Christmas is my season. By the end of November, I'm ready to skip Thanksgiving and turkey and start putting up the tree. There's always a Christmas music playlist on my phone and I eat enough candy canes in a one month period that even Buddy the Elf would be proud. Needless to say, Christmas is my thing. Which means that I am all about some DIY ornaments.
I fell in love with these gorgeous gilded ornaments when they came into Anthropologie, but they were just simple enough that I was sure I could figure out how to make my own. There were some tutorials on making shapes and monograms out of gold leaf, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. So, a trip to the craft store was in order...
Once you get started, these ornaments come together very easily. You only need some clear, glass ornaments, gold leaf sheets (I used copper leafing for this tutorial), and spray adhesive. Total, it cost less than $20 to make 12 ornaments.
Lightly spray a foil sheet with the spray adhesive. You don't want it to get too heavy, or else it will rip the foil as you smooth it out. Try not to get the spray adhesive on your fingers, as it really does stick to everything.
Gently roll the ornament around on the foil sheet. One sheet will nearly cover the entire ornament-if you want it fully covered, you can use multiple sheets for each one. Personally, I like being able to see into the ornament through the open areas in the gold leaf.
Lightly tap the gold leaf down with your finger-this is where it's very important to have clean fingers without spray adhesive! Any left over spray adhesive on your hands will pull the gold foil up off the ornament. As you tap around the foil, the air bubbles will disappear, giving you a smooth finish. The more gentle you can be, the better off the ornament will turn out. Try not to touch it too much until it's completely dried. When you've completed, you can use a clear spray varnish to protect the gold leaf for the years to come.
Since we had already decorated our tree a couple of weeks ago, I decided to create a holiday garland for our bedroom. Copper and cranberry just go hand-in-hand, don't you think?
