How to transform old Christmas ball ornaments using strips of free printable hand-script paper or any decorative paper, decoupage medium and glitter.
Over the years I have had a lot of Christmas ornaments of all shapes, colors and styles. Many were handed-down to me, some I bought and quite a few I got a deal on when the department store where I worked as a display designer would clean out the old Christmas displays and sell previous year’s of store decorations to the employees for a few dollars.
As my style of decorating and life changed, I have edited my stash by giving my daughter’s the ones they love, donating many of them, and keeping only the ornaments that have special meaning to me or that I knew I could easily change to fit a holiday color scheme for a future Christmas.
This year I am keeping my Christmas decorating simple using items with traditional colors and that I already own or that I can bring in from my yard.
Last week I posted about a large faux cast stone bowl planter I made for my foyer.
I filled the bowl with shredded paper, moss and a collection of fuchsia ornaments that I bought years ago for a few dollars at a display sale I mentioned above.
I created a sheet of hand-script paper using a favorite font and the lyrics from one of my favorite Christmas songs, Somewhere in my Memory from the classic Christmas movie, Home Alone.
To transform the ornaments I cut the paper into strips and decoupaged them to the ornaments. Details below.
How I Decorating My Christmas Tree in 2012
The last time I used the fuchsia ornaments was back when I first started blogging. You can see them on the tree in my previous house. You can also see them in this Christmas home tour that was featured in BHG Christmas Magazine in 2014.
Fast forward to 2020 and the ornaments are no longer fuchsia.
They are now more to how my Christmas decorating style has evolved over the years. More neutral to go with my white & woodsy decor.
How to Transform Christmas Ball Ornaments with Strips of Paper
If you no longer like one or more ornaments you own, don’t hesitate to change them in some way.
Experiment with supplies you have on hand, paper, paint, ribbon, glitter, buttons and more to change them to something you will love.
supplies needed:
- Ball Ornaments – mine are plastic, but any glass or metal ball ornaments can be covered in the same way.
- Decoupage glue – I used matte from Martha Stewart Crafts, but Mod Podge for Paper is good also.
- White Glitter
- 1-inch wide paint brush
- Paper Cutter
- Scissors
- Newspaper, plastic container, cardboard box or tray
I used basic printer paper to print out my sheets to cover my ornaments, but you can use any type of paper from maps, wallpaper, scrapbook paper to gift-wrapping paper.
If you have an ink jet printer, let your printed sheets dry for a day. Even better, place them in the refrigerator overnight so the ink sets and then dries. Doing this will stop or lessen any bleed through from happening when working with ink and decoupage glue.
Time needed: 30 minutes.
How To Makeover Ball Style Christmas Ornaments
- Gather Ornament(s) and Supplies
Place everything on a work surface covered with newspaper. Line box or tray with a sheet of paper. This sheet of paper will be to catch excess glitter so you can reuse it.
- Print Free Printable and Cut Into Strips
Using a paper cutter, cut the sheet(s) of paper into 1/4″ wide strips following each line of script. Cut under each line so that each paper strip is filled with the script, not too much white space. Set aside.
- Add Paper Strips to Ornament
Cut the strips into a few shorter sections. This will make wrapping them randomly around the ornament easier. Cut a few very short to fit around the top of the ornament.
Hold ornament by the hook or use a clip to hold it while you work on it.
Starting at the top, brush decoupage medium on ornament. Lay a few of the smallest pieces of paper around the hook overlapping each in a random way. Brush over the paper with a thin layer of decoupage medium to smooth out any wrinkles.
Repeat the process working down the ornament until it is covered. Use the longest strips around the mid-section, and shorter strips at the top and bottom.
If you see any wrinkles forming on any applied strips, smooth them with the brush or your fingers.
- Sprinkle on Glitter
As soon as the last strip of paper is added, hold the ornament over the tray or box and sprinkle it with glitter, making sure to get all around the ornament. Shake it to remove any excess glitter. Hang using wire ornament hook to dry.
What If I Don’t Like What I Created?
My ornaments are plastic. If I ever decide I don’t want the glittered script paper look, I can soak them in water and the paper and glue will easily dissolve and come off, no damage done since they are plastic, not glass.
Glittering TIP: When glittering an object, the best way to do it to not only save glitter, but to keep it from getting on everything, is to use a low sized box or tray. Line is with a piece of paper.
When you are finished adding glitter, all the excess that fell to the paper can be funneled back into the glitter jar. To do this, fold the paper liner in half so all the excess glitter falls into the fold. Then pour the glitter back into the container.
I really like the way the ornaments came out, it was just the look I was after, but I would also like to make a few with world maps someday. I think they would be very colorful.
Do you have any decorative paper laying around your house that you can use to cover something to transform it?
