Painted paper balls
Time: 1 hour, plus drying time
Cost: $20 to $25 for 10
Tools and materials
Small foam brush
Acrylic paint in white, soft blue, and soft green (about 2 ounces of each)
Plain papier-mâché balls (sold at crafts stores)
Pearl-finish acrylic paint
Glitter
Sand
White glue
Optional: hole reinforcements, glue syringe (sold at art supply stores), masking tape
Directions
1. Paint the balls; allow them to dry.
2. Add a top coat of pearl-finish paint; allow to dry.
3. Mix glitter and sand equally.
4. With glue, create patterns on the painted ornament and sprinkle with glitter-sand mix. Let dry.
Tips: To create clean and consistent polka dots, apply hole reinforcements to the ball and place glue in holes. Immediately sprinkle with glitter; after a few minutes, remove the hole reinforcements. For fine lines, try using a glue syringe. You can also make patterns by masking off areas with tape before applying glue.