Glass Ornaments

I made these to use as gifts for our Sunday school teachers this year. They are one of those great crafts that looks really hard, but in reality just take a little bit of patience. If you use an "assembly line" they go quickly. I was able to do 20 of them start to finish in about an hour and a half.

I used one of my favorite Christmas sets from Stampin' Up called "Miracle of Christmas". I love how the baby Jesus looks so peaceful in it. The concept behind these ornaments is simple. There are a few basic supplies needed,

Clear ornaments

Acetate (or in this case I just used a plain old page protector)

Stayz-On ink (black and brown)

Alcohol ink (in a pinch you could use colored sharpies.

Ribbon (I used brown)

Thin silver cord (Very thin, mine is only a few millimeters in diameter)

Circle cutter (I used a coluzzle, but you could trace your circle or use the cutter of your choice. **a punch will not work on the page protector)

Step one:

Stamp the baby Jesus onto your page protector. I stamped several to save time.

Step two:

Using your circle cutter of choice, cut out each baby. The size you use will be determined by how large your ornament is.

Step three:

Flip your image over and color on the back. I used a paint brush with my alcohol ink. If you color on the front, the alcohol ink or sharpie will "lift" and blur the Stayz-On ink.

Step four:

Punch a 1/8 inch hole in the top of your circle. Thread a 3-4 inch piece of silver cord through. This will suspend your image in your ornament, instead of it laying on the bottom.

Step five:

This step seems tricky but is very easy. Roll your clear circle into a tube. Next, drop it into your ornament. Make sure you keep hold of your silver cord, lay the cord to one side of the opening and pop your lid in place.

Step six:

Stamp the sentiment of your choice and cut or punch it out into a tag shape. Use a fabulous ribbon to tie it to the top of your ornament. **If your ribbon is really thick, use a little piece of silver cord tied through your tag to create a loop. Then thread the ribbon through the loop first.

Congratulations! Your ornament is done. These are very striking because the image looks like it it floating in your ornament. Depending on the image you use, you could add glitter, fake snow, beads or raffia to the inside of the ornament too. **Watch for static cling! If you want to add glitter or other light objects, you should wipe your circle with an old dryer sheet before you put it inside your glass bulb.

Definitions:

Alcohol ink: acid-free, fast drying, transparent dye inks specially formulated to work on glass and metal. They also work well on Use on glossy paper, dominoes, shrink plastic, and other slick surfaces. They have the added benefit of being acid free and fade resistant so they are safe to use in scrapbooks.