Christmas Ornaments

[jrista]

Finally getting my online store populated. Aside from some pens, and some bowls, platters, some small vases....I am making a whole bunch of christmas ornaments. First time making any, I've made a bunch of different things in a bunch of different styles. Normal sized and "mini" teardrop snowmen, normal snowmen, a few mini angels (soon to be followed by some more normal sized ones), and a number of small christmas bells and mini christmas trees.

First couple that I've fully completed so far:


Stubby the Snowman (in a little Porkpie!)

Stubby's Favorite Christmas Tree

So far, I've invested a lot more time in these than I was hoping, but...its the first round. Hoping that I'll be able to knock the current time per ornament (which, with all the various thing I'm doing with each, is close to an hour) down to 15-20 minutes. I can't say I've even touched glitter since the 4th grade...so that...took some fiddling. Also making my own carrots for the snowmen, out of Sculpy bake clay, making my own twigs for snowmen arms, etc. etc.

 

[Hippie3180]

I love these SO much! That snowman is so great!

 

[jrista]

I love these SO much! That snowman is so great!

Thank you, Michele! I think the snowmen came out best, with their little scarves. That was a lot of work. Definitely going to have to figure out ways to reduce the time cost on these.

 

[Hippie3180]

Thank you, Michele! I think the snowmen came out best, with their little scarves. That was a lot of work. Definitely going to have to figure out ways to reduce the time cost on these.

His wee nose and scarf make him endearing.

 

[mark james]

Those... look... awesome! Well done.

 

[jrista]

Those... look... awesome! Well done.

Thanks, Mark!

Here are a few more. Nother snowman (normal, still working on the icicle or teardrop ones):

And some christmas bells, with a bit of "secret sauce" flare to differentiate them a bit (lot of people make bells!):

 

[jrista]

The benefit of doing everything yourself, rather than buying pre-made parts...the sky is the limit! Snowman noses:

Having some trouble keeping them from getting burnt (these hardly were, the ones in the back were scorched, I am guessing due to reflection of the heat off the back wall?) So I need to get a thermometer I can use in this little toaster oven and see if its actually heating to the temperature I'm setting, or much hotter. In any case...twisted noses, curved noses, split noses. They are carrots, and carrots grow weird! Anyway...this should do for some of the larger snowman ornaments.

 

[bugradx2]

The ornaments are wonderful! I love them.

 

[jrista]

Ok, finally managed to get the wing material I wanted for the angels worked out. First mini angel:

Wings are gold satin fabric bonded to some gold colored cardstock with a similar texture.

I glazed the milk paint (without sealing the milk paint first, which was a mistake!!) with this mixture of elmers glue+water+pearlescent mica powder (4-5 coats to really fully cover the paint underneath and bring out the mica pearlescence). Then sealed the whole ornament with gloss mod podge spray sealer.

 

[Woodchipper]

Outstanding ornaments! Calling the wife to my office to look. She is the artsy-craftsy person of the family. Great ideas for next year.
Where did you get the extras for the ornaments? We have Hobby Lobby and Michael's in town.

 

[jrista]

Outstanding ornaments! Calling the wife to my office to look. She is the artsy-craftsy person of the family. Great ideas for next year.
Where did you get the extras for the ornaments? We have Hobby Lobby and Michael's in town.

Joanns is another good place to get those kinds of parts.

Thanks! There is actually only one part here, really, that I bought. The halos I made from simple wire, and I made the wings from bonding satin gold fabric to some textured cardstock that looked similar to the texture of the fabric. So mostly, these are hand made through and through.