Monday, November 14, 2011

Mr. And Mrs. Claus Ornaments

     I am totally in love with the new ProvoCraft cartridge Santa's Village. When I first saw this cart I was in awe of the fantastic images and rich colors in the graphics. I knew I wanted to make some ornaments and it has taken me a while to figure out how to transform what I have in my head onto the glass ornaments!
     I tried waterslide decals but I was not happy with the results. They looked like a sticker I put on glass. That is definitely not my style, lol. I tried doing the images on card stock but I was not happy with that attempt as well. Sometimes my ideas just pop in my head will I'm in the shower and that is what happened this time. Finally, success!!! Okay, okay here are the pics and details. Without further ado: Tada......
     Isn't he fabulous? Believe me the picture does not do him justice! I started with clear glass ornaments that have a flat front. I stocked up with them several years ago @ M's end of the year sale. I used beacon's Glitter It! glue and Martha Stewarts Glitter to finish the inside of the ball and to set the stage for my design.
     I finally realized the I could use the printable vinyl that came with my Imagine cricut machine to print my artwork. Brilliant idea! I cut it at 1.6" and found it was the perfect size for my ornament. I then just cut a plain circle out of the vinyl and layered the image in the middle. Once it was afixed to the glass ball I used Triple Thick Gloss Glaze by Americana on top of the image and let it dry overnight. I had tried other finishes but they had a tendency to pool or drip of the edges. Some of the finishes needed more than one coat or were not thick enough for what I wanted to accomplish. This finish was perfect.
     One note about this finish is that youhave to brush it on. I globbed it on and it does have a few air bubbles doing it this way. However it seems to give it some character with the air bubbles, almost like it is snowing. Wait a minute, why not make it snow? I pulled out some stickles and added some to create the illusion that it is snowing! Another great idea!!!! I used a gold cording to hang the ornament with and voila, it's done.

     Aren't these just adorable? You have Santa, Mrs. Claus, the Toy Shop and there are images to use for penguins, trains, rocking horses, reindeer etc. the possibilities are endless. I will be adding these to my etsy shop as soon as I figure out the shipping, lol. Hope you enjoy these and don't be afraid to leave a comment and tell me what you think!