December 14 -- Two Easy Ornaments

Two Easy Ornaments

Here are a couple of fun projects to do with children -- although I must admit I often have had fun making these and other ornaments all by myself! We have such a huge, full tree this year that I may well be making a few extra ornaments to help fill it up. First, we have:

Juice-Can Lid Ornaments

The supplies you will need are simple:

* Lids saved from cans of frozen juice/lemonade/iced tea (Lids should be washed and completely dry)

* Scraps of Christmas wrapping paper

* Pen or pencil

* Decorative holiday cords and trims (Walmart craft department is a great source for these)

* White glue

* Paintbrush

* Clear glitter (optional)

* Ribbon (optional)

* Thin gold cord, hot glue gun/sticks (to make hanging loop)

Place your lid on the wrapping paper and trace around it. Depending upon the pattern of the wrapping paper, you may want to center a motif in the circle you're making. Cut out the circle and glue it to the lid -- the outside of the lid, the side with a nice rim around it. Then use a paintbrush (I like to get the foam type for this) to paint a coat of glue over the picture as well. If you want your ornament to sparkle, this is the time to sprinkle on some glitter. Allow the glue to dry.

Take a piece of decorative cord or trim and glue it around the inside of the lid's rim. If you start at the top or bottom of your motif, you can very easily cover the spot where the ends of the cord meet with a small bow, ribbon rose, or whatever. (As mentioned, Walmart has many different such cords or trims available this time of the year. I have shiny red/gold cord, red/green, blue/silver, etc. I always buy these after Christmas when they are very inexpensive... but the full price is really quite reasonable. Another good source for such cord and trims is Home-Sew or Newark Dressmaker Supply.) Allow the glue to dry.

For the hanging loop, make a loop from the thin gold cord and knot the ends together. Use hot glue to glue the knot to the center top on the back of the juice can lid. Let dry and hang on your Christmas tree!

Second, you could try:

Foam Ball Ornaments

You need:

Foam balls -- either styrofoam or a smooth foam (my pick) -- 2-inch diameter or less

Scraps of Christmas wrapping paper

Mod Podge

Foam paint brush

Glitter (optional)

Straight pins

Glue

Gold (or another color) cord for hanging

Narrow ribbon (optional) in colors that coordinate with your wrapping paper

I saw some balls similar to these years ago at a Christmas shop. I decided to figure out how to make them.

Make a hanging loop with gold or another color of cord. Knot the loop. Dip a straight pin in glue and push the pin through the knot and then into the foam ball.


Next, cut or tear your wrapping paper scraps to a size that will fit around the ball you are using. (Each ball should be made with only one design of wrapping paper.) Coat the ball with Mod Podge. Adhere the wrapping paper to the ball until it looks the way you want it to. Paint the entire ball with a coat of Mod Podge.

Now, you will need to find a way to hang your ornaments until the Mod Podge dries. I used a wooden spoon with the spoon part weighted down on a table and the handle extending out to hang the ornaments from. It might also work to pin them to a clothesline, if you have one in a protected place.

When the Mod Podge is dry, add another coat. Repeat until the ball looks the way you want it to. If you like, sprinkle glitter over the final coat of Mod Podge. You may also like to make a coordinating small bow out of narrow ribbon and glue it to the top of the ball when the Mod Podge dries.

When the ornaments are completely dry, hang them on your Christmas tree!

(I don't know if there are other people out there who love Christmas wrapping paper as much as I do, but we tend to save even our smallest scraps and wrap the stocking presents in them. Some papers I just hate to say goodbye to, they are so pretty. These ornaments provide an opportunity to keep some of your favorite papers indefinitely.)

Have fun with these ideas!