Scrap Happy 2

I am asked all the time, "What do you do with your scraps?" It seems like such a waste to throw away fabric that was lovingly bought only because it's not large enough to make something from it.

I too hate to throw away perfectly good material, so I decided to use my scraps of Christmas fabric and make ornaments. A quick story, a few years ago I volunteered to help with a kindergarten class. The children were precious, but what a lot of work. At the end of the day, I was exhausted. The teacher decided to have me do some of the craft projects with the children. I decided to do this project. They loved it and I ended up a mess. Painting with Mod Podge was just right up their alley and down the front of my dress. At least it was washable! Needless to say, their ornaments were not as well put together as mine, but they were so proud and we really had a great time.
Supplies:
1. Styrofoam Balls, any size
2. High Gloss Mod Podge
3. A brush for painting on the Mod Podge
4. Narrow Ribbon
5. Skewer Sticks
6. A Doll Needle
7. Lots of Scraps, any size

You'll want to begin with pushing the skewer through the styrofoam ball. This will give you the ability to hold the ball as you paint on the scraps and something to hold the ball as it drys. Paint some Mod Podge on the ball and then apply a scrap. Paint some Mod Podge over the scrap. Continue this until the entire ball is covered. Be sure to overlap your scraps. Allow the ball to dry. I applied 3 coats of Mod Podge to my balls. It gives them a very shiny finish and really seals the scraps onto the balls. A little hint, between dryings, be sure to twist your skewer so that it doesn't get stuck in the ball.

To attach the ribbon, thread a long piece of ribbon through the eye of a doll needle and thread the needle through the hole left by the skewer. Once you've gone through, push the needle back through the ball to form a loop in the ribbon.

Take some of your ribbon and loop it into a bow as you see in the picture below. Lay the bow piece through the loop that is on top of the ball,

and then tie a knot as you see in the above picture. Once you've done this, pull the ribbon done so that the top loop is tight against the ball.

For the bottom, make another bow by looping some ribbon and lay it between the ribbon,
and tie it tight at the bottom.

Cut the bottom ribbon to your desired length and you're finished.

I just love how they look and they really take no time to do. There's the drying time, but hey, you can do other things while these dry. I would let mine dry over night and put a quick coat on in the morning and then forget about them for the rest of the day.

I think the ornaments would make great hostess gifts as well, a true gift from a sewist. Lovely. I was thinking of making my husband an ornament with scraps from all the ski shirts that I have made for him. Maybe you've made a lot of outfits for a child, what a wonderful reminder for them, like a little mini quilt without all the work!!
Enjoy!
Rhonda
P.S. I linked my ornament to the Create Something Inspiring contest. You can see other wonderful ideas here. Thanks Kitty!!

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