Ornaments #3 - Play with Glass!

I am looking to put my tree up soon for the holidays. I LOVE handmade ornaments, and love even more getting them from other crafters.

With that in mind I am going to start an ornament series. Some will be specific, some will be totally free form. If you join all of them you will have a collection of interesting and completely unique ornaments to use in any holiday decorating! Below are the series, I will add links as I create each swap.

#1 Stuffed Birdies

#2 Paper Ornamentation

#3 Play with Glass

#4 Wood Wood and more Wood

#5 Sew Sew

#6 Beads! More Beads!

#7 Jingle Bells, Robin Lays an Egg…

#8 Handmade Ornament of Choice

This is NOT just for Christmas! I will ask that no religious themes be used in materials - ie no crosses, religious verbiage, no dredels... use universal themes like peace, and love and harmony! Or just bright colors and textures, lol. There is also a public viewing flickr group all participants will be invited to join to share photos of your creations and what you receive!

Number 3 in the ornament series should be made out of glass and altered to be custom by you. Some suggestions for altering are at the bottom of this swap. Your ornament needs to be hangable when completed, with an area to add a hook to, or in a form that is hangable). You can add embellishments of choice, like buttons, beads, glitter, etc.

Your ornament needs to be reasonably sturdy for the craft, and no more than 4" tall. If made will and with good quality basics even a glass ornament can last a lifetime, I have had many now for several years. This is senders choice, but you will have time after final sign up to find out what your partner likes and custom make something for them.

This is not open to newbies, and you must have a 4.8 rating and above with no unexplained 3's or 1's in the last 6 months. I will angel if needed, but lets all get this swap done and sent out on time! This is international. The glass ornaments are very light weight but you should be prepared to send something in a small box.

This is a type 3 swap, so be prepared to put some thought and effort into it! You can do SO much with glass ornaments, and may want to make a whole series of them when you are done! This will not require great skill or a lot of tools, please do not hesitate to join just because you have never played with glass ornaments before.

Just a few ideas below;

-You can get standard glass ornaments that are painted in the store. Paint them with fingernail polish, and it will move the pre-applied colors around in really cool ways. Fingernail polish comes in tons of colors, a lovely and cheap way to make a glass ornament VERY special!

-There are commonly available clear glass balls at craft stores and dollar stores. You can stuff them with fibers, or other items for a themed look, or like a scene (sand, with some shells? fiber filling in bright colors? a lovely victorian style picture?). You can instead use papers of all kinds and watered down glue, and paper mache the outside. Finish with a fine glitter or larger items and you have a VERY unique look! (thats the method used in my handmade glass ornament in the picture, 10 years old and still gorgeous!)

-If you work in stained glass, make some small simple shapes in a crazy quilting style! Take stained glass small bits, or glass half circles used in decorating, and adhere to a glass or ceramic packing. Fill in the cracks with some gesso or grouting, and have a unique art item!

-Go to the craft store, have a pane of glass cut into 3" squares (or the size of your choice) and using the mediums availalbe, use 2 panes and sandwich images, dried flowers, etc in between. Seal with soldering tape and add a hook, and voila, unique and interesting!

-Get some kind of glass item, as mentioned above, and use some etching liquid on it in fine designs of choice. Can be extremely elegant!

-Using a paper mache, foam core, or even a tennis ball as the center, use sturdy ball head pins to pin glass beads, from sead beads to larger glass beads, covering the ball in a design or random colors. As you are pinning, add a dab of glue to the end of each pin. Attach a ribbon to one of the pins under the bead. When done you will have a colorful and totally unique item!

The sky is the limit, just requires imagination!