Every year my friend Amy and I attempt to make some sort of Christmas tree ornament with the kiddies. Last year we made cinnamon applesauce ornaments.
This year our ornaments were simply going to be throw-color-and-sparkles-into-glass-balls-and-write-kids’-names-and-year-on-back ornaments. But when we got knee-deep into the project, we realized that the balls were not coming out the way we had intended – more solid in color and not nearly as translucent. So we switched it up mid-project and decided to add some snowmen to the finished ornaments.
We started out with regular old empty glass ornaments –
We took the tops out of each ball and set them aside –
We used several different colors of alcohol ink –
And one ball at a time, added ink and rolled it around until the entire inside of the ornament was coated in color –
Each ball was then placed upside down on top of an old jar. They sat on the jar for 20 minutes or so, until all of the excess ink drained out –
Next we added some iridescent glitter into the ball and shook it until it clung to much of the inside –
We popped the tops back into the balls and let them sit and dry overnight (though waiting that long probably was not necessary).
The next day, using white paint, I had Lily dip a finger in the paint and guided her finger into a snowman shape on the ball.
We let these dry for several hours –
I then went back with a black and orange Sharpie marker and drew on some snowman attributes. I’m still debating on whether or not to add buttons in a different color.
I tied some ribbon around the top to hang the ornament from and voila! Super super cute gift for grandparents, aunts, etc (plus of course one or two for us to keep). I will write Lily’s name and 2012 on the back of each one.
