The third week of Chritmas: Christmas Baubles

I love making these Christmas baubles they are super easy and cheap to make plus there is a hundred different ways you could do them with basically the same idea. A polystyrene ball covered in tissue or rice paper with ribbon around it.

 

For this post I did two basically different ideas to set you thinking but once you start making them you will want to try a range of things. For one design I used printed rice paper and the other I painted tissue paper although if you couldn't be bothered painting it a couple of different coloured tissue paper would also work well. Its best to use a light weight paper so that it smooths down easily.

Step 1: If you are planning on painting the tissue paper lay it on another piece of paper as it will be come very fragile when the paint is wet. Choice colours that work together then randomly brush across the different paint. It call look great having colours mix and blend as you go. Wait for the sheet to dry before moving onto step 2.

Step 2: Tear up smallish piece from the tissue or rice paper about 2cm x 2cm.

Step 3: Put the polystyrene ball on a skewer so that it can be moved around as you work.

 

Step 4: Use a 50/50 mix of PVA and water to stick done the pieces of paper until the whole thing is covered.

 

Step 5: After the glue has dried I give a second coat with the same mix to act as a varnish.

 

Step 6: When tried add the ribbon, it can be added as just a simple loop or as I have done to quarter the ball and a loop. Use pins to hold the ribbon in place as glue at this point tends to get a bit messy.

 

These really are easy the kids could get

 

 
 
 
involved making them and add their on touches of glitter and imagination. They make great gifts for teachers and the like.

 

Merry Christmas and happy crafting :)