When I was young, our next door neighbor used to give me and my sister a new ornament each Christmas. After many years of her generosity we had so many ornaments we were able to decorate our OWN tree with those ornaments. They have since traveled with us to our new homes, and our new experiences. I still hang these ornaments on my tree each Christmas and remember those memories.

So for day 7 of 25 days of crafts, we set out to make new memories with an icicle ornament. Cathie and I both had never painted on glass before, and realized it was much harder than it seems! With a lot of trial and error (and a lot of laughing) we tried our hand at this craft. Now that I can say I’ve tried it … I have great respect for the art form.

MATERIALS

You can create one icicle ornament in about 15 minutes, not including drying time. If you are working with glass for the first time, allow yourself additional time (and balls) to practice.

• Glass balls
• Silver glass paint
• Iridescent or glitter glass paint
• Toilet paper tube
• Narrow brushes
• Ribbon

INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1:

Before painting, clean your ball with glass cleaner. It also helps to remove the cap and hook, which you can do by gently squeezing the hook on either side and slowly pulling up and out.

Cut a toliet paper tube in thirds, and use one of the pieces to stand your glass ball upright. This will also help keep it standing when it’s drying.

Apply a small amount of silver glass paint to your brush. Starting from the top, pull your brush down along the curve of the ball about a 1/3 of the way. Start with more pressure and release to a light tip for the bottom of the icicle.

Step 2:

Continue applying icicles in various lengths and widths around the crown of the ball.

Step 3:

To round the tips of the icicles, paint from the tip of the icicle up toward the base. This will help minimize any hard edges.

Step 4:

Apply a light layer of the iridescent or glitter paint over each icicle.

Step 5:

After allowing the paint to dry, reattach the hook and cap. String a piece of ribbon through the hook and tie a bow.

Woot! You just made an icicle ornament and a new memory!