Ornaments

Frosted Photo Ornament (pictured above)

Materials:

*Clear plastic or glass ball ornament

*Picture

*Glitter glue

*Paintbrush

*Thread

*Needle or all purpose adhesive

*Scissors

*Ruler

*Pen

Directions:

*Measure the diameter of your ball ornament

*On the backside of your photo, draw a circle with a diameter ¼” to ½” smaller than the diameter of the ball ornament

*Either glue a piece of thread at the top of your photo (in which case you will have to wait for it to dry before proceeding) or poke a small hole in the top of the picture and tie the thread to the picture

*Center your picture around the paintbrush or some other long, thin item.  Gently wrap the picture around the handle of the paintbrush until the picture is rolled up thinly enough that it will be able to be inserted into the ornament

*While holding onto the string, slide the picture into the ornament

*Use the handle of the paintbrush to unfold and smooth out the picture

*To ensure that the picture remains upright while inside the ball, slide the piece of thread through the metal top part of the ornament.  There should be small holes where the metal loop is; you can pull the thread up through one of these.

*Place the top back on the ornament.  Pull up on the thread until the picture is dangling from the desired height, then tie the thread around the ornament hook.  Cut off any excess thread

*Using the paintbrush, spread an even coat of glitter glue across the back of the ornament, then set to dry

*Once dry, paint the front of the ornament with glitter glue, leaving a small circle through which the photo can be viewed uncoated.  Let dry

*If desired, add additional coats of glitter glue until the ball is frosty enough for your liking

Clay Ornaments

Materials:

*Multiple colors of clay (or one color of clay and acrylic paint)

*Ribbon

*All purpose adhesive

*Cookie cutters, butter knife, rolling pin, and other shaping tools (optional)

*Photos (optional)

*Baking pan

Directions:

*Mold the clay into holiday shapes.  If making photo ornaments, remove a central section of clay through which the photo will be viewable

*Bake clay according to the directions on the package

*Once the clay has been cooked and has had time to cool, glue on a loop of ribbon, which is what the ornament will hang from

*If making a photo ornament, crop the photo to a size slightly larger than the opening in the ornament.  Place a thin layer of glue on the backside of the ornament around the opening of the ornament and glue down the picture.  To protect the picture, you may want to glue on a small piece of plastic before gluing down the picture itself

Painted ornaments

Materials:

*Plain ornament

*Acrylic paint

*Acrylic paint sealer

Directions:

*Paint a scene or image onto the ornament

*Spray with paint sealer to prevent the paint from wearing away