Creating Christmas - Memento Ornaments

I knew I wanted to do something for the baby's first Christmas, and I still had the hospital cap and bracelet that he came home with. I didn't know what else I planned to do with them, and this was so simple. Of course I got the larger ornament to be able to get the cap inside, and used a pen to move things around until I liked it.

This is our 3rd Christmas in this house, but really the first one in which we have time to decorate. The first one, we moved in about 3 days before Christmas, The second one we were visiting family in Australia and arrived home on Christmas Eve. Again, I found this idea on Pinterest and loved the simplicity - and bonus, I already had the materials!

Creating Christmas - Glass Globes & Sprinkles

Okay, we have all seen glass globe ornaments decorated in a bazillion ways - years ago I did a nativity scene on a glass globe by filling with paint for the background and painting details on the outside. When I found this on Pinterest though, I loved the idea to use sprinkles.

But I was skeptical of the outcome. My initial fears:

- clumping glue and thus clumping sprinkles

- dissolving sugar resulting in bleeding, runny colors

I am happy to say neither of these fears was realized. I think what really made it work was using acrylic varnish as the glue. I wasn't sure I had any so Modge Podge was going to be my back-up. I didnt have to use it though, so I am not sure how well it would work. The varnish is much thinner than white glue or Modge Podge, so it created only the thinest layer inside the globe. It also begins to dry quickly, so less chance of bleeding colors.

Since I was already doing peppermints, I stuck with the red and white idea. I tried plain red sugar crystals and a mix of red and clear. 

The plain red crystals were finer so they created a more complete coat of color on the inside of the globe, creating a textured but uniform look - almost like velvet. I love how the mixed crystals turned out. The crystals were larger, so the missed some spaces, but you can really see the texture and when light shines through they almost look like stained glass. 

Using the little bar or ball sprinkles would give you even more variety!