Making Christmas Keepsakes with Bejeweled Ornaments

Homemade ornaments don't have to be made from scratch. Sprucing up plain glass ball ornaments can be fun and quite entertaining. I suggest that you begin a tradition at Christmas of taking one night for the family. You can prepare popcorn and make garlands and studded ornaments.

My mother used to blow out an egg for us every Easter and take pains to decorate it. On one end of the egg she would make the hole slightly larger and roll a dollar bill up and insert it. The eggs were always quite ornate, but we were more interested in the dollar and acknowledged the egg more as its vehicle. Today I wish that we had saved them. I now realize the effort of love that it took to create. Making ornaments will give you something that will last for years. While they may be viewed as one step above getting underwear for Christmas when the kids reach their teen years, persevere; you will get thanked later on.

These are beautiful keepsakes and can be given as presents each year. Put a year on it somewhere in small letters, and pack them all in a separate box. When your child is old enough to have a home of their own, present them with the box of ornaments to start their Christmas decoration collection.

Bejewel a Plain Ornament.

Start with a plain glass ornament. You will need to stop at a craft store and buy the flat backed glass jewels. I like the round ones to keep consistency with the shape of the ornament. Use a juice glass as a base when you bejewel it. It keeps the ornament from rolling around before the glue dried. Dot one side with glue at equal distance. Use a pair of tweezers to sit the jewel on the ornament once the glue is tacky. I believe there is a glue called "Tacky Glue" that I have seen in craft shops that will work. Anything that is tacky will grab my attention.

Let the glue finish drying while you move on to another ornament. Once the glue has completely dried, outline it with a circle of gold glitter paint. You can use any color but I have gold and red ornaments, so that is my choice. Although the gold doesn't sound like it would be attractive on a gold ornament, you would be amazed at how nice it looks. Don't worry about the glitter paint looking white since it dries clear.

Allow once side of the ornament to completely dry before turning it over and doing the other side.

Try Frosting an Ornament.

In the article "More Homemade Gifts for the Teacher" I showed how to use a mixture of white wine and Epsom salt to make a slush that can be painted on and when dried looks like snow. You can use this to decorate any ornament. The problem and the beauty of it is longevity. If you love the decoration that you created, it won't go through the packing stage very well to next year. If you like the idea of a different tree each year, good news, wash the salt off with warm water at the end of the season and you are ready to go.

Thinking about packing the flocked ornaments gave me a little laugh. We had a real problem with mice one year. We were feeding birds and squirrels outside our window and the mice found out. When it got cold they decided to move into their benefactors home and take up residence where we packed away our decorations. I wonder what the combination of Epsom salt and wine would do to the tiny systems of the mice, since Epsom salt is a laxative. Perhaps it is best not to know.