Showing posts with label Sparkle And Shine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sparkle And Shine. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Paint Faux Stained Glass Baubles

       I painted these faux stained glass baubles approximately ten years ago. I used some specialized products to achieve this unusual stained glass effect. The Gallery Glass® products have been around for a long time. If you can not find them in a shop near you, you can visit the company online and order the supplies yourself. I've included a link to their website below with one of their videos.

Supply list:
  • A colorful selection of Gallery Glass® Window Color: pearly white, red and blue
  • I used Gallery Glass Redi-Lead Strips (thin black)
  • acrylic silver paint 
  • large clear glass baubles
  • a china marker or grease pencil
  • X Acto knife
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Clean the surfaces of your glass baubles to insure maximum contact with the Redi-Lead Strips. Use Windex or vinegar and let the glass ornament dry.
  2. Draw a design on your glass bauble using a china marker or grease pencil. You won't see these marks because your going to cover them up with the Redi-Lead Strips.
  3. Apply the Redi-Lead Strips on top of your lines made with the china marker to create a simple pattern. These strips stick but can be moved around for a few seconds before the tacky surface dries. I cut my strips into clean, precise angles using an X Acto knife as I laid them onto the glass surface.
  4. You may choose to use Gallery Glass Liquid instead. This liquid version of "leading" is more difficult to use on baubles, however.
  5. Use Gallery Glass® Window Colors to fill in the spaces between your designs.
  6. I painted the lead stripping using a silver acrylic paint on my glass baubles, but you can leave the black color if you wish. 
  7. Let the paint dry before hanging the baubles.
      http://www.plaidonline.com/ Learn how to lead with 
Gallery Glass Liquid Lead and Redi-Lead strips!
 Join Carol Smith as she takes you through the process.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Inspired by Old-World Beaded Ornaments

I beaded the ornaments above on long, straight lengths of wire first and then shaped them around cookie cutters. Their simple shapes were inspired by antique beaded ornaments that I had seen on ebay.
1939 beaded ornaments handmade from Poland.

"To weave such star you'll need seed beads (for example, size 10-11), beads with diameter of about 2-4 mm, bugles of two sizes (long and short), fishing line with diameter of about 0,15 mm or fireline and beading needle size 11-15. Take of about 1 meter of thread (fireline), put both its ends through the needle eye and follow the cartoon. You can see my other cartoons here: http://katenkin-biser/lessons/indexen... You can buy my patterns here: http://www.bead-patterns.com/shop/sho..."

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Repurposed Ornaments Made From Costume Jewelry Parts

I used an old broach, a set of costume earrings and a few glass
beads to embellish my paper baubles. I cut out widow shapes
from the cardboard ornaments so that the jewelry elements
could be seen from both sides. The paper patterns are
identical on the reverse sides of these flat paper baubles.
            Don't toss out that old costume jewelry; repurpose it into unusual Christmas ornaments. I've included here a selection of flat, stylized, baubles featuring cut-away design elements and contemporary brass jewelry parts sewn into the paper designs.
      I intentionally selected  Christmas papers that would compliment the simple lines of my jewelry and glued on additional gold papers that emphasized the color of the inexpensive brass parts. When integrating elements from one design into another, it is best to repeat common shapes and colors so that the overall design looks cohesive.

Supply List:
  • decorative papers
  • cardboard (recycled)
  • costume jewelry
  • pliers
  • wire cutters
  • beads
  • scissors
  • white glue
  • tacky glue
  • gold thread or fine gold colored wire plus a needle
  • bauble pattern from this post
  • gold colored miniature cup cake liners
  • wire for hangers
Step-by-Step Instructions:
  1. Draw and cut out patterns similar to those designs found in vintage wrapping papers and trace around these on top of recycled cardboard. I use an old cereal box for my ornaments.
  2. Next, select decorative papers that will enhance the designs of the costume jewelry parts that you intend to sew into your design.
  3. Don't forget to cut out the windows from your cardboard baubles. This will allow the jewelry parts to be seen from two sides instead of one.
  4. Cut and paste the paper designs for both sides of your bauble designs, sandwiching the cardboard between the decorative papers for added support and strength.
  5. Use pliers and or wire cutters to dismantle your jewelry parts.
  6. Thread a needle with gold wire or thread and sew the pieces of metal and/or beads along the tops of the window shapes cut from your paper and cardboard.
  7. You may also wish to squeeze a bit of glue into the tiny holes left by your needle to strengthen the cardboard after you have sewn in the jewelry parts.
  8. At the top of your baubles, punch a hole and thread in a  loop of wire for the hanger. 
  9. Glue on small, accordion shaped pieces of cup cake liner at the top of each ornament to imitate a bauble cap.
Close up photos of Christmas ornaments made with costume jewelry parts, cardboard and decorative papers. Left, the flower petal shapes are repeated in the paper. Center, the paper edges were cut with pinking shears in order to imitate the zig-zag lines in the paper's print. Right, the circular shapes found in the printed paper are also repeated with the edition of both wooden and metal jewelry parts.
Christmas Crafts Made With Recycled Jewelry:

Friday, July 25, 2014

Pin Together a Victorian Sequin Bauble

A Victorian inspired bauble decorated with green
sequins, white pearl beads, gold braid and
decorative ribbons.
      This sequin pinned bauble is reminiscent of the Victorian Era, although it was crafted in the 1960s. The Victorians were known for adding many layers of frills to decorate surfaces of novelties and ornaments. All you need for a craft such as this is a variety of trims: ribbons, pearly beads, sequins, gold braids and two packages of straight pins, white glue and a Styrofoam bauble.
      This ornament was made with a pear shaped Styrofoam ball, narrow side turned down.
      Use a permanent ink pen to mark off sections of your Styrofoam ball so that the design that you choose to replicate is evenly spaced on all four sides. You will be covering the ball completely so do not hesitate to mark it up in order to guide yourself through the first steps of the process.
      Start by pinning the ribbons first and whenever you push a pin into the ribbon or sequin, dip it into a bit of white glue so that your design will stay in place.
      Next pin the gold braids. You may wish to add a bit of tacky white glue to the back of these just to ensure that the braid is firmly adhered to the ball's surface. Don't forget to keep dipping your pins into the white glue as you work.
      Lastly, pin the sequins and beads into the bauble and pin into the top a fancy ribbon for hanging.  This Victorian Christmas ornament craft is a very simple activity with lovely results!

More Victorian Sequin Baubles:

Monday, July 14, 2014

Make Tinsel Chenille Stem Ornaments

Tinsel chenille stem ornaments are both affordable and simple to make. 

Supply List:
  • tinsel chenille stems
  • tiny glass baubles pre-wired
  • small craft pliers
  • scissors or wire cutters
      Bend chenille stems into any geometric shape that you like, twisting firmly into place and clipping sharp ends as you go. Then wrap pre-wired glass baubles/beads into place. These simple little Christmas ornaments will sparkle, shine and twinkle between any branches you hang them on. They are also extremely light weight so they may be hung on the most delicate pine branches!

View More Tinsel Ornament Crafts:

Monday, November 14, 2011

Christmas Garlands from Our Trees

Old-fashioned glass bead garlands

Clay gingerbread men garland from ten thousand villages

Paper medallion garland made by my eldest daughter.

Garlands made from chenille stems, gold and silver beads

Clay angel garland from ten thousand villages

Garlands that young children can make:
Garlands by paper artists: