Ornaments with Pearl Ex

Choose your adhesive. Craft glue may take a little longer, but you can get some nice effects. If time is an issue, you'll love how fast these can be done with spray adhesive.

If using craft glue: Mix one part water with two parts glue and pour mixture into ball. Cover opening with finger or paper towel and turn to coat inside completely. Pour out excess. Let dry until glue mixture is no longer runny.

If using spray adhesive: Place nozzle of spray adhesive close to opening of ornament and, in two short sprays, coat inside.

Try one of these techniques:

Iridescent finish: Put approximately 1/2 tsp. of Pearl Ex into ornament. Narrow craft sticks work nicely to get the Pearl Ex inside of the ornament. Hold fingertip or paper towel over opening. Turn and tap ball to coat inside. Pour out excess. Repeat with glue or adhesive and other colors if you like.

Speckled Faux finish: Load a dry artist's brush with Pearl Ex. Place in ball, being careful not to touch sides and flick. Repeat with several colors.

Antique Keepsakes: This technique works best on the larger ornaments and/or with smaller pictures. With artist's paint brush, white glue the fronts of magazine or Xerox pictures. Using tweezers, place these in the ornament. With a pencil eraser, firmly attach while removing creases and air bubbles, especially around the edges of the picture. Brush a coat of white glue to back of pictures. Let dry until glue is completely clear. Coat the inside of an ornament with one of the above finishes. As an alternative, try glueing the picture to the outside of the ornament.

Optional: Make any of these finishes opaque by pouring Jacquard Textile Paints or Lumiere Metallics into the opening of the ornament. Pour slowly around the rim while turning the ornament to get the paint to run down the sides of the ornament. Cover opening and turn ball to coat inside. Use one or more colors. Pour out excess, set with dryer or air dry, turning occasionally to prevent puddles.