Sequined Christmas Ornament

Once again it's time for Christmas. Of course Christmas time brings with it gifts, family, and way too much holiday food. (That is, if you believe in such a thing as too much holiday food.) Additionally, the holiday season often brings a lot of free time that could be spent binge watching TV shows you haven't had time to catch up on. However, you could instead use that free time to make a cute, festive craft. Enter the sequined holiday ornament. It's customizable and requires no special knowledge or tools to make, just a chunk of about 3 hours time. Tedious and repetitive though the process may be, it gives you a chance to let your brain relax. Feel free to take breaks during crafting; I found myself going a little cross-eyed after an hour or so. I also crafted with my mom, and we had a fun time chatting. If you're planning on crafting with children, I would recommend they be no younger than 12 years old. The pins are sharp and attaching them requires a bit of fine motor skill.

With that in mind, let's begin.

The supplies for 6 ornaments are pictured below. They cost me about $25 at Jo-Ann Fabrics, but I didn't shop any sales and I didn't have any supplies beforehand.

1. Styrofoam spheres- These are 3" spheres, but I might recommend going even smaller for your first ornament. The smaller it is, the less time it will take to cover it in sequins. Also, you could use green flower arranging foam but some of the sphere will likely show through the sequins, so consider it.

2. Sequins- These are 8 mm sequins. There are smaller ones available but I wouldn't recommend using them. Again, it will just take longer to cover the spheres.

3. Ornament Hooks- Feel free to use any hooks you might already have laying around.

4. Sequin pins- Traditional straight pins would also work, sequin pins are just a bit shorter. However, you may find that you prefer a longer pin.

5. Seed beads- I chose clear beads, but feel free to use colored ones in your design.

6. Scissors

First, slide a seed bead onto a sequin pin, as shown.

Next, slide on a sequin of the desired color. I chose to have the convex side of the sequin face outward, so it looks like a little dome on the surface of the sphere. I like it better this way, but you may also face the sequins the other way so they're like little bowls on the surface of the sphere.

I'm making a striped pattern with a red center stripe.

Attaching the sequins can be tricky at first as you have to coordinate keeping everything on the pin while also aiming to get the placement right. You'll get better as you go.

For my pattern, I first made a red center stripe that was three sequins wide. I first made a single row of red sequins and made it wider by adding a row to either side of the center stripe.

Then, I did two rows white sequins.

Next, I did three rows of gold sequins.

Finally, I filled in the remaining space with red sequins. It wasn't quite even, but that's okay. Also, don't be worried if you can see small parts of the surface of the sphere between the sequins. In the end, it doesn't make a large impact on the looks of the product.

To finish, you just need to give your ornament a hanger. I chose to bend and cut an ornament hook into a loop, which I then shoved into the sphere.

Other finishing options include using eyelet screws or pinning ribbon to the ornament. Whatever you do, it has to be somewhat sturdy. The ornament is pretty light though, so it doesn't take too much to do the trick.

Pictured here is the pattern my mom came up with. Don't be afraid to come up with your own ideas. If getting a pattern right really stresses you out, you can even cover the entire ornament in the same color. The end product still looks pretty cool. Just be creative, and enjoy.

Happy Holidays!