Silver Leaf Glass Christmas Ornaments

After both gold and silver leafing some trays some weeks ago, I finally figured out today that "press and peel" silver leafing was simply MADE for Christmas ornaments!  I was so excited how easy this was today that I nearly forgot to pick up my youngest from school.

Let's get right to this now.





Start with a box of clear glass ornaments from you fav hobby store.  I got mine at Hobby Lobby here.  Get a Mona Lisa Starter Kit and some Mona Lisa Press and Peel Silver Leafing.  You will need one sheet per ornament.  Next, have a brush for the adhesive and one for the sealer you will need afterwards.

Apply the adhesive all over the glass ornament.  Go right up to the top edge without applying where the ornament clip will fit.  If you see bubbles forming, wipe your brush on a paper towel and go back over making sure there are no bubbles on your ornament.  Bubbles keep the silver leafing from adhering properly.  Let the ornaments set for 30-40 minutes until your adhesive is tacky to the touch.

After the adhesive has set, take a sheet of the silver (or gold) leafing.  

Start at the top and gently fold the leafing sheet over the top and around the sides of the ornament.  Man, don't be shy on this one - go for it cause it's that bloody easy!  Rub your thumb or fingers over the leafing so that it sticks to the adhesive.

Do this ALL over the ornament in whatever messy fashion you'd like to.  If you missed a spot, take what's on the sheet in press into the bare area to fill them in.

Keep using the extra "flakes" you have on your sheet to fill those areas in until you have the desired coverage you want.

For the next part, I used Tim Holtz tissue tape rolls with musical notes on them.  I thought it gave the ornaments a bit of a French twist on the look.

You want thin strips for this part so I took one piece, about 6-7 inches long - measure your ornament to be sure - and then cut in into two strips for each ornament.

Gently, I started at the edge of the top of the ornament and rubbed in around to the other side.  Press down as you go.

 The tissue sticks well without sticking to everything in the process, so it's really easy to work with on this project.

Next, take the sealer that came with your starter kit and apply a thin coat to the whole ornament including the tissue tape.  Let that sit and dry for another 30-40 minutes.

When dry you can use the antiquing glaze that came with the kit, but it's a bit of a brown color and I'm going for an old mercury glass look.  So I took a 50/50 mixture of black acrylic paint and water and brushed one one coat and then let it dry.  

I followed with one more coat which was to accent certain areas around the tape.  Blot the paint after each coat or you will have "puddles" forming on your ornament.

You should have something that resembles this:

These are going to be used on my mantle which I should be putting the final touches on this week.  It includes angel wings, white feathers, and silver-glittered origami cranes that my son learned to make from a Korean girl at school this past week.  In fact, watching him making those cranes was the entire inspiration for my mantle this year.  The cranes will be hanging from the ceiling!  

Let's just pray I don't get hot glue in my eye doing it though!

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