Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Christmas Crafting with the Kiddos

If you are looking for a beautifully easy project to do with your children (ages 2+) I've got an idea for you.

These glittered glass ornaments are really easy, quick and gorgeous. I wish I knew how to photograph glitter better because these pics just don't do them justice.


Materials

1. Glitter in many colors. I used Martha Steward glitter that I found at Walmart. I am totally in love with Martha's glitter packs. I own every single set. Yes, every. single. one. That's how great the colors are.


I think the glitter vials are so pretty that they deserve their very own photoshoot.


You will also need...
2. Spray adhesive (I used Elmer's)
3. Clear glass ornaments (I found mine at Hobby Lobby.)
4. Various ribbons for hanging.
5. If you'd like, silver and gold snowflake stickers (I used some by Harmonie)

If you are tackling this project with wee ones, you will also need patience for a few of these...


And a broom and dust pan for a few of these...


Directions

1. Remove the metal top from the glass ornament and put it somewhere safe. So you don't lose it like we did. (ahem...) This is a job for an adult or older more careful child (8+) as it is easy to break the top while doing this.

2. Spray adhesive into the ornament. The best method for this is to place to nozzle in the ornament and spray it all around. Try to coat every surface (inside the ornament, not outside) without leaving a major puddle. This is an adult job unless you want massive sticky spots all over your workspace.

3. Dump 1 color of glitter into your ornament. Start with your lightest colored glitter. (We used up to 3 different colors in a ball. In my opinion, the best results were with 2 colors. However, flashy Zoey (my 6 y/o) would disagree.) My 8 y/o, Dani, was able to dump glitter successfully. I didn't give anyone else the option. (Did I mention that I covet my glitter?)


4. Place your thumb over the opening and shake the ornament to distribute the glitter. Everyone was able to do this step successfully as long as their thumb was big enough to cover the hole. Little Lyssie (2 y/o) had a bit of trouble because of her mini-thumb. But she still triumphed in the end.



5. Dump your second color of glitter and shake. Repeat until the entire inside of the ornament is covered in glitter.


6. When you are done, replace the cap, tie on some ribbon and enjoy the fruits of your labors!


If you have some beautiful metallic stickers, they are really impressive stuck on the outside of the ornament. These are made by Harmonie and I must say that they are absolutely exquisite. That fine detail! They are tough little buggers too. I pulled them pretty roughly by one snowflake arm without any ripping. None! I couldn't believe it. You can find the silver ones here and the gold ones here. They really add that extra oomph to this project.




I had each child make 3 ornaments for teacher gifts this year.


It was a fun project! I hope that you enjoy it too!

Happy Creating!

xoxo
Bethany

14 comments:

Marit said...

Wow, how inventive!!! LOVE the glitter balls, and even more LOVE the smiles of the kiddies!!!

Rachel said...

They are so beautiful. Looks like the children had fun.

Jocelyn said...

What a great project and I love that you did this with the children....I made handmade gifts with my daughter and now I am making these with my grandchildren!!!! What a fun project....I have made these with paint on the inside but never glitter...so I am off today to the craft store to purchase some clear balls!!!

TFS and have a great day!!! :-)

Vel said...

That is such a great project! TFS!

Becky said...

I bought clear balls a couple weeks ago--this is a great way to use them! They turned out beautifully!

Love your journal from the post below this as well--great job :)

Unknown said...

Love this project! I'm jealous of your glitter collection. :)

Becky said...

P.S. Did this project with the Cub Scouts today and LOVED it! Will be doing it as a family next week after I pick up more glass balls. I am seriously in love with my new Martha Stewart glitters (where have they been all my life?!)--I purchased nine.

Also, I used large craft trays (purchased from Lakeshore Learning) and it helped contain the mess a wee bit more.

Karola Witczak said...

What a great idea, your glittered balls are so beautiful! TFS!

Taryn said...

Oh look at the smiles on their faces. Looks like lots of fun. What a fabulous idea for teacher gifts!

kuke said...

These are gorgeous! But I'm not understanding how to put the nozzle inside of the ornament and spray it all around. I just can't visualize how that works. Do you have a picture of that part of the process?

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

This is so gorgeous Bethany!Loving this project...gorgeous work kids!And I love your post!
Thanks so much for this beautiful idea!

sharonb said...

Great idea. I love it.

Jessy Christopher said...

This are beautiful glittered ornaments, B!! I just love your ideas!!

Sara Jarvie said...

what a great idea, thanks for sharing!