Quite late, I know, but these were some of my DIY ornaments for 2013. I had too many ideas so it's a'clutter--Harry Potter, Star Wars (not shown), named ornaments, sculpting, spraypaint--it was a little chaotic. I had one day off and I ran with all my crafting ideas... from 10am to 11pm. It was longer than a regular work day! Still, even after the mess I was left with I'm pretty happy with my new tree additions. At least now I know what crafting ideas to go with next time, and which ones to totally ditch.



I really liked these black ornaments! Michael's sells these clear ornament balls along with other shapes and sizes for about $5 and with the 40% Off coupons they're always throwing about, it was even more affordable. The spray on chalkboard is always fun to use, too, but I didn't have liquid chalk so I just used a white ink pen (so sue me!). I made these customized badboys for my aunts and cousins. A pretty neat, cheap and easy stocking stuffer. For sureee.

Now for my favorite part: the clay! I bought some Sculpey for my first time, and I just had to make a few owl friends since I was also making the Golden Snitches! Wizarding World themed ornaments? YES, PLEASE! -- I also purchased a little clay sculpting tool kit and once I got a hang of molding/sculpting, I was easily able to make three little owls & mini books! I used some jewelry wire as the string loop. The longest and most difficult part was the baking. Even if the owls were only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches in height, they seemed to take hours to bake--I assume because the were so dense. Anyway, once they finished, I simply used some acrylic paint for coloring and design. I should put some type of finish/gloss over it, but I don't have any at the moment. Regardless, I think it somehow turned out well!







Now I know I still need a lot of work, but it's a first time for all of these projects, so I pass the decency test. I expect to do better and greater things next year. As always, do big, or try again another time.