Glass Christmas Ornament Tutorial

GLASS BALL CHRISTMAS ORNAMENTS

First and foremost, I by no means am the creator of the idea of placing stamped images inside of a clear glass Christmas ornament. Two years ago I used ideas from other stampers and began making clear glass ornaments. And each year I try to make a few of these darling and festive balls of joy!

I decided to make a tutorial because I'm a visual learner and I know how important it is to see each step in this process.

This year's clear glass ornaments was inspired by a fellow stamp artist named "Momma B".

Here is her Christmas Ornament:

Please visit her and post a thank you for creating this beautiful ornament: THANK YOU

So when I saw her ornament, I was so happy to have this stamp set called, Holy Triptych and some left over glass ornaments from last year AND some extra acetate on hand. :) I went right to work and created an "Angelic" ornament:

Now that I've got the hang of it, on with the tutorial!

You can get glass ornaments at Micheal's or Hobby Lobby or your local craft store. They come in various sizes. For this tutorial I used a round glass ornament that is about 2 1/2" wide.

Supplies you will need:
· Glass Ornament
· Acetate/window sheet

(bought by the package at Hobby Lobby in the professional art section, not office depot...it's cheaper that way. My package actually says, acetate alternative. Or you can buy it by the single sheet at office depot or kinkos. I would say about 3 ornaments per sheet)
· Circle cutting system like Coluzzle
· Staz-on ink pad in desired color (I used Jet Black)
· Stamp set (I used Holy Triptych by SU)

· Sharpie permanent markers…I suggest using the ultra fine point

* Crystal Effects and dazzling diamond glitter

*Optional*
· Ultra Fine fake snow, glitter, or beads to put in the bottom of the ornament
· Ribbon, raffia, or strips of fabric

1. Stamp your image on the acetate, using Staz-on ink. Stamping on acetate can be slippery, so use control when stamping and do not get in a hurry. Allow it a little time to dry or heat set it

with your embossing gun.

2. Turn you image sheet over and color it using sharpies!

3. Next you will want to cut your image out. I used the coluzzle and a circle template. The circle I used for the 2 1/2" ornament is 4th from center.

Notice how I did not cut a complete circle, but left a little notch at the top. This notch will help stabilize your image once you insert it in the glass ornament.

4. Now you have two options. You can leave your image sheet like this and place in the ornament. Or you can add dazzling diamonds to the back to give it some sparkle.

Of course I chose the sparkle....but why would you choose plain you might ask...because leaving the ornament plain will give your ornament a "floating image" feel to it. Like Stamp artist, Racercat, did with her ornament:

Visit her post here for more info: Clear Snowman

5. Today we are going to add sparkle to our image sheet. Using a paint brush, brush a light coat of crystal effects on the backside of your image (the same side you colored on). Then sprinkle a heavy layer of dazzling diamond glitter over the whole sheet. Allow plenty of time to dry....go drink a cup of hot chocolate or put on some Christmas music and then stamp and color a few more images for more ornaments. But I would say about 10 minutes. I did get impatient and heat set mine a little. You can feel the back and tell when it's dry.

6.Remove lid from ornament. Careful because the lid is made of very soft metal and the sides can easily be "squished" in. Just pull it off using the tab at the top. Also note that once the lid is off....the glass edge of the ornament top can be sharp sometimes.

Once the lid is off then you can add fake snow or beads or sand or whateva! in the bottom of your ornament. I recommend you use a funnel.

7. Once your image sheet is dry, then roll it up and put it in the glass ornament.

Above, you can see the tab of my image sheet sticking out. Since it's clear you can read the caution message from the object behind it! Which is good because it helps you to see that the tab is sticking out when rolled.

In the picture below you can see how the tab is stabilizing the image sheet in the ornament.

8. Now put your lid on, add some ribbon and be dazzled!

Tips:

*note it's ok if you see a few small streaks of an area that didn't quite get covered with glitter...it will still sparkle!

*note that I tried brushing on clear stickles instead of the crystal effects and glitter method.... and it did not work as well or at all!

Besides coloring in your image you can also emboss it! Just stamp your image with versamark instead of staz-on and add your embossing powder...then heat set it!

I made this ornament using silver embossing powder and red dazzling diamonds from SU! Snowflake stamp sets look great in glass ornaments!

Thanks for visiting my tutorial on glass Christmas ornaments, I hope it helps! Make some ornaments and give them as gifts this year!

All of the ornaments in the picture above is made by Hollie Lisk. Stamped images are Stampin UP!

Visit my post on splitcoast here: Glass Ornament