As promised, there is a giveaway in the works this weekend! A mixed batch of Bundled Up products is up for grabs, just in time for the holidays! To join in on the festivities, tell us your handmade ornament idea, or mention an idea that you love and are considering trying either this year, or next! You have until Sunday, December 15th (8:00pm Central Time) to comment. On Monday, December 16th, we'll announce the winner and the winning idea on our blog.
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It seems like every year presents it's own unique handmade ornament challenge. As Crate Paper's Design Team Coordinator the last five years, there has always been a request for handmade ornaments come the holiday season. It's become a tradition of sorts that I thoroughly enjoy. And so, once again, I reinvented the ornament using Crate's 2013 Winter/holiday collection, Bundled Up.
They're a regular feature at crafts store; plastic clear bulbs with silver ornate tops. The minute I spot on them on the shelf, I feel immediately inclined to buy a bunch. I contemplate idea after idea as to how to decorate them. The nearby glazes always seem like a decent option, but I prefer to not use my oven while crafting. This year, with the whole spray paint craze movement in full swing, I figured it might be worth a shot to apply spray paint directly to the bulbs, painting the back of each one a single hue. I even learned a trick or two in the process...
As you might be able to tell, the backs were decorated with either painted lines or dots prior to my spray painting the bulbs. To accomplish this, I hand painted a pattern on the backside of each bulb using a medium rounded brush and white acrylic paint. I then spotted a safe area and spray painted over the patterning in a back and forth motion. The paint took about ten minutes to dry (a second coat is recommended).
Now, one thing you might be wondering is how to prevent the paint from covering or splattering the front portion of the bulb. The trick is to try and paint around the area. Any paint that happens to reach the front can easily be removed with Goo Gone. No Kidding! It's an easy enough solution and one I'm grateful for! Just rub it on the affected area and watch it disappear. AMAZING!
The ornament "tops" required painting as well, so I applied an even layer of gold spray paint to each one.
Finally, I stuffed them silly with plastic snow, clear and colored glitter, tiny hand-cut trimmings and 2.5" x 2.5" B/W photos. I embellished the tops with layered tags using metallic/vanilla twine to hold them in place.
Inside this ornament are cut-out Christmas tree's from Crate's Bundled Up collection. Kinda fun, eh?
And there are snowflakes in this one! Cute!
There is running theme here throughout; pretty pink glitter in various shades! Before bringing this post to an official close, a bonus tip is in order!
I'm a BIG fan of American Crafts' "This and That Super Sticky Red Tape". For the purpose of glitter application. I use it all the time. It's ideal for creating glittery linear lines across any given surface. In this case, I applied the tape and glitter to my tags. This particular tag is a mix of gold gel pen and glittered diagonal lines.
First, draw a series of diagonal lines on a medium manila tag using a gold gel pen and a ruler. Make sure to leave at last a 1/2" of open space between each line. Fill in the open space with strips of 1/4" red tape. Cut off any excess, remove the red covering and apply a sizable helping of dark peach glitter (or whatever color you like).
This is the final product! Embellish it with something small so as to avoid covering up all that pretty glitter.
I wish all of you a safe and happy holiday! I'll return next week with yet another Bundled Up DIY project! Have a great weekend!