Glittery Gingerbread Ornament Teacher Gifts

I always love to make something special for all my kids teachers especially for Christmas.  This year it was more about the outside of the gift than the inside, but the inside had some really yummy homemade peanut butter chocolate crunch bars.  We ended up giving these glittery gifts to more than just the kids teachers, we also gave some to the principals at my eldest school.

I used the wonderful 6 piece set of Gingerbread Ornaments from Unique Laser Designs as the base for the for these gifts.  Each ornament comes with its own string to hang up on the tree, they are all unique, really perfect just on their own, but I decided to glitter them up.  Below is a tutorial on how to glitter these fun little ornaments with this amazing Sparkle Medium.

  Techniques for Glittering Intricate Chipboard or Wood

1) Start with the chipboard or wood of your choice (these are wood).  I used these cute little Gingerbread ornaments, but as you can see there are lots of cutouts in the men, and that is what gives them their charm, but hard to glitter without getting in all the crevasses.  Below are some tips.

2) If you just do a light coat with the glitter (like below), it looks great, but for these gifts I wanted a complete coverage so I needed to apply a thick coat of Sparkle Medium to the entire surface.

3) Once you apply the thick coat of sparkle medium with a foam brush it covers up most of the details of the ornament, but that is an easy fix!!  Hint- only do one side of the ornament at a time so it has time to dry and not smudge.

4) Using needle, thumb tack, paper piercer, or other long thin object (I used my paper piercer and cleaned it up really well after) poke the tip into the holes of your object to scrape out the extra glitter inside.  You may have to do this a few times in the front and back of each hole, wiping away the extra that builds up with the foam brush.  This step takes some time, but really worth it in the end.

5) It takes about 2-3 hours to dry due to the thick layer or glitter medium applied, but they look amazing when they are done.  They are now super sparkly and perfect for these gift bags.

6) I used plain lunch bags as the base for the gifts.  I filled the bags with the yummy homemade treats, folded over the top a couple of times (squeezing out the air) and stapled it at the top.  I then took a hole punch and punched 2 holes at the top and used green satin ribbon and laced it through the holes tying a simple bow lacing the ornament string in as I tied the bow and let it hang down the bag.

These gifts are filled with homemade goodies, topped with a homemade glittery ornament, and place in a homemade gift bag.  It is a simple gift, but it is one from the heart to show my kid's teachers just how much I appreciate them.  When I taught the best presents given to me were the ones that were made not just a simple gift card, it meant so much more that the parent or student took the time to create something for me - straight from the heart, and years later those are the presents I remember and still have!!

Supplies Used

Wood - ULD

Glitter- Imagination Crafts

Ribbon - May Arts

Foam Brush - Plaid

Paper Bag

Hole Punch

Staples

Paper Piercer

Enjoy!!

All That Shimmers for the Holidays

Starting my Christmas gifts and ornaments with my ULD cuts I adore!  I especially love holly and nature scenes for the holiday and winter.  This is the photo with a white background (more info below).
Note:  Each ornament comes with a ribbon for hanging.

Here is the image on a black background.


The ornament technique uses mica powders!  They have been around a long long time.  I started using them in the 90's.  Colors and types have evolved over the years to the advantage of us artists who love them!

Pearl Ex is the first type I started using, then Powdered Pearls (which I adored) - but they went out of business.  Primary Elements are the ones I use the most  for their color family but I do mix up the Powdered Pearls a lot, especially the interference colors.  I think Ranger's powders are Perfect Pigments and they have binders in them already, and USAQ has an off-shoot of the Pearl Ex with their own mixed mica powders as well.  Choose what you like, they pretty much all work the same.

Above is the holly ornament and here are my supplies.  There are many techniques for working with mica powder.  This gives a sort of adhesive-fast way to work so you do not have to spray finish your art.

I recommend Tsukineko Brilliance and Versa Color pigment inks.  Rich pigments and juicy.  The Dew Drops smaller pads work well to get into small places.


Tap the color pigment ink you want as a base color for the area you choose, ie:  holly leaves.  I chose the lighter green color.

Using a small, soft brush ( I use watercolor for fine details, and a mop brush for big areas - or you can use a make up brush), dip brush into powder and tap onto lid.  A little powder goes a long way.  Brush colors on like you are painting, noticing where highlights and shadows go.

Here is an interference color.  It looks white but when you brush it over the surface and tilt in light, you see shimmers of blue, green, red, or in this case; silver.

the colors blend seamlessly!  You have all ranges of shimmer going on!  The camera doesn't show it, but if you could see the beautiful range of colors shining through.  I even added copper from the ornament ring for added compliments and shading.    The interference color adds the the highlight needed on the berries.

Another close up.  You can see the tiny flecks of mica (it is actually a rock with shimmery properties)!

Once you brush on the powders, they stick to the creamy surface of the pigment inks.  Any little bit of mica powder that comes off is just excess.  The integrity of the art will stay intact.


I am starting to really get into the spirit of the holidays!!  I am thankful for being able to create and give my art to friends and family!  It is such a joy.

On the 19th, I have another technique with mica powders, one that you might not have thought of !!!!

Cre8tivelea yours, Lea