Here are some more very simple ideas for for Christmas ornaments. The one on the left is a hollow paper mache ball covered with black, copper and pearl clay and metal leaf. I covered the ball in black clay, ran the pearl copper and black clay through the pasta machine with metal leaf, and then tore the metal-leafed clay and arranged it on the black clay. The tassel is made of scraps of eyelash and novelty yarn threaded though a base metal bead and the top of the ornament is finished with a base metal and glass bead.
The second ornament is made from the leaf cane I first learned from Leigh Ross. I applied the leaves from the bottom up, in an overlapping pattern over a hollow paper mache form and inserted a beaded tassel (bought at an after Christmas sale) through the end of the ornament and up through the top where I finished it off with beads. I applied small red balls of clay to the ornament to make it resemble holly.
You could cover cheap glass ornaments with clay, and glue or embed a wire on the bottom to hold your tassel. These would be great projects for kids, especially the first one becaus0e you can use any color clay and yarn, and left your imagination run wild.
As the proud owner of one of the leaf ornaments, I can say that the photo honestly does not do it justice. It’s one of our favorites, and we debate every year about who gets to hang it on the tree.
Polymer clay is ideally suited for ornament-making. One of my favorites that I made is an “icicle” of translucent clay and silver leaf mokume gane, lightly dusted with an intereference powder. Very winter-y.
Terri- if you can email me a picture of the ornament I would love to post it. Thanks.