Christmas Crafts. Handmade Christmas Tree Decorations

We started our preparation for Christmas after Valery had unexpectedly brought a Christmas costume for our little Soniya (19 mo). Something just turned within me: “It’s high time!” Christmas decorations, Christmas gifts, Christmas arts and crafts – we started making all these ourselves. Today we will tell you what we have prepared for the Christmas tree. Christmas balls!

I learnt how to make Christmas balls from Nadya, the mother of little Silvestr (3,5) and Makar (22 mo), a year ago: Nadya was making them with her elder son who was 2 years old then. I postponed this Christmas craft for a year: I wished we could make such Christmas tree decorations together with our daughter. And this year Soniya is old enough to be able to help me in making them!

For those who’d like to make such Christmas balls we post Nadya’s instruction:

«A string should be pierced through a plastic bottle (2 punctures) in which glue should be poured. You can also put the glue into some bow but then the whole process will be much dirtier .

Anastasia’ remark: we’ve made it in the following way:

It is very easy to turn the bottle with a string around the ball

Here is the type of strings we used (they’ve got semitones):

Blow up a balloon up to the desired size (it will shrink a bit when the glue dries up) and then wind the string around the balloon. Gradually you’ll see what space you’d like to leave in your ball. Then snip the string off and carefully glue (smooth) the end of it to the nearest string of the ball. Let the balloon dry.

Anastasia’s remark: here is how we were drying the balloon

When the glue has dried up, take the balloon away through the largest whole (you can unite or pierce the balloon).

And then you can decorate your Christmas balls in whatever way you’d like. You can use ribbons, spangles, organza, bows, appliqué works (in the form of Christmas trees, stars, candles), etc. You can even paint your balls using stencils.

Anastasia’s remark: we painted the balls with acrylic spangles (gold, silver, emerald green and bronze). For one of the balls, I made stars from food foil. Some of our Christmas balls have got tassels.

Then adjust a paper clip or a string to the top of the ball.

Such Christmas balls really look beautiful!»

Below you can see what Christmas balls have Soniya and I made:

In what way Soniya helped me? She was very much involved in decorating the balls with acrylic spangles and she was very happy when a new ball was born.

Anastasia

Illustrations to the article:

Photos by the author

To read this article in Russian, please, follow here