I wanted to try to use more hardware supplies, so used a foil tape that I thought was used in plumbing, but might instead be used for HVAC…link: https://tinyurl.com/mr3zcjp6

Ornament #1 Blingy –I took a styrofoam 4″ ornament (remove the hanger before starting) and covered it with the HVAC foil tape link: https://tinyurl.com/mr3zcjp6. You need to be really careful with the edges of this tape, as they are really sharp. If you don’t have a styrofoam ball, use a balloon that you covered with paper mache..here’s a simple recipe using minimal ingredients you should have at home. https://tinyurl.com/szfmeb6m. After the paper mache is dry, simply stick a pin through to pop the balloon and then proceed with the next steps below. Note: If you don’t have the foil tape above, you can also use standard aluminum foil with the matte side glued to the ball. Since the foil tape I used is already sticky, I didn’t need to use any adhesive, but whether you use foil tape or aluminum foil, you need to make sure you use some kind of tool, the edge of a ruler, a popsicle stick, back of a spoon, to flatten the foil to the ball. The flatter the foil, the better it will look. Make sure the edges of the foil are well adhered to the ball and cut off any excess, so the ball doesn’t appear lumpy.

I used hot glue and wrapped Dollar Tree plastic gem ribbon link: https://tinyurl.com/2v8m34m4 and wrapped the first color completely around the ball leaving a small gap at the top for the hanger. Then I added red, blue, gold, and green ribbons and started with the first two colors and laid them so they form a t at the top and bottom of the ball. Then the next two colors you’ll need to trim the very ends so they fit into the gap left between the first two colors. After all ribbon is laid, I added some blue plastic snowflakes I had in my stash, three in a row between each ribbon, and then after, I added small silver flatback pearls above and below the snowflakes link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8rp4tf .

After hot gluing everything in place, I reattached the hanger.

Ornament #2 Floral Ball

Using the same 4″ styrofoam ball, I covered it with aluminum foil so you could see the difference between using the foil tape and aluminum foil and hot glued the foil down. Then I took an old Stampin Up petite petals punch link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9pkrjf and punched probably fifty white flowers, then took a pokey tool and punched a rather large hole through the center, then pushed a Darice Red Holly Berries #3 link: https://tinyurl.com/2p8rp4tf folded in half with the end flattened so it can be pushed into the hole and then hot glued once the berry’s close to the flower. I added leaves I had in my stash link: https://tinyurl.com/3xv87myv and glued a leaf under each flower. I poked holes deep into the ball so the stems could be pushed into it and started at the top of the ball and covered as much space as possible. I think this ball would also work well as mistletoe to be hung over a doorway.

Ornament #3 Christmas Tree

For your hanger, take some kind of cord, thread, ribbon that’s about 10-12″ long, folded in half and knotted about 2″ from the bottom opening. Cut off any excess at the bottom and lay aside. Take an old book and rip the pages out so you have a full page as it will be easier to make it smaller if you need to.

First make your trunk. Fold a couple of pages about 1/2″ to 3/4″ wide , folding the entire page, then hot glue or wet glue, or glue stick the edge, so it stays folded together. I cut mine in half so it’s about 4″ long, but it can be shorter, it just needs to fit inside your tree. I distressed the edges with two colors of Distress Inks, Old Paper and Tea Dye, making sure to cover the bottom edge so it looks complete once it’s in the tree. Take 3-4 sheets of your book and make a diagonal fold from the right side of your paper (the top should be the clean outside edge of your book and the bottom should be the ripped, center of your book) Make the first diagonal fold then put the hanger into the center making sure the knot is outside the fold, then continue folding until the entire page is folded into the tree. Glue the paper to the tree and trim off any excess paper that hangs past the side of the tree and cut the bottom of your tree so it’s straight across. Distress with inks as desired. Squeeze the tree at the bottom and glue the trunk inside. You can use this as a gift card holder, by placing the gift card inside and then putting a thin line of glue at the bottom to hold the card inside. I decorated my tree with e beads knotted on green elastic cord and red tinsel ribbon that I glued to the tree on an angle. .I wanted to add cute silver charms but they wouldn’t fit on either the cord or the tinsel..bummer.

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