#TBCcrafters Thrilling Thursday ~ Silver and Gold Medallion Ornament

I love making ornaments and have had a really fun project for some years now. When my husband and I moved to the area we are in now and he became the pastor of the church here I wanted to do something special for the people in the church each year at Christmas. I settled on making ornaments for each person, kids and adults alike. I can't tell you how much fun it has been to come up with a new one each year and the joy it has been to hand them out to everyone on the Sunday just before Christmas. I keep them very hush, hush. No one has any idea what I am making until I start handing them out. 

This year I had so much fun making this ornament and wanted to share it through the #TBCcrafters Thrilling Thursday craft post (yep I'm a little late!). Here's what you need to make this ornament.

• glass ball ornaments (I used frosted ones because they paint easier)
• lace
• gold metallic paint
• silver metallic paint
• Tacky Glue
• silver pipe cleaners
• silver glitter
• old hymnal (or paper of your choice)
• ribbon
• foam brush
• sponge
• round toothpick

 The first step is to remove the metal loop at the top of the ornament. I stored mine all in a bowl while working on them so I wouldn't loose them or mess them up. The next step is one my husband just laughs at, but appreciates why I do it. I take large coffee mugs and fill them 2/3 full of rice. I then poke unsharpened pencils in the rice and place the ornaments on top of the pencils. The rice hodls the pencils steady and you can keep the ornaments apart from each other as they dry. I also hold the pencil and the neck of the ornament while I am paining it. Goes much quicker and easier for me!

Apply about 3 good coats of the gold paint. You may need to touch up here and there after the third coat, but even if it is not absolutely covered don't worry about it. That just adds some charm and rusticness to the ornament.

 Here you can see the difference from one coat (on the left) and two coats (on the right).

 When they are all nicely coated wit the gold then you get to play with the silver and the sponge. Just pour a little paint out into a bowl. I used one of my Corelle small plates because the pait will not stick to it even when it dries! Dip the sponge in the paint and dab all over the ball, but not covering the whole thing. I did on good coat this way, but if you want to add more go for it! 

 Making the little medallions was what took the longest. It's simple because there are a lot of steps to them and your hands can get cramped from all the folding and folding and more folding. Cut the pieces of paper to measure  2 inches by 1 1/4 inch. Accordion fold the paper stating from the short end. I folded it in half, then in half again and then one more time. Then you fold long end to long end and glue the edges together to make the little fan. For each medallion you need to make four of these little fans. Glue the four fans together and let them dry. I laid them out on an old cookie sheet I use for crafts to dry. 

The next step is where you really get to shine., literally!! It's glitter time. I don't care how careful you are after glittering 60 little medallions you will have glitter on you somewhere!! LOL!! I thinned out the Tacky Glue with a bit of water so it would not be so heavy on the edges of the paper and clump up the glitter. I did this by placing the glue on a Corelle plate. Keep the level of the glue low so you can roll the medallions through the glue on the edges. Check them after you roll them to make sure all the ends got glue. if not roll again in the spots needed and push just a smidge harder as you do so.Then you roll again in the glitter.

The next part takes some patience. You need to take the toothpick and the pipe cleaner to make the little piece that sits in the center of the medallion. wrap the pipe cleaner around the toothpick 1 1/2 times and cut the end off. Crush it so it lies flat and glue it on the center. Believe me the patience comes when you realize how stinkin small that pice is and how easy it is to loose it when you cut it off.

 Here's what a whole bunch of them look like when they are done. They are just so neat looking!!

Replace the metal ring on the top of the glass ball. Measure around the base of it with the pipe cleaner and cut a piece to fit. Form a ring with it and glue it the the ball. Measure again around the ball in the center with the lace and cut a piece just slightly larger. Glue carefully in place overlapping the ends. Place the medallion over the overlapped ends. Cut a piece of ribbon approximately 10 inches long. put it through the ring on the top of the ornament and knot it one time at the top to form the hanger. You don't need to do this step if you don't want to. They look nice hanging on the tree with just hooks, but I personally think they look better with the ribbon. It just adds to the whole effect!

There you have it! A tree full of these is just beautiful and I know you will enjoy them! The people at the church sure did!!