It may not be the holiday season, or even near it, but if you decide you want to make a lot of these sparkly-plenty ornate ornaments, now is the time to start. They are not complicated or difficult, but the paint takes a very long time to dry and you must wait between each step.
Materials:
glass ball ornaments - colored or clear
glitter paint
box top
holders for ornaments - cardboard core rings, egg cartons, unbaked "snakes" of polymer clay
Tips:
- Purchase glass ball ornaments by the box at discount stores, holiday stores and deparent stores. It is well worth a few extra dollars to buy the more expensive versions . The difference in the price of those we bought, which came six to the box, was $2 .99 versus $6. The better ones have filigree-type gold-colored tops. The others are a plain dull silver.
- Be certain to use the type of glitter paint that comes in a bottle with a fine tip. You will draw the designs onto the ornaments rather than paint them on with a brush.
- Any number of items can be used to hold the ornaments upright and steady while they are drying. Cut rings from cardboard cores, cut holes in egg cartons, or best of all, make snakes of polymer clay and form them into circles. Do not bake. The slight stickiness of the clay will help to securely hold the ornament (figure A).
- Before beginning, be certain that your hands are clean and dry so you don't leave fingerprints on the ornaments.
- Do not feel compelled to stick to traditional holida colors. Any bright colors used in conjunction with other bright colors will be wonderful.
Steps:
1. Paint a design around the top of the ornament just under the top holder. A series of loops is easy and can be most effective, although at this step, it won't seem too impressive (figure B). The loops can be long and narrow or shorter and round . Sometimes you can use the loops on the bottom of the ornament top as a guide. Try to keep them as uniform in length and width as possible. Set aside to dry. Do not attempt to decorate further at this time!
2. When paint is dry, go back and add another row of loops. They can be similar in size and shape or not. They can do nothing more than join the bottom curves of the first row. Experimenting will show you what works. If at any step of the way you know you do not like what you just did, it can be easily wiped off while the paint is fresh and wet. You may do a lot of this at first until you learn to make the designs uniform.
3. Continue in this manner until you have decorated to the middle or slightly beyond , but do not decorate the entire ball. You may go back and fill in with smaller designs inside the larger loops. Experiment. Experiment. Experiment. You may be amazed at how even the simplest design can look not only beautiful, but also be complicated and involved when it is repeated enough times and in different sizes.
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