Let the holiday season begin! Much to my husband’s dismay, the Christmas tree went up in our house a few weeks ago so I could start getting things prepared for the blog. It wouldn’t be very helpful if I showed you some jazzy new ideas for your holiday decorating the day before Christmas, now would it? Don’t hate the player, dear husband… hate the game.
We used to have just one tree in the house that had everything but the kitchen sink on it… Barbie ornaments from my childhood, the boys’ superhero ornaments, Jeremy’s John Deere tractor ornaments, and plenty of handmade ornaments from my Grandma Ginny. The past few years I’ve started putting up a second smaller tree in the boys’ bedroom that they can decorate with all their big, crazy, bright-colored ornaments and Momma can have a “pretty tree” in the living room. Best. Decision. Ever. The boys feel special getting their very own Christmas tree, and I get to decorate the living room tree MY style. Which doesn’t happen to include Captain America, Spongebob Square Pants, or Larry the Cable Guy.
I’ve slowly been adding more ornaments to my “pretty tree”, and this year I felt like it needed a little rustic charm to balance out all the glitter and glam. These Twine Ball Ornaments were easy (and so fun!) to make and add a touch of simple, natural beauty to my tree. I’ll show you how I made them!
Supplies:
- glue
- cornstarch
- water
- bowl and whisk
- balloon
- plastic wrap
- jute twine
- tape
- paintbrush
- ornament hanger
Step 1:
Mix together 4 ounces of regular ol’ school glue, 1/2 cup of cornstarch, and 1/4 cup warm water in a bowl. Whisk the mixture until it’s thick and smooth. Then go wash your whisk so you don’t end up with hunks of glue in your next batch of pancakes. I used this mixture when I made the “EAT” rope letters for my kitchen last year, and it held up very well over time. You could possibly get away with only using glue or even Mod Podge, but I find that the cornstarch adds a little extra stiffness that these ornaments need to keep their shape. If the mixture gets too thick on ya, just add a little extra water.
Step 2:
Grab a balloon, blow it up just a little, and tie a knot. The size of your balloon will dictate how large or small your finished ornament will be, so keep that in mind. Now wrap your balloon in a layer of plastic wrap. This will keep the balloon from sticking to the glue and make your life much easier. Wrap the twine around your balloon in a random pattern, keeping the twine taut as you go. I used a small piece of tape to hold the twine in place while I wrapped the balloon. Then cut the twine and tuck the end underneath another section of twine.
Now it’s time to get messy! Use a paintbrush to paint the glue over all the twine. I painted on a thick layer at first, making sure every bit was covered in glue, then went back and brushed away any extra.
Step 3:
Let the balloon dry overnight. Once dry, use a pin or knife to pop the balloon. Pull the deflated balloon and plastic wrap through one of the larger openings in your twine ball, and you have yourself a twine ball ornament! I did have little bits of glue left in between the twine pieces after popping the balloon, but they were easy to remove with my fingers.
I just love the way these look on my tree! For the most part, the glue dries clear, but any areas that were heavily coated may have a slight white appearance. I’m okay with that though, because I want these babies to hold their shape over time. I don’t want to open up my box of ornaments next year to find them all smushed! One Christmas project down… lots more to go!
Tell me what YOU think! Do you like these rustic twine ball ornaments? Do you have any handmade ornaments on your tree?
I’ll be sharing more holiday projects and a full tour of my home all decorated over the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
Are you making this project? I’d LOVE to see it! Post a photo of your creation on Instagram and use the hashtag #MyLGWProject. It may just get featured!
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Check out these other holiday ideas:
5 Easy Gift Ideas in a Mason Jar!
What Happens Under The Mistletoe Sign
LET’S KEEP IN TOUCH!
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These are adorable and would look perfect on my tree. Thanks for the plastic wrap tip. I made something similar for Easter and they DID stick to the balloon. It would be fun to put stuff inside too. I’m thinking about making one for each of the people in my family and then putting little handwritten notes inside. Maybe we could pull them all out after Christmas and read them together.
