I mentioned I love Christmas, right?

Yes. Yes I did. But to reiterate. I LOVE Christmas. 

The tree shopping, the food, the sneaking around with other family members to get presents, the parties, and the festivity in the air. 

I thought I'd use my little corner of the Internet to share some of the things that I do each holiday season. 

Today's topic:

Ornaments!

My family has always had a live tree, so the first year that I didn't live in the dorms in college, I took myself out and got a teeny tiny 2 ft live tree. It was adorable and came in a stand already, and I was pleased as punch. The year after that I lived with a few Jewish girls [who are some of my most dear friends still] and they loved getting to experience a Christmas. So we decorated the tree and made stockings and had a whole Christmas celebration before we all left for winter break. First, we had to light the menorah and sing prayers for them. It was beautiful! Last year is the first year my boyfriend and I lived together, and my rule was that the tree had to be big enough that it didn't look silly when he stood next to it [he's 6'4!]. We ended up with a tree that was a little under 6 feet. We're getting this year's tree tonight and I can't wait! I'm very particular about which tree we get.

So that it properly showcases the ornaments of course!

 

I've gathered a pretty good collection over the years, ranging from regular glass balls to a hand-painted ornament that I was gifted while in Hawaii to ornaments I've made myself.

And that brings us to these!

These are made from clear glass ornaments found at your local craft store. Get a bunch of the ornaments and some craft paint in colors you want for your ornaments. You want paint that is in little bottles, like Folk Art or Plaid or DecoArt, etc. Sparkly paint is fun too! 

Pull the hanger out by loosening that little silver part at the top and then squeezing the hanger together slightly. If you're doing this with younger kids you probably want to do this step yourself. Also, be careful because the top of the ornament can break and these are glass. If it does chip a bit, don't worry because the hanger and decorative covering will go back on to cover it.

Squirt one of the colors in the ornament in several places as you wish, and then turn the ornament upside down and sideways and any direction to get the paint to roll where you like. Less is more in this case, because you don't want excess paint pooling at the bottom, so you can turn the ornament upside down to let it drain. Then add another color! I would recommend not exceeding 3 different colors, because they start to muddy up at that point.

By adding additional colors when the paint is still wet the colors will mix a bit and create new colors. This is particularly nice if you use two different shades of the same color, such as a lilac and a dark purple. If you don't want that effect, you can certainly wait for the first color to dry, and then add additional colors.

I added glitter paint to the outside of this one - We're Orlando Magic fans!

To dry, just turn them upside down on an egg carton or the ornament box they came in and let dry overnight. Carefully replace the hanger and metal covering.

These look great in clear vases for decoration and make great gifts! The best part is that they are very simple for kids to do, but they look very elegant :)