Colorful Forest Ornament
I saw an ornament like this online and thought it was just beautiful. It also reminded me of some ornaments I used to make. Years ago, before I’d even graduated from college, I started making ornaments like this. I’d make miniature scenes inside of them and give them to family members. Once I saw the bottlebrush trees at Target, and I knew it was meant to be, and I had to make a colorful forest ornament of my own.
I’m excited to show you what I did! Up first, here’s what I used…
Supplies:
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- Ornament with side opening
- Model Magic
- Bottle brush trees
- Glitter
- Glue
- Foam brush
I already had the ornament, which I believe I picked up as part of a three-pack on clearance at Michaels a few years ago. It’s plastic and a little big, so my ornament may sit on a shelf instead of hanging on our tree. You can find smaller glass ornaments at craft stores or possibly even a dollar store.
I bought the trees in different sizes, because I wasn’t sure what combination I was going to use. As it turned out, I only used the smallest ones. I’m using the rest for another project, so stay tuned to see that!
Model Magic is my modeling clay of choice for projects like this. It’s lightweight, so it works well for something that is going to hang on a tree branch, and it air dries. Oven bake clay could only be used with an ornament that is oven-safe, so that wasn’t an option for me.
I intended to use Tacky glue for the glitter, but when I couldn’t get any out of the bottle, I switched to Elmer’s clear glue. I did switch to the Tacky glue partway through, but the Elmer’s probably would have been fine for what I was using it for.
The first thing I did was coat the inside of the ornament with glue I didn’t go too far up—just enough to cover where the Model Magic was going to be.
Next I sprinkled glitter in the ornament and shook it around gently, trying to cover all of the glue.
I let the glue dry somewhat, and then I took some Model Magic and pressed it into the bottom of the ornament to form the ground.
I didn’t let the Model Magic dry all the way, because I still needed to add the trees. I brushed on a layer of glue on top, and then I sprinkled more glitter. It looks like a sparkly snow-covered ground!
To figure out my tree placement, I stood them up on the table to arrange them by height. I decided the easiest way to get the trees into the ornament was going to be to remove the bases, so I carefully unscrewed them from each tree.
With the bases removed, it was easy to press the trees into the ground. I started with the center tree in the back, and then I went from there.
I originally stopped here, but then I decided that the trees needed a little snow on them. I brushed a little glue on them with a paint brush, and then I sprinkled on some ultra-fine glitter. Now there’s just enough sparkle!
I love my colorful forest! I’m so excited to display it this holiday season.
If you make your own ornament, I’d love to see it! You can share it with me on Facebook or Instagram.
Happy crafting!
