Christmas Crafts - Ceramic Bauble Decorating
How is it November already?! What an utterly weird and horrible year this has been....2020 sounded like such a promising title! New decade! New beginnings! New......pandemic. BOOM - deal with that world.
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So - given that it looks like we'll all be spending a lot of time at home with only close family this Christmas - I'm going to do a series of Christmas Craft blog posts to keep you occupied on those long dark cold nights.....
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I find that Christmas Crafts are best paired with Mulled Anything You Can Find In The Cupboard (mulled Sambucca anyone?) and the cheesiest Christmas tunes you can find.... and this craft project is no exception. Go on....bang on some Bublé and get yer Baubles oot! I mean decorated....unless you want to get yer baubles oot whilst yer decorating yer baubles....you do you babes!
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Ever wondered how to make those beautiful ceramic sparkly baubles you see all over Pinterest at this time of year? Well wonder no more my friend, I'm here to tell ya!
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Materials you will need:
Ceramic baubles
Jute twine
Gold/copper or silver leaf (transfer booklets are easier than loose leaf if this is your first time leafing!)
Black felt tip pen or paint pen
PVA glue watered down to a milky consistency
Brush pen or letter stamps (if using letter stamps you'll need ink)
Paintbrush x 2
Optional extras:
acrylic paint
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(psssst - a lot of the items above come in our ceramic bauble decorating kit available here
we've done the hard work so you can just dive straight in to your crafty fun!)
Step 1
Decide on what sort of design you'd like to create - you could keep things simple and just write or stamp the names of your loved ones on the bauble and accent it with copper leaf, or you could make some interesting abstract patterns, stripes, dots, triangles using the black pen - I've posted some pictures of designs I've tried out to give you some inspiration!
Gold leaf and letter stamps
Neon leopard print with acrylic paint
Copper leaf on its own
Acrylic paint
Blue and gold leopard print with acrylic paint and black pen
Black pen and silver leaf
Step 2
Create the drawing part of your pattern first using the black pen.
Step 3
Now it's time to apply the gold or copper leaf.
When applying gold leaf if you were e.g gilding a frame - proper gold size is used, which is like a type of varnish. Here, as we're just decorating baubles, we will use watered down PVA glue, which achieves the same effect but is much less expensive.
First, decide where you would like to apply the gold leaf, then use the paintbrush to apply a very thin layer of your watered down PVA glue to the surface of the bauble.
When applying leaf of any kind - the key is to wait for the adhesive agent to be tacky to the point of almost being dry before applying. You want the glue to feel "squeaky' to touch before applying the leaf. This can take anywhere between a few seconds to a few minutes -the ceramic bauble surface is quite porous, so you may find that it absorbs and dries quite quickly - don't worry if the leaf doesn't stick first time. You can simply apply more glue mixture over the top and try again.
Step 4
Once your adhesive has reached the correct level of tacky, pick up a sheet of your copper leaf transfer booklet, and gently press it onto the surface of the bauble where you have applied the glue. The metal leaf will stick to the primed surface and pull away from the transfer booklet. You can then use a soft, dry and clear paintbrush, to gently buff the surface of the metal leaf - which will help the leaf adhere to the surface, and brush away any pieces of leaf which haven't stuck.
Step 5
Once you're happy with your leafing application and the design of your bauble - simply cut a small length of the jute twine and thread through the hole at the top!
Step 6
Hang from your Christmas tree and keep your fingers crosse that no cats/dogs/small children try to sabotage your beautiful creative piece!
Happy Christmas Crafting Babez!
Zoe xxxx