The plastic wrap was a perfect solution for that! Worked like a charm. 🙂 I think your idea of putting little notes inside the twine balls is just darling! Happy Holidays! 🙂
Love those ornaments! I would never have thought to add cornstarch, but come to think of it, that’s what teachers used to do (back in the 50’s) to make what we called Library paste. Made it thicker (and stickier — imagine 25 little six-year-olds coated with Library paste from head to foot!). Wonder if you could use colored yarn and then roll it in glitter?… Ooooo… Imagine the mess THAT would make! LOL! You have created a monster, Ms. Frankenstein!
Haha, I can picture it now! Major kudos to those teachers who braved Liberty paste with all those 6 year olds! I think you’re onto something with the glitter, Dea. That would be very cute! I’m not sure if yarn is thick/sturdy enough to hold a nice shape, but you’ll have to let me know how it turns out if you try it! Have a wonderful weekend. 🙂
Colored yarn may not work, but you could dye the twine. I think that might work.
Great idea, Kerri! Love that!
I love the twine ball ornament and I plan to make a few of them over the Thanksgiving weekend. Thank you for all the hard work you put into your blog. I’m new here and I’ve been on your blog “oohing and aahing” for an hour now! I’m also going to make the cauliflower gratin!
Kerri
I think you’re going to love adding these to your tree, Kerri! I want you to know that your kind words really mean so much to me. I truly appreciate it! Enjoy the cauliflower gratin! I’m definitely making it again for the holidays. 🙂
I love your twine ball ornaments! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome, Gigi! I’m so happy you like them!
I love these! Thanks for sharing! Also wanted to invite you to the “Found & Foraged” linky party tomorrow (Saturday) at 8pm. Can’t wait to party with you at http://www.houseofhipsters.com
Thank you, Kyla!!
Love this idea and I think I will be stealing it! Thanks!
Steal away, Darrielle! I bet these would look beautiful on your tree!
Love these!
Thanks, Paula!!
LOVE these fun ornaments! My kiddos would love helping me make these for our Christmas tree! Thank you for sharing! PINNED!
You are so very welcome, Michelle! I bet the kiddos will LOVE helping you with these! Thank you for pinning. 🙂
They are fabulously perfect!! I will try to make them at some point 🙂
The only ornaments I’ve made were empty glass ornaments that I filled with Christmas potpourri and they were beautiful, but we don’t even put a tree up anymore
I love filling simple glass ornaments with things like pearls, feathers, strips of paper, etc. I have a few of those on my tree as well! I bet the potpourri smelled lovely. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by, Michelle!
I absolutely love this ornament! So excited to try this with my daughter. If all goes well, I would like to do this with my 3rd grade class. I’m thinking…let them choose a color of yarn. Then, put their school pic inside when finished. 9-10 year olds are much better with the glue mixture than 6 year olds
I would imagine those couple years of age and maturity make a big difference when it comes to projects like this! 🙂 I hope you all have as much fun making them as we did!
I absolutely love the twine ball ornament and thank you for easy to understand directions. I like your feedback of sharing what worked for you. I’m also in love with your mistletoe sign. This is the first time I have seen it and I laughed when I read it. Sooooooo true! Keep the great ideas coming!!! =)
I’m so glad you liked my ornaments, Kimber! And that mistletoe sign is one of my favorite decorations to pull out every year. It just makes me smile. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!!
Your twine ball ornaments are gorgeous! I’ve featured them on my blog as part of a DIY Christmas tree ornament roundup here if you’d like to take a look. Merry Christmas to you! 🙂
Thank you so much, Ashley!! (high five!) Merry Christmas to you, too! 🙂
LOVE these!! The rustic look rocks!! TFS!
I agree, Barb! Thanks so much for stopping by! 🙂
These are adorable…did u have a pattern of winding the twine around the balloon? I have made a few and mine just arent as pretty……. 🙁
Hey Shelia! I didn’t have a pattern, just tried to wrap the twine wherever it had a bare spot. I bet they’ll look beautiful on your tree though!
I love these twine ball ornaments; they are such a rustic, natural element. You said some may have a whitish look if there is excess glue mixture – I thought that might give them a frosty look and make them even more attractive, especially if this “frost” was random on the ornament.
These are a brilliant idea. I may spray some of them lightly and unevenly with ‘snow’ spray, glitter or a little colour and put them on a leafless tree outside. Thanks for such a pretty suggestion.
I used Mod Podge and the plastic wrap stuck to the twine