Creativity Tip No. 43

Polka Dot Christmas Balls

Small Christmas ball ornaments waiting to be decorated



I was out shopping the other day and came across small containers of tiny Christmas ornaments that had polka dots all over them. I loved the idea of them and decided I would buy some and put them in some square vashes I have. Voila! An easy, inexpensive centerpiece.

I would need at least three of the containers to fill the vases, and was shocked when I turned one container over to see the price tag: $12. So for nearly $40 I could have that simple, inexpensive centerpiece. Didn't seem right somehow.

I then visited a JoAnn's craft store and found the same little ornaments sans polka dots on sale for $2.50 a container. That's when I had a dangerous idea: Why couldn't I paint dots on these ornaments to get the same effect?

So that's what I am doing. I already had white paint and decided I could use mini muffin pans filled with tissues as a drying rack for my little gems. I am using an old rounded embossing tool to make the paint dots but you could use a paint brush or anything else that will make a dot.

I can only paint dots on one half of the balls at a time for obvious reasons. I will let these dry overnight and then paint on the other side. I will then have 24 decorated balls when I am done with this first batch. I know I need more than that so I will probably paint 24 more.

As you can imagine, this is pretty time-consuming, but they have turned out to be pretty and still cost less than the original ones and I am enjoying myself. Very Yeasty!

Note: Here is the almost-finished final product! I need to add a few more ornaments to this vase and then make more to fill up its twin. Looks pretty good so far!