Remember when I posted
this last week?
Well, I decided to try it out.
Put my own little spin on it.
Report:
Ridiculously easy to make.
Super craft idea for kids too.
This is what I used:
2 sheets of Barcelona paper - Coloma
3 7gypsies Princesca Crystals
7gypsies rubbing - Nomenclature
stapler
string
glue stick
large jump ring
scrap piece of cardstock
ribbon
Alcohol Ink - Lettuce, Gold, Red Pepper (Ranger)
Blending tool with felt pad (Ranger)
Let's get started
Cut eight 1 1/2” x 12” strips of paper (this will make ONE ornament).
NOTE: You can adjust these sizes according to the size ornament you want to make.
Cut each set of
papers to length -
2 strips
12”
2 strips
10 1/2”
2 strips
9”
2 strips
8” - center piece
1 piece cardstock 1 1/2 x
8"- center piece (
you will not see this piece as it will be covered by the 8" strips so it does not matter what color cardstock you use)
1. Adhere the two 8” pieces of patterned paper on each side of the cardstock strip. This is your center.
2. Gather the remaining 6 strips into 2 piles, in descending order.
3. Staple 3 strips on each side of the center piece. Then 3 more to the other side. If you are using a
mini attacher, you
can staple all papers (both sides) at one time if you like. But for kids it might be easier to attach one side at a time.
NOTE:
It does not matter which side of the paper faces out. I made one ornament with stripes facing out, then all polka dots facing out, and one with polka dot, stripe, polka dots, Etc. This one was my favorite because you could see both papers when looking at it.
4. Use scraps to cover up staples if desired. I used a page from an old book.
5. Use Alcohol Ink (Ranger) to color the Princesca crystals.
Choose any color...I am working with
Red Pepper,
Lettuce, and
Gold. You will also need a blending tool with a
felt pad. You will also need to cover your work surface...I am working on a craft sheet. Alcohol ink is permanent so make sure to wear an apron or an old t-shirt when playing with the ink.
6. Add a few drops of ink color to felt pad (a little goes a long way).
7. Use the blending tool to rub the color onto the crystal. Super easy to change up the crystals to any color you like.
 |
| NOTE: It is much easier to ink the crystal if you remove the jump rings first. |
You can stop here or take it one step further to “age the crystal” using the gold color. Gold is a mixative, which just means you must shake the bottle until you hear the ball inside start to mix the liquid before you use it.
8. Squeeze a few drops onto the same pad (
or another if you like).
You can pounce or wipe the gold onto the crystal to give it that aged appearance.
 |
| The ink dries almost instantly. |
Just for fun I added some 7gypsies
number rubbings. This is one of my favorites, I think I have already gone through 3 packages of these!
Lets use the color Lettuce on the next one...this time I'll take off the jump rings, much easier getting into all the little spaces.
 |
| love that green color |
 |
| remember to SHAKE the gold mixative. |
 |
| okay, love the gold overlay too... |
I cut out a simple star shape from chipboard and glittered it on both sides. I added a large jump ring above the star and then hung the entire star/crystal from a hole I punched in the bottom on the ornament (see below).
This technique is really quite addicting. Lets just face it... you are going to want to ink all the crystals in the pack, in fact maybe you need two or three packages...you could really transform an entire chandelier for the holidays!
(but remember it's permanent on the glass or plastic)
 |
| I inked this crystal using just the gold. |
9. Punch a hole at the top for a string to hang the ornament and one at the bottom for the crystal.
I hung all three in the kitchen window since it gets the morning light. I used some MM pins I bought a while back. I just pinned them to the curtain but I am sure you could hang from a push pin into the ceiling but that would have involved a ladder and I didn't want to get one out of the garage.
 |
| gotta love that California sunshine in Dec! |
 |
| this one is my favorite with the back and forth paper patterns |
You could really change these up depending on the paper used...could look darling hanging in a little girls room, funky in a work space or hang plastic creatures from them and hang in a boys room. Lots of ideas just using the same basic pattern.
I put together a kit to make 3 ornaments. It has what you need to make the ornaments shown above sans Alcohol Ink. So if you want to color the crystals you will have to invest a few bucks in a color or two. Just leave a comment and I will post a winner on Wed morning, 12/15.
Happy Holidays!
Melanie Stanczyk said...
