Decorate Christmas Balls to Make Your Own Ornament

Looking to add something special to your glass ball ornaments? Here are a few ideas to brighten up those drab ornaments this Christmas.

You will need items such as tinsel, colored velvet, doilies, Christmas cards, drapery roping, old or broken jewelry, sequins, gift wrap paper and good glue (a colorless permanent bond is best). If you do not want to use glass balls then use polysterene foam balls.

I find it is best to use a toothpick when putting glue onto ornaments so the glue is not all over the ball.

If you like old cards or photographs, simply cut them to a nice design that will fit a ball and then glue. Just use tinsel or rope glued around it to make it special.

I think it is great to use old photographs of family members glued on to a ball. You can give them as gifts or everyone can just look at them on the tree during the holiday to remember family members who cannot attend or who have passed away. If the ornaments are of guests who are at the party, it is great also. Everyone likes to see photos of themselves.

Making ornaments can also be done using wrapping paper. If you have some wrapping paper that is especially nice, you can do the entire tree ornaments in that design. I have seen some done in Coca Cola and Santa Claus motifs.

If ribbon is the way you want to go with your ornaments, then first measure the velvet or ribbon to be sure it will fit well before gluing. Put a piece of jewelry, button or other ornamental item over the seam. Sometime large sequins work also.

If knitting is for you, then knit a ball that will fit the ornament and add sequins or whatever you desire.

If you are using foam and sequins, it is simple. Just put each sequin through a pin and into the ornament. Make sure they are properly spaced. Add a few ribbons or velvet with more pins and it looks great.

If you want to use paper doilies cut out small segments or motifs from silver, gold or whatever color doily you choose and glue them to the ornament in nice designs. Maybe you want stars. You can use A Christmas tree pattern. It's really up to you so be creative. You can also use jewelry or buttons in areas on the ball to finish the design.

You can put strings and jewelry on glass ornament as well. You can also think about painting them if you do not like their color or their color is dulling.

Earrings dangling around the sides of ornaments also look nice. It seems almost any item that is small and pretty can be glued onto an ornament.

Beads can also be glued on ornament. Just be sure to make a design in advance on how you want to the beads to look. Remember there are two sides so do both evenly if possible.

Do not forget to use ribbons around the tops or as strings. You can make bows to make it even more special.

So now that you know the basics, what can you create? Use your imagination and make it a fun event for the entire family.