vintage snowflake & glitter ornament {tutorial}

I'm still working on ornaments for our tree, but I need to hurry because we're going to pick one out this weekend! I created this vintage ornament with a chipboard snowflake, a little vintage sheet music, and lots of glitter for the ladies in our church group to make at an activity this week. We made almost 50 of them in under 2 hours, all while chatting and enjoying holiday treats! It was so much fun. Here's how to make a few for yourself, or for a beautiful neighbor gift!

Vintage Snowflake Christmas Ornament Tutorial

Supplies:

*Chipboard snowflakes (either cut with a die cut machine, or purchased--mine are by Paper Accents)

*Vintage sheet music

*Paper or chipboard stars, about 1.5" across (I cut mine with my die cut machine out of empty cereal boxes)

*Printed word strips with a favorite Christmas saying (mine say "Peace On Earth" using the Champignon font, found free on the Internet)

*Silver glitter

*Glitter adhesive (I like Elmer's spray adhesive, but Mod Podge or other glitter glue would work)

*Glitter paint (I love Plaid's Extreme Glitter in Champagne) and paintbrush

*White crackle paint (I used Tim Holtz's in Picket Fence White)

*Mini silver brads

*Small silver jingle bells

*Strong double-sided tape or Glue Dots

*Tiny tinsel, ribbon, or twine for hanging

*Scissors, paper cutter

*Crop-A-Dile or other sturdy hole punch

First paint each chipboard snowflake with a thin layer of glitter paint and allow to dry.  (It's hard to see in the picture, but when the crackle paint cracks you can see the glitter shining through--so pretty!)

If you're crazy like me, also paint your brads and jingle bell with some glitter paint. 

 

Paint the spikes of the snowflake with a semi-thick coat of crackle paint. Set aside to dry. Hint: the thicker the crackle paint, the bigger the cracks, and also the longer the dry time.

Cut stars out of cardstock, chipboard, or an empty cereal box. I used my Stars #2 die cut from Sizzix with my Big shot machine.

 Spray or cover stars with glue. Cover with silver glitter and tap off. Allow to dry.

In order to keep the glitter from falling off, I coated my stars with a layer of Krylon clear spray finish. I only had Matte finish, but they turned out looking great!

Cut a strip of sheet music about 1" wide and 8.5" long. You can use real sheet music from the antique shop, or download digital vintage sheet music from someplace like Etsy.com. Fold your strip of sheet music accordion-style to the end, using about 1/4" folds. Try to keep the folds even and uniform. 

 

Be careful if you're using vintage music--the paper can be brittle and tear easily!

Adhere ends of folded sheet music together with a piece of double-sided tape, so it forms a continuous ring. 

 

Place two strips of double-sided tape (or Glue Dots) on the back of your glittered star. Remove the paper backing.

Holding two sides of your accordion ring, flatten it into a fan circle (see a video here if you need a visual explanation).

Hold it flat with one hand and press the star in the middle, tape side down.  

Place two strips of double-sided tape in the middle of your snowflake. Remove the paper backing and press the fan circle in the middle, making sure the top point of the star is pointing to the top point of the snowflake.

 

With the glitter paint and paintbrush, paint the edges of your word strip with glitter paint and allow to dry.

Punch holes near the edge of the strip with a tiny hole punch.

 

 Put a brad in each hole and open the prongs.

Put a small piece of double-sided tape or a Glue Dot on the back of each brad.

 

Remove the paper backing and press each brad onto a spine of the fan, arching the saying in the middle over the center of the star. I prefer this over punching a hole in the paper fan, which might not be sturdy enough to hold the brads.

Punch a hole through the chipboard with a heavy-duty hole punch (like the Crop-A-Dile). 

 

Thread a jingle bell onto your your tiny tinsel, twine, or ribbon, and thread that through the hole and tie at the top. 

You're done!

 

I wrapped these up in a cello bag with some ribbon and faux berries to take to friends who weren't able to make it to our activity that night. These would also make great neighbor gifts!