This Week's Ornament Tutorial: Glittered Forest Friends

I do love my glitter. I love hedgehogs. So when I was trying to think up some ideas for ornaments, of course Glittered Hedgehogs came to mind. Why not? And I didn't want Hedgehog to be lonely, so I made him an Owl friend....

The trickiest part of this project is trying not to lose your glitter by handling too much... Handle the cardstock pieces as little as possible, and always on the edges.

Supplies:

• White cardstock
• 2 pieces of wood, 1/8 - 1/4" thick (such as Balsa wood), cut to 3 1/2 x 4" (for mine, I actually used some scraps of beadboard that my husband had laying on his workbench)
• Acrylic paint in Brown (Americana Burnt Umber) and Light Green (Delta Ceramcoat Leaf Green)
• Glitter- Brown and Light Green (Martha Stewart Brownstone and Green Agate)
• ModPodge decopauge glue for paper
• Scrap paper
• X-acto knife and/or sharp small scissors
• Small old paintbrush for applying ModPodge
• 1/8 - 3/8" drill bit
• #240 sandpaper
• String or cord for hanging
• Optional: 1/8" hole punch

Print out pattern sheet. 

Use an X-acto knife and/or manicure scissors to cut out the details in the owl. Once the details are cut out, use scissors to cut around the outside of the owl shape. 

For the hedgehog, you can either use the manicure scissors to cut out the eye and then cut around the outside of the hedgehog shape, OR cut out the hedgehog first and then use a 1/8” hole punch to cut out the eye.

Place one of the shapes on a piece of scrap paper. Use the paint brush to apply ModPodge to the shape (Hint- on the shape that will get dark brown glitter, apply glue to the printed side of the cardstock. For the shape that will get light green glitter, apply glue to the unprinted side of the cardstock. This will give you better coverage.) 

Quickly and carefully (before ModPodge dries), transfer shape to a clean sheet of scrap paper. Sprinkle (dump) a generous amount of glitter onto the shape. 

Wait several minutes to give ModPodge a chance to dry, then gently tap excess glitter from shape. Use the paint brush to reapply ModPodge to any spots that you missed and sprinkle with glitter. Allow to dry. (Don't forget to do the little circles for the owl's eyes).

Drill a hole in each piece of wood (for one piece, drill on the short side of the rectangle, and for the other drill on the long side.) The size of the hole needed will be determined by the size of the string or cord you are using to hang it. Sand the wood lightly.

Paint one wood piece green, and the other brown. (Don't forget to paint the sides and back.) Allow to dry, then lightly sand away some of the paint just on the edges. Remember that your brown glittered cardstock will go on the green wood, and the green glittered cardstock will go on the brown wood, so paint the pieces accordingly.

Holding the edges of the cardstock shape carefully, use a paint brush to apply ModPodge to back of cardstock (you will have to work quickly, because ModPodge dries quickly). Place cardstock on wood piece. Use brush handle to gently press edges down (this will work better than using your hands to push edges down- the handle won't remove glitter like your fingers will.) To place the owl's eyes, you may want to use tweezers. Or just drop it on and hope it goes in the right place, like I did :)

When glue is completely dry, you can use a small paint brush dipped in paint to touch up around edges and cover any glue or glitter smudges.

Allow to dry completely. Attach string for hanging.

You can also skip drilling the hole, and use them for little pieces of artwork. They look cute on a miniature easel: 

Click here for PDF of tutorial (including pattern sheet).