By Kathleen Alder – Studio 5 contributor
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Today, glass ornaments aren’t just for Christmas trees. You can use them to sparkle up any holiday decoration.
The glass ornament originated in Germany in the early 1800’s. It was the first mass produced ornament marketed just for Christmas. Up until then, families were making their own ornaments to decorate their Christmas trees.
Alternative ways to use Glass Ornament Balls:
1. Pair them with pine or juniper boughs and red flowers in an old bucket to create a country look.
2. Hang a few ornaments from colorful ribbons in an old bird cage. Fill the bottom with twigs and add a little spray sparkle for a magical look.
3. Bring some twigs in from the yard, put them in a vase and hang some tiny glass balls from the twigs for a dainty decoration.
4. Line a bowl with pine boughs; add fruit and sprinkle in some glass ornaments for a festive look.
5. Fill a beautiful bowl with glass ornaments that have been glued together so they don’t roll out.
6. Take a cone shaped cylinder of Styrofoam, cardboard or wire, glue glass ornaments around the shape for a lovely tree shaped centerpiece. Top it off with a glass star.
7. Use some beautiful stemware to create a centerpiece for your holiday party. Put different colored and size glass ornaments for an interesting piece.
8. Fill glass jars with glass ornaments and use a string of battery-operated Christmas lights (available at craft stores) among the ornaments to add sparkle.
9. Show your personality by customizing your own glass ornaments:
a. Make a mini nature scene by putting tiny pine cones in the ball, add artificial flakes of snow.
b. Fill it with popcorn. Take the metal top off, put 15-25 kernels of popcorn in the ornament. Microwave for 1-2 minutes, make sure you watch carefully so you don’t burn the popcorn. Carefully remove the glass ball as it will be hot, replace the top and tie a ribbon around the top and hang it from the tree.
c. Put small pictures of children in the balls by cutting them in a circle to fit the ball, (two pictures back to back work well too) punch a small hole in the picture and tie some tinsel or ribbon that will hold it in place. Carefully roll the picture up and slip it in. Thread the tinsel up through the top and hang on the tree.
d. Fill with curly ribbons. Curl several ribbons, cut them into pieces and put them in the balls.
e. Paint the inside of the balls colors that compliment your décor. Put a drop or two of paint in the ornament and swirl it around to coat the inside. Use more than one color for a marbled look. Shimmering colors look beautiful. The paint needs to be the right consistency. Too thick and it won’t spread, too thin and it won’t stick to the glass. For a different look, try using a straw to blow the paint around or drop a small bead into the paint to help the paint swirl.
f. Drizzle glue on the inside and sprinkle glitter in. Dump out the excess glitter.
g. Fill the balls with scraps of paper, fabric or lace for a colorful interesting look.
h. ETC…
10.Most of all just have fun and let your creative juices flow!!!
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