A bit of sparkle to unite the generations

Published in Issue 20, December 2012

Written by Kirsty from The Litte Floating Craft Co

www.littlefloatingcraftcompany.co.uk

One of my earliest memories is of my mum sitting very patiently with my big brother and me helping us make decorations for the family Christmas tree. I remember cutting down egg boxes, dipping the edge in glue and glitter, making a chime from an old matchstick, also dipped in glue and glitter and finally joining the two together with thread to form a bright, sparkly bell. We made paper chains, we made cards for our grandparents; we got stuck in and we had a great time!

In this current revival of the make do and mend ethos and with homemade crafts being absolutely on trend, it’s a fantastic time to encourage your family to sit down together and create some memories to be kept in the Christmas decorations box for many years. I think this should be an uncomplicated adventure that both little and big hands can enjoy, without fiddly techniques or a frustrating need for an adult to do too much to help.

With this in mind I designed these three decorations. All are formed from cheap polystyrene balls which are readily available from craft stores, DIY shops, good old Ebay and I have used a variety of sizes as it’s always good to have big decorations for the bottom layers of the tree, and teeny ones for the top!

The hangers: Take a length of ribbon or cotton tape no more than 15cm long and two pins. Secure one end of the ribbon using one of your pins, pushing it into the polystyrene as far as it will go and then nestle the other end of the ribbon as close as you can get it and pin into position with your other pin. Use pearl headed pins or look online for florist pins which come with all kinds of tops such as pearls, diamante in different colours, even little flowers!

Print, pins & buttons: The largest bauble is covered with disks of paper cut from an abandoned and useless old book. The bauble has been slightly dented in the palm of my hand using a fingertip and then a pretty pearl headed pin is pushed through an old button, through the paper and into the polystyrene ball. Be sure that your ball has a wider diameter than the length of your pins to avoid any sore fingers! 

Cover the ball in these disks completely. I have sprayed the bauble with a little silver glitter spray to add some sparkle when it’s on the tree near the lights.

Glittery pink print: this small bauble is the most simple of all three, and is just covered with torn scraps of old book pages that have been covered in basic school PVA glue and arranged over the surface, being sure to overlap. I sprayed a little pale pink ink over randomly to add interest and once it was dry I used my fingers and covered the whole bauble in glitter glue.

Vintage buttons and glitter: this button-ie bauble was the most complicated of the three, but only because the glue takes a little while to dry! If an adult is making this one then I’d recommend using a hot glue gun to attach the vintage buttons all over the surface of the polystyrene but if this is a family affair then a little patience and regular glue must be the way forward. Once the glue had dried a little I went over the bauble with my glitter glue, filling in the gaps and gently dabbing with my finger to smooth it around a little so we have an almost solid surface.

These would look great hung on a family Christmas tree and are simple to produce. Why not encourage your kids to write their name on a glittery print bauble and attach it to their Christmas stocking to make sure that the big man gets the right one? Or make one for their Grandma or Grandad? It would look so special with a fab drawing rolled up into a scroll and the bauble attached with a thick strand of ribbon tied with a bow! If you’re into gift wrapping with style then a bauble, ribbon and a sprig of greenery would look amazing,
The possibilities are endless so I really hope you enjoy making your baubles!