Ornaments

Today is another CBC Challenge day, and this week's challenge is to make an ornament. I have been wanting to make these glitter ornaments since I first saw them on Splitcoast some four years ago. When I saw we had an ornament challenge coming up, I decided this was the year to do it! I picked up a box of 12 clear round ornaments at Hobby Lobby on sale for $1.99, and went about creating my ornaments.

I read different threads on SCS about how to do these. Basically, the jist of it is that you drop ink from your reinker bottle into the bulb and swirl it around to coat it. Then you tip it upside down to drain the ink (I drained it right into the matching ink pad - why waste that ink?!), and then pour some glitter inside and shake. I cut squares from a plastic shopping bag to put over my finger while my finger covered the hole of the ornament as I shook the glitter around. I still got inked, but not as bad as it would have been without the plastic!

I read one thread where the instructions said to rinse the bulb with water before putting the reinker in. I tried that on one ornament - I wouldn't recommend it. I also read that you need 10-15 drops of ink. Umm, yeah. Try about 25. I started with 10 or 15, and swished that around until it wouldn't swish anymore, and then added about 5 drops at a time until I had what I needed.

Here is the Cameo Coral bulb:


You are supposed to use ultrafine glitter. I used Doodlebugs Sugar Coating glitter on all but this next one, and it seemed to work fine. I ended up using Dazzing Diamonds on this (Real Red) bulb, and that worked ok too (this is my favorite of the bunch):

I adhered a ribbon band to the ornament with mini glue dots, and then adhered my bow to the band the same way.

Here is a Ruby Red bulb:

And finally, Old Olive:

If you want to try these, my biggest tip would be to let the ink drain out of the ornament a little longer than you think it needs to. Otherwise the glitter gets a little clumpy. It still looks ok, but it looks better if you have less ink in there. These will take awhile to dry, but you can put the top back on while it's still wet. It doesn't wreck the design or leave a mark at all.

Also know that the ornaments do not end up matching the ink (or at least mine didn't). They ended up being a few shades darker, with the exception of the Cameo Coral bulb. That one seemed to be the truest to the original color.

Take a look at the pretty colors Elizabeth got when she used the in-colors for her ornaments! I was scoping her blog out today as I searched for info on these babies!

Be sure to check the other Challenge Chicks blogs (linked on my sidebar) to see more fantastic creations, and if you decide to play along, link your ornament back to Courtney's blog for a chance to win a little prize!