Ping-Pong Ball Ornaments

Ok... another excerpt from My Christmas Craft Book for Kids... This one, I'm seriously going to do after Christmas this year. I am tired of this icky garland I have. It is a combination of a nice full-size garland and this wanna-be 99-cent Store kind of stuff. It is wrapped in lights with ornaments hot-glued to it... No biggie, but the ornaments keep breaking in storage, being put up, taken down, etc. So... my thoughts? (If affordable)... To purchase the really cool wired branch-style garland in the after Christmas sales and attach these customized ornaments to them! I'll tell you my other thoughts after the instructions...

PING-PONG ORNAMENTS
No one would guess these stunning ornaments are made from Ping-Pong balls. You can use paint, glitter, and a few trimmings to make bright and colorful patterns, and ornaments that will make any Christmas tree shine.

YOU WILL NEED:
Darning needle
Ping-Pong balls
Wooden skewers
Poster Paint (I used acrylic paint); paintbrushes and sponges
Braid and trimmings
All-Purpose glue
Glitter
Matching Thread

1. Use the darning needle to make a hole through the top and bottom of each Ping-Pong ball. Ask an adult to help you do this. Push a wooden skewer through the holes – this will stop the ball from moving while you are decorating it.

2. Paint the Ping-Pong balls in bright colors. Leave to dry. If the first coat of paint looks a little patchy, add another coat. Leave the paint to dry completely.

3. Wrap braid around the center of the ball, or from the top to the bottom. Secure the ends with glue. To add glitter, dab glue on the ball and sprinkle with glitter. Leave to dry.

4. When the ornament is decorated, carefully remove the wooden skewer. Thread the needle with fairly thick thread and push it through the holes from bottom to top and then back down again to make a hanging loop. Knot the ends of the thread to finish.

and Voila! Pretty cool, huh? Ok... so my take? I am probably going to attach pics of the kids each year to various different balls, and Modge-Podge them to seal and protect. I was also thinking along the lines of beads, wire... you know... fun stuff! And! I was thinking that I could totally use my heat gun to set the glue faster and/or add embossing to them. The possibilities are endless!

Yes, you could probably use styrofoam, but... since mine would be permanently attached to my garland, I didn't want them to get crushed, so the Ping-Pong balls are perfect (and light!).

Anyway, gotta finish my organizational project for the day... Toodles for now! lisa