Star Christmas Ornament Tutorial

Hello blog!  So glad that it is finally Friday.  This has been a super hectic week, but I can finally take a load off and relax. I had finished all of my handmade ornaments last week, but wanted to share a second ornament tutorials with you. Today I am sharing the tutorial for a painted star ornament with a snowflake design. This ornament is extremely inexpensive to make but is a little more time consuming than the clear glass ornament I posted last week.

The materials you will need to make this ornament include:
Foam star ornaments (I purchased mine from Wal-Mart for $0.48 each)
Metallic gold, silver, or bronze paint (I used distress paint and pigment ink)
Ribbon
Straight Pins
Seed beads

You could also add Christmas charms, a dated tag, stickers, glitter glue, rub on sentiments, pine stems, sequins, or buttons to the ornament.  I kept these ornaments rather simple to keep their cost to a minimum.  As always, I encourage you to create these ornaments with materials you already have at home. I have a ton of seed beads so decided to use them along with the pins to add the snowflake detail.

Before painting the plain foam star ornaments, I inspected the ornaments for any significant gauges or breaks. I made sure to fill in any major cracks with modeling paste.  This wasn't a necessary step, but I wanted to make sure that each ornament was relatively smooth before painting them.  I let the ornaments dry overnight before painting them.

I used antique bronze Distress paint to paint all of the ornaments.  I applied two coats of paint to each ornament to ensure complete coverage.  Painting the Styrofoam was a bit tricky because the surface is soft and uneven.  If you are using distress paint, I do not recommend painting with the dauber.  Using a paint brush ensures even paint coverage and a smoother application.  

I thought that the color was a little flat, so I decided to use a gold pigment ink to highlight the star's edges.  I applied the pigment ink to the outer edges and crevasses using a q-tip. You could also dry brush the ornaments with a gold metallic paint to achieve the same effect. I really like how the gold ink made the ornaments look tarnished and worn.

After the ink was dry, I used seed beads and straight pins to make a snowflake on each ornament. I started in the center of the ornament and worked my way outward. The snowflake pattern I designed for this ornament has two colors and requires 87 seed beads to create. Each bead is pinned to the star ornament. You could use sequins instead of seed beads. I always recommend using whatever materials you already have.

I ended up using a couple different bead and color combinations when making the snowflakes.  Not all of the ornaments you make as gifts have to be identical. It is always a good idea to experiment! 

The last step was to add a bow to each ornament.  I simply tied a ribbon bow around the ornament cap. I used a slim wired ribbon, but any ribbon or string will work.

These ornaments turned out better than I expected them too.  I may end up adding a holiday charm or 2015 tag to each ornament, but for now I think they are done.  Each finished ornament only cost me approximately $0.60 to make.  These homemade ornaments make great gifts for co-workers, friends, and family members.

I hope you enjoyed this ornament tutorial.  I apologize for not posting this tutorial sooner, but I have been extremely busy making Christmas cards and preparing for Christmas. This time of year is always hectic, and it has been difficult for me to find time in my schedule to post to the blog. I am hoping that things return to normal after Christmas. Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.  I appreciate all of the shares on social media and google+.  Have a great night everyone. ❤ Tia - Copper Blossom Paperie ❤