A handmade Christmas ornament makes a nice thank-you gift

Today is the first Monday of the month, which means it's time for a Designer Crafts Connection blog hop!

Click on the blue DCC logo in my sidebar to hop in either direction to the next blog, then look for the logo on each blog to continue hopping through them all.

This month it's all about handmade thank-you gifts.

I think a handmade ornament is a lovely thing to give someone as a thank-you. It's great for a hostess gift too, with the holiday party season coming up.

I will be sending this particular ornament to my friend Genelle - not as a thank-you, but as part of an ornament swap for Charity Wings.

Here's how I made this Christmas ornament - it went together pretty quickly!

Supplies

3" Smoothfoam ball
Craft paints - light green, dark green
Mod Podge
Fine glitter
Self-adhesive ribbon
Chiffon ribbon
Medium gauge wire
'Tis the Season beads
'Tis the Season snowflake charm
Ball-head straight pins
Wood skewer
Paint brush
Paint sponge
Beading pliers - flat and round-nose

1.  Poke a skewer into the ball's starter hole and slowly push it straight through to the other side, to turn the ball into a bead. Leave the skewer in the ball to use as a handle while you paint it light green; let dry.

2.  Sponge-paint a coat of dark green on top of the light green and let dry. This gives the ball a nice texture, like forest greenery.

3.  Apply a coat of Mod Podge to the bottom half of the ball (use the center seam as a guide), then sprinkle with glitter. Let dry.

4.  Press a strip of decorative self-adhesive ribbon around the center seam.

5.  Push several ball-head pins into the top half of the ball - I spaced them rather randomly to look like little snowballs on the green. Twist and remove the skewer.


6.  Thread a few beads for the bottom of the ball on to an 8-9" length of wire.  Use the round-nose pliers to make a twisted loop at the bottom. Thread the wire up through the bottom of the ball and add a couple beads to the top. Make another loop at the top, leaving about 1/8" of wire between the top loop and the top beads.

7.  Push the ball up on the wire so the 1/8" space is above the beads at the bottom, then tie a little bow with chiffon ribbon on to the wire.

8.  Use pliers and a jump ring to add a charm to the bottom loop - and your ornament is ready to hang!

For lots more great ideas for holiday decorating, check out the Smoothfoam blog!