Valentine ornaments

Getting started to decorate for one of MY favorite holidays-Valentines Day.  I started with a box of iridescent ornaments purchased from Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon.

In the past, I have made these ornaments with a fourth grade class to incorporate into a decorated Christmas tree for the class auction project.  These ornaments are so easy to make and you can not ruin them.  I started with 5 colors of acrylic paint.  Before I use the paint, I swish rubbing alcohol into each globe, drain until dry.  Somehow, this allows the paint to bond better.  Trust me, it makes a difference, so don't skip this step.

The colors and brands that I used for these ornaments were:  Folk Art 659 Pearl White, Folk Art 662 Metallic Silver Sterling, Folk Art 438 Ballet Pink, Delta Creamcoat Fuchsia, and Apple Barrel 20535 Light Pink.  You can use any color combination.  These colors were leftovers in my bin from previous projects.  I would suggest that you always use at least one metallic whether copper, silver or gold.  It makes the blend of colors richer.

Next, I squirt  a stripe of each color down the hole of an ornament.

I then take a sheet of paper towels and fold it in quarters to cover the open hole. Shake, shake,  and shake until the entire inside is covered.

Every one of them comes out uniquely different.  I let them drain for a few days.  You will be surprised how much paint drips out.  Make sure they are dry.  Then to add a bit of bling, I dilute Elmer's glue with water and brush the entire top of the ornament hook.  I then sprinkle German glass glitter over the wet top and shake the excess off.  It doesn't use much glitter.  Make sure to do this over a creased sheet of paper.  When done, I shake the glitter into the crease and dump it back into the glitter container.  I let these dry overnight. 

Once dry, I brush a bit of glue on the inside of the metal top and adhere it to the ornament.  Let dry.  I ran into a problem with the ornament tops.  When I tried to attach them to the globes, the glitter came off.  If you just hold the semicircular wire to affix it to the globe, the glitter will be spared.   Finally, I top with a contrasting ribbon. 

And now, the closeup....

Now, I can start Valentine's Day decorating.