It’s Ornament Thursday!

Wow…this week is flying by and with all the excitement of the BeadStar contest announcement, I’m a bit late with an ornament for this week’s Ornament Thursday…and again, it’s not one I made! Next week I’ll have one of my own.

 

Today’s ornament is amazing in my opinion. It’s huge: 4″ in diameter. And it was made just for me by a bunco friend, Diane Baldo, for our Secret Santa exchange. We decided to exchange ornaments instead of traditional gifts this year and Diane made this one specially for me! She’s a crafty scrapbooking gal and I was so touched with the thought she put into this.

 

The glass ball is sturdy…I have no fear it will get bumped around and break, but it is heavy so it might be a display ornament for me this year until I arrange a “perch” or nest on a branch to support it.

It’s filled with seed beads and then an assortment of other beads: A pearl, a letter “L” bead, a handmade glass bead, a turquoise bead, some crystals and vintage Czech beads, Murano glass, and even one that looks like bone! Diane put little bits of “me” in that ornament and I’ll treasure it! My name and “2008″ is also on the ornament in transfer material.

Enjoy the other great posts and projects from the Ornament Thursday Gang:

Cindy Gimbrone Puts Up Her Xmas Tree!
Fused Glass Xmas tree ornament sparkles from Cindy’s real Xmas tree.

Friendly Plastic Ornaments and Sew simple mittens
This week in the countdown to Christmas, Michelle shares her recipe for Friendly Plastic Ornaments and Helen sews another tree ornament

Gingham and beads and buttons, oh my
Counterchanges smocked gingham forms the foundation for this homespun ornament

HHH Enterprises
We are pleased to have this special guest join us this month!

New Beaded Ornament
See our special guest’s beautiful creation!

Secret Garden Christmas Tree Ornament
Michelle’s got a special tree from the Botanicabella collection!

Strands of Beads
Melissa shows off a simple winter rose bracelet project this week.

 

 

Holiday Ornaments Finale!

I was a bit late to the party this year but I’ll be on my game next year (and I’ll probably drag out the tree entry again since everyone seemed to like it…

This is an ornament from several years back, made by my daughter (with some help from mom). At one point I had every shade of the fabric paint known to man (and probably still do, though I bet they don’t flow anymore!).

This is a simple one, but be prepared to figure out how to let them dry in advance! I hadn’t planned that out and ended up using an egg carton…do-able but it requires leaving a gap to paint over later. Now I would add the ornament hanger and hang them off the ironwork on a metal armoire (hh….they would look nice adorning that anway!)

Backing up to the directions. Take clear or frosted ornaments from a craft store (or Target) and practice your artwork with liquid fabric paints, craft paints in tubes, or glitter glue in tubes. Let dry overnight according to paint directions. We have a set in gold and also a set in jewel tones!

Next season I promise to play with new ornaments!

Here are links for some other great ornaments. Take a look!

Christmas cookie Jennifer Heynen http://www.jenniferjangles.blogspot.com/
Christmas tree finger labyrinth Hali Chambers http://www.labyrinthgal.blogspot.com/

Ring in the New Year Kriss Kramer http://www.art-interrupted.blogspot.com/
Quilty pieced snowman Linda Augsburg http://cs.makeitminemag.com/mimcs/blogs/makeitmine/
Beaded memory wire Elaine Luther http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com/news
Wire & beaded tree Lynn Kvigne http://beading.consumerhelpweb.com/blog/
Beaded sun catcher Debba Haupert http://www.girlfriendologytoo.blogspot.com/
Jolly and yummy ceramic candy Melanie Brooks Lukacs http://earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/
Polymer snowflake embedded in resin Melissa Lee http://www.strandsofbeads.blogspot.com/
Beaded candy canes Candie Cooper http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/
Polymer clay gift tag/ornament Heather Powers http://www.polymerclay.craftgossip.com/
Twisted blues – Lampwork Diva aka Cindy Gimbrone http://lampworkdiva.blogspot.com/
Holiday spiral tree & party pixie Art Bead Scene http://www.artbeadscene.com/
Wire bird’s nest Rebecca Peck http://vintagegirlmodernworld.wordpress.com/
Plush gingerbread doggie Jenny Harada http://pomly.livejournal.com/
Swell ornament Alexa Westerfield http://swelldesigner.blogspot.com/
Holiday paper crafting Brandy Lung Gill http://accesstoexcess.blogspot.com/

Shaving cream & chipboard ornament Michelle McGee http://fromichelle.blogspot.com/
Easy needle-felted orb Katie Hacker http://www.katiehacker.com/index.htm

Thursday Ornament

OK…I’m a little late on the deadline (story of my life)…but here’s an easy ornament/decoration that works well on a bannister. My friend Susan and I made these a lifetime ago (easily 10 years) and it is one thing that I can vouch for her actually making. She’s a notorious tease for giving a gift and saying “I made that”…which naive newcomers buy into immediately, while her old friends quickly declare her a liar of first order. She can’t keep a straight face in most cases.

This “candy” ornament is easy peasy. Take 2 heavy paper bowls and glue stick them together (or staple them). Either paint them or use heavy markers to color in the stripes of a peppermint candy (we used the marker method). Wrap them in clear cellophane and twist the ends just like wrapped candy. Make a dozen or more and wire them onto greenery as you decorate your bannister!

Check out all these other nifty ornament ideas:

Sara Naumann http://blog.paperwishes.com/sara/
Lynn Kvigne http://beading.consumerhelpweb.com/blog/
Candie Cooper http://candiecooper.typepad.com/savvycrafter/
Katie Hacker http://www.katiehacker.com/index.htm
Margot Potter http://margotpotter.blogspot.com/
Linda Augsburg http://cs.makeitminemag.com/mimcs/blogs/makeitmine/
Melanie Brooks Lukacs http://earthenwood-beads.blogspot.com/
Art Bead Scene http://www.artbeadscene.blogspot.com/
Cindy Gimbrone http://lampworkdiva.blogspot.com/
Suzanne http://suzanne-catching-up.blogspot.com/
Humblebeads http://www.humblebeads.blogspot.com/
Polymer Clay Craft Gossip http://polymerclay.craftgossip.com/
Alexa Westerfield from http://swelldesigner.blogspot.com/
Debba Haupert http://www.girlfriendology.blogspot.com/
Elaine Luther http://www.CreativeTextureTools.com/news
Melissa Lee http://www.strandsofbeads.blogspot.com/
Rebecca Peck http://vintagegirlmodernworld.wordpress.com/
Jean Yates http://prettykittydogmoonjewelry.blogspot.com/
Michelle McGee http://fromichelle.blogspot.com/
Jenny Harada http://pomly.livejournal.com/
Jennifer Heynen http://jenniferjangles.blogspot.com/
Hali Chambers http://www.labyrinthgal.blogspot.com/
Kriss Kramer http://www.art-interrupted.blogspot.com/

Lisa Liddy http://lisaliddy.wordpress.com/
Brandy Lung Gill http://accesstoexcess.blogspot.com/