ones with big broaches or bracelets wrapped around them. We actually temporarily took some of the broaches of the ornaments for our wedding to use in the bouquet.

Styrofoam balls.  These come in a variety of sizes so take your pick!  We have a variety but used the 4in balls for this project.  You can see this pack of 6 was $4.77 at Hobby Lobby but I pull up hobbylobby.com on my phone while chec… — Styrofoam balls. These come in a variety of sizes so take your pick! We have a variety but used the 4in balls for this project. You can see this pack of 6 was $4.77 at Hobby Lobby but I pull up hobbylobby.com on my phone while checking out and use a 40% coupon. It's a very bad thing Hobby Lobby is right down the street from my house! You can also try save-on-crafts.com. We're ready to get started!

Here you can see we mixed a gold glitter with Mod Podge and painted the whole ball.

It got a little messy so it dawned on me to shove a kabob stick it the ball while painting it and then putting it in a container/glass while it dries.

Here's Rheya creating an ornament with wrapping ribbon around the ball.  When using ribbon, you can definitely just use regular pins.  I recommend 3-4 pins to secure each ribbon. — Here's Rheya creating an ornament with wrapping ribbon around the ball. When using ribbon, you can definitely just use regular pins. I recommend 3-4 pins to secure each ribbon.

Here's one of my ornaments in the beginning phase.  Three pieces of ribbon wrapped around.  I then secured the edges on both sides by using a gold sequin, pearl bead a push pin.  I eyeballed it to evenly space the pins. — Here's one of my ornaments in the beginning phase. Three pieces of ribbon wrapped around. I then secured the edges on both sides by using a gold sequin, pearl bead a push pin. I eyeballed it to evenly space the pins.

Here is that ornament finished.  After I secured the edges of the ribbon, I did the green sequin, gold sequin, pin combination all around, slightly overlapping them so the foam wouldn't show.  Next I used a gold sequin ribbon.  I star… — Here is that ornament finished. After I secured the edges of the ribbon, I did the green sequin, gold sequin, pin combination all around, slightly overlapping them so the foam wouldn't show. Next I used a gold sequin ribbon. I started in the center and spiraled it out to the green, pinning in a few spots along the way. You can see the pins if you look closely. Next I , I used a gold sequin, green sequin, pearl, pin combo in the center of the gold ribboning. I outlined that with a gold sequin, pearl, pin combo. To finish it, I added the hanging jewel and the "hanger". When doing these, make sure to use a few extra pins or even a small nail for added security.

And here are our finished ornaments from our project day.  (You can see Rheya Lee lost interest about half way through, ha!)  The possibilities are endless! — And here are our finished ornaments from our project day. (You can see Rheya Lee lost interest about half way through, ha!) The possibilities are endless!

It was a lot of fun to do and I can see how this could be added to a Christmas tradition for many! Hope you like this one. If anyone ends up creating their own, please send me a picture. I would love to see! janierocek@gmail.com

The Beautiful CrapJanie EdwardsDecember 17, 2013christmas ornaments1 Comment