I'm playing along with the
Ninth Annual Month Of Holiday Cards
at
I'm not colouring at the moment but I am working on Christmas craft projects for creative little hands around our neighbourhood ... the endless months of Covid-19 lockdowns has brought our community much closer and I look forward to sharing more crafty adventures with them over the coming weekends and school holidays now that restrictions have eased.
Beccy's prompt for Day 17 is the letter "O"
(Beccy's post with "O" inspiration words and
ornaments card to inspire is HERE)
My "O" kids Christmas activity kit is for ornaments,
suncatcher ornaments.
I decided on two ornament designs, created the shapes and cut several sets using my Silhouette Cameo. (These can be fussy cut but I thought the activity time should be focussed on the making of the ornament itself, as there is plenty of fun things for little fingers to come.) These ornament shapes are quite large, the Christmas Tree shaped ornament is 7 3/4" x 9 3/4", the traditional round bauble shaped ornament is 6 7/8" x 8 1/2", giving plenty of space to work with inside each one. Each ornament uses two of the same shape, one for the front "starting" layer and one for the "backing" layer. I was able to fit one tree and bauble on a 12" x 12" sheet of cardstock and it was lucky I had plenty of black sheets left over from our Halloween fun.
Cut a length of clear contact slightly larger than the ornament, peel off the backing layer and tape it flat onto the work area, sticky side up. Place the ornament shape down on the sticky side.
Now the real fun begins.
Take assorted tissue paper sheets and cut or tear into small pieces. Layer pieces of tissue paper over the inner section of the ornament, slightly overlapping the inner edge of the ornament shape so that there are no clear gaps. The layers can create the most amazing colours and each one made will be unique. My sample is only shades of green, imagine what it's going to look like when little hands let their rainbow of creative juices flow.
Once the ornament is covered, trim off any excess bits of tissue paper, run a line of liquid adhesive around the black shape of the ornament.
Adhere the matching ornament shape over the decorated one. Take another piece of clear contact and place it on top of the ornament, sealing the outer shape and inner tissue paper design in place. Trim off the excess contact from the outer edges and hold the ornament up to the light to see how pretty it is ... WOW!
I took my Christmas Tree Suncatcher Ornament out into the sunshine to see how it looked.
Even though I loved my green tree, it's not really a Christmas Tree until it has been decorated, so out comes the bling for another workout. Adhere assorted self adhesive rhinestones over the tree to give it extra sparkle. I added bling to the opposite side as well, lining them up with the front side. Apart from adding sparkle to both sides, it means there are no shadowy dark spots when the suncatcher turns in the wind, making it a double-sided delight. Finish off the ornament by punching a hole at the top and tying a loop of ribbon, string or twine for it to hang in the window and be enjoyed all day long.
It was such a pleasure watching my suncatcher spinning around out in the wind and know the kids are definitely going to enjoy this activity.
... even side on it looks pretty
this was a lucky click of the shutter while it was turning in the wind
this was a lucky click of the shutter while it was turning in the wind
*** INGREDIENTS ***
black cardstock - cut into ornament shapes
tissue paper - assorted colours
clear contact - yes, the stuff we used to cover our school books with
liquid adhesive - I used Helmar 450 Quick Dry
scissors - I used teflon coated non-stick
assorted self adhesive rhinestones
small circle plier punch - to cut hole for ornament loop
this can be done with the point of your scissors, the punch gives a neater finish
ribbon, twine or cord - to make ornament loop
*** REFERENCE ***
I definitely want to come over and make one of these Tracy, what an awesome activity! They look so beautiful with the sun shining through... or they could be placed in front of the lights on the Christmas tree. So beautiful!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Beccy
Thank You Beccy :)
DeleteYou are more than welcome to come play at our house ... we set up folding tables on the front lawn (and follow the shade or put up an umbrella).
We had a suncatcher activity earlier this year and smothered them with glitter glue, you should have seen them sparkling and spinning in the trees ... crafting with kids is so much fun!
Love your stain glass trees....love the idea of using contact paper to stick the tiny colorful paper..
ReplyDeleteI once did this with 3rd grader but I used wax paper and totally forgot that glue did not do a job sticking and all of the tiny paper all fell out...what a mess...
Thank You Terrie :)
DeleteSorry to hear about your mishap, I've had a few along the way too, which is why I like to do a "test run" to see how it goes, modifying to suit where and how the kids are able to do them. It's also great having samples for the kids to choose from too, so they know what they can make.