Filled Glass Ornaments

This was a project from last Christmas but I didn't post about it then because they were Christmas gifts.  These ornaments were something I had wanted to make for a long time, but it was harder than I expected finding plain clear glass ornaments.  On a late night shopping trip, I finally had time to dig through all the boxes of ornaments, and found the only box of clear ornaments they had! (Something that would have been impossible to do on a day-time trip with the kiddos!)

Two of the ornaments I filled with sheet music from one of my favorite musicals, Les Miserables.  It just so happens it's also a favorite of my sister who was the wonderful recipient of those ornaments.  Since she's a trumpet player, I used the sheet music for a trumpet part.  Huge thank you to Google for that find!  Seriously Google sheet music for your favorite songs and search through the images.  You'll find what you need!  Well mostly what you need.  The other piece of music was a flute part, but that's okay too.

After I printed off the music, I wanted to make the pages look antique.  I dyed them with tea by steeping a teabag in a pan of hot water and dipping the page in it.  Do this carefully as the page can easily tear when wet.  I let it dry completely, and then took a match to the edges to give it a rougher look.

Then I cut the music into strips trying to keep the staves together and included the song title and composer.  The toughest part was actually getting it into the ornament.  After carefully removing the top, I wrapped the individual strips tightly around a pencil and slid them down into the ornament.  I used a bamboo skewer and sometimes one of my crochet hooks to move the pieces around inside the ornament until I had the look I wanted.

To finish it off, I tied on a nice ribbon to hang the ornament with.  (I personally hate metal ornament hooks, and one day I will replace all of mine with ribbon!)

Besides the music filled ornaments, I also made this Hello Kitty one for my other sister who is a huge fan!  The Hello Kitty gift tag was from a McDonald's kid's meal.  I just punched a hole in it to tie the pink ribbon through!  Shhh don't tell!  I also made one for my grandmother with Christmas themed Bible verses as well as filled some with pretty ribbons and other holiday decorations.  The possibilities are endless!  I wish I had taken more pictures last year because they all turned out beautiful!

*Be careful stuffing your ornaments because the glass at the top can be sharp.  I wouldn't recommend this project for small children